When white settlers flooded into Wisconsin in the 1830s, many were amazed by the numerous, huge earthen mounds they discovered. Shaped like mammals, birds, and mythical beings, these effigy mounds numbered into the many thousands. Modern archaeology dates them to A.D. 700 to 1100 in the Late Woodland period, centuries before European contact. Concentrated in southern Wisconsin, they can also be found in Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois. They are quite unlike the more familiar burial and platform mounds of the Midwest and South.
Former Wisconsin state archaeologist, Bob Birmingham has produced this most comprehensive book on the effigy mounds. There were once some 1,300 of these ancient works in the Madison area alone, but only a relative handful remain today. Birmingham details how they were built and gives us possible explanations of their meanings.
Richly illustrated with 123 drawings, photographs and maps, Spirits of Earth is a major contribution to mound builder literature. It is also a practical guide for people interested in visiting these fascinating legacies of ancient America.
