The Great Serpent Mound

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The Great Serpent Mound is Nationally Recognized Historical landmark in Mississippian, Ohio, USA that expands 1,348 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 5 feet high. From ariel view, the full form and depiction of the serpent who appears to be opening around an egg can be seen. This mound is considered to be an effigy mound, which is assumed to be built by the ancient native cultures who inhabited that region at that time of construction. Since first published discovery in 1848 by Ephraim Squire and Edwin Davis in their historic volume Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, it has long been a topic of considerable controversy. Little of what was once discovered at the site of the mound back in 1890 when Harvard University archaeologist Frederic …show more content…
At the time, positive identification of the cultures had not yet been established, however we now know that artifacts then recovered belonged to the Early Woodland Adena culture (ca. 500 BC-AD200) and/ or Late Prehistoric Fort Ancient culture (ca. AD 1000-1650). Putnam was the first to conduct an excavation at the site of the Serpent mound through the years 1887- 1989. Though his excavations, he found no artifacts directly around or under the mound itself. However, about 200 miles southeast of the Serpent, he conducted his excavation further. There at the Conical mound , he discovered multiple burials and artifacts such as pottery. These goods were later analyzed by James B. Griffin in 1943 who assessed the grave goods to be from the Adena culture. Griffin had also analyzed materials found from a lower level nearby village site that place Fort Ancient culture nearby as well. Despite the fact that both cultures can be pinpointed in nearby areas, Griffin came to the conclusion that it was the Adena Culture that which origin can be attributed to, and for many years most researchers …show more content…
Ancient carvings found in a mississippian indian mound located in Cahokia, the largest city of the mississippian period, depict a woman stabbing a hoe into the back of the serpent. The tail of the snake splits in two and grows up her back as a squash plant with gourds grow from it. Archeologist believe that such imagery is evident that that indigenous mississippian culture used the snake as a symbol for fertility and the power the female holds. This representation makes evident that these people saw women playing an essential role in the creation of life through birth. As this snake symbolism represents fertility, the snake may also reference the fertility of crops as the two ends of the serpent's tale grows into a squash plant bearing
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