Effigy mound

"Sites in the U.S. of similar history may be found at Indian Mounds Park"

An effigy mound is a raised pile of earth built in the shape of a stylized animal, symbol, religious figure, or human figure.

Effigy mounds were constructed in many Native American cultures and are believed to be for primarily religious purposes, although some also fulfill a burial mound function. The builders of the effigy mounds are usually referred to generally as the Mound Builders.

Native North American effigy mounds have been compared to the large-scale effigy forms depicted in the Nazca Lines of Peru.

More mounds were built by ancient Native American societies in Wisconsin than in any other region of North America—between 15,000 and 20,000 mounds, at least 4,000 of which remain today.

ee also

*Adena culture
*Hopewell culture
*Mississippian culture
*Harpers Ferry, Iowa in Effigy Mounds National Monument
*Serpent Mound found in Adams County, Ohio
*Rock Eagle and Rock Hawk Effigy Mounds, both in Putnam County, Georgia