answersLogoWhite

0

Who were the moundbuilders?

Updated: 12/13/2022
User Avatar

Wiki User

9y ago

Want this question answered?

Be notified when an answer is posted

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: Who were the moundbuilders?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about General History

Describe three early cultures that developed in north America?

The Moundbuilders, the Anasazi and the Inuit were three early cultures in North America. This question and the answer, including a description of these cultures, are in Chapter 1, Lesson 2 of Scot Foresman - The United States.


Why do you think these mounds have survived?

Moundbuilders lived in dome shaped homes made with pole walls and thatched roofs. Important buildings were covered with a stucco made from clay and grass. These people grew native plants like corn, pumpkins, and sunflowers. They supplemented this by hunting, fishing, and gathering nuts and berries.


What were the earliest anthropological theories made about the mounds?

About 1780 Thomas Jefferson began to excavate a mound near his Virginia estate, Montecello. Jefferson described his excavation in detail in his 1783 book, Notes on the State of Virginia: There being one of these in my neighborhood, I wished to satisfy myself whether any, and which of these opinions were just. For this purpose I determined to open and examine it thoroughly. It was situated on the low grounds of the Rivanna, about two miles above its principal fork, and opposite to some hills, on which had been an Indian town. It was of a spheroidical[sic] form, of about 40 feet diameter at the base... Thomas Jefferson may have been the first person to excavate an Indian mound He attended to this task in an organized manner and observed stratified human remains. In his published conclusions he stated that this particular mound was an ancient Indian burial place. This was perhaps the first systematic archaeological excavation in North America and the first realization that mounds might serve different uses, which has been proven correct again and again. While Jefferson found himself content with observations based on his excavation, the others proposed theories of the origin of these symbols of an early American Indian civilization with little fieldwork. Benjamin Franklin believed the mounds were leftovers built during the explorations of Hernando deSoto as deSoto and his entrada marched across the United States. Noah Webster extended this view. Stiles put forth his theory that the mounds were a remnant of a Canaanite culture (as were the advanced civilizations in Peru and Mexico) shortly after settlers discovered the mounds in Marietta, Ohio in 1787. Stiles was not the first to propose such a relationship; William Penn and Roger Williams believed the Aztec and Mayan cultures to be the Canaanites. Benjamin Barton published the first work on the Moundbuilders in 1797, New Views on the Origin of Tribes in America. Barton believed the mounds indicted a higher "cultural level." Soon after Barton's work was published, Reverend T. M. Harris of Massachusetts expressed his belief that the Moundbuilders were a civilization, a word not commonly applied to any Indian tribe of the time. Until relatively recently, writers tended to believe that the Moundbuilder culture was distinct from the surrounding Woodlands or Archaic cultures and some went so far as to hypothesize that the Moundbuilders were a separate race. Others combined Moundbuilders and specific tribes because some American Indians would mound dirt as a defensive structure. Dr. James H. McColloh began studying Moundbuilders about the time the United States entered the War of 1812. McColloh published Researches in America in 1816 and revised it a number of times over a 12 year period. One of the earliest to surmise that the Ohio Moundbuilders came from the South, McColloh also stated that Native Americans were the ones who created the mounds based on skull similarity but this work lacked scientific evidence. Constantine Samuel Rafinesque and John Clifford proposed that the mounds were created by Hindus. In early 1820 Circleville postmaster Caleb Atwater expanded on Rafinesque's earlier Hindu theory in "Description of the Antiquities Discovered in the State of Ohio and Other Western States." He believed that the Moundbuilders were a more stable population than the surrounding Woodlands Indians and that two migrations occurred from Asia to the Americas, one to North America and one to South America. Atwater's maps were helpful to modern archaeologists because they show mounds long since destroyed, but he was accused of plagiarism for not citing Rafinesque's earlier work. William Henry Harrison, just before he ran for President of the United States in 1840, again offered the theory that the Aztec Civilization rose from the Midwestern Moundbuilders. He became interested in the mounds shortly after arriving at Fort Washington (Cincinnati) in 1792. Harrison hypothesized that because these Moundbuilders seemed to disappear in the early 700's A. D., and the Aztecs rose about that time, that the two civilizations were related. He believed that the Moundbuilders lost a tremendous battle along the Great Miami River.


Why does the Mormon bible have an image with a Mayan temple in the background?

The term "Mormon Bible" is inaccurate, as Mormons use the Holy Bible as scripture. You may be referring to "The Book of Mormon," a book found and translated by Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon faith.Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that the Book of Mormon has historical value rather than simply being fictive. Different theories have sought to find a place for the people and places listed in the Book of Mormon (such as the Moundbuilders in the Mississippi river valley).However, in more recent years the ancient Mayan culture has been the center of attention for Mormons.Whether one finds any connection between the Book of Mormon and the Mayan culture and artifacts (or any other group) is really a matter of faith.Another Answer:"Mormons" (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) use the King James Version of the Bible.If you are referring to the Book of Mormon (which is used alongside, not in place of, the Bible), some versions of the Book of Mormon distributed by the church's missionaries include an image of Jesus Christ appearing to the Nephites (see the image at the "Related Link" below). The Book of Mormon describes this event as taking place shortly after the Savior's resurrection and Ascension (about 34 AD). [see 3 Nephi chapters 11-28 - pages 427-463]The Book of Mormon takes place between 2000 BC and 300 AD on the American continent - the same time period that historians place the Preclassic Mayan civilization in Mesoamerica. Some connections between Mayan culture and the culture of the Book of Mormon peoples have been found, leading many Mormons to belive that the Mayan and other ancient Mesoamerican people (such as the Olmec and Aztec) are some of the same people that are described in the Book of Mormon.


Related questions

What is true about the Moundbuilders?

Artwork was very important in their lives.


Which early civilization lived in what is now the eastern US?

Moundbuilders


Which Native American Nation is believed to be descendants of Moundbuilders?

The Creek Nation


Which prehistoric period were Moundbuilders thriving in Georgia?

The native Americans built mounds.


What did moundbuilders houses look like?

they looked like round beehive shaped houses.


Moundbuilders mississippian people who lived in the Mississippi river and western Ohio river valleys between 700 and 1500 ce?

they are the cheriakies people who lived in the mississippi river and the western ohio river.........


Describe three early cultures that developed in north America?

The Moundbuilders, the Anasazi and the Inuit were three early cultures in North America. This question and the answer, including a description of these cultures, are in Chapter 1, Lesson 2 of Scot Foresman - The United States.


What has the author Anna Curtenius Roosevelt written?

Anna Curtenius Roosevelt has written: 'Moundbuilders of the Amazon' -- subject(s): Antiquities, Earthworks (Archaeology), Indians of South America, Mound-builders 'Parmana' -- subject(s): Agriculture, Antiquities, Indians of South America


Why do you think these mounds have survived?

Moundbuilders lived in dome shaped homes made with pole walls and thatched roofs. Important buildings were covered with a stucco made from clay and grass. These people grew native plants like corn, pumpkins, and sunflowers. They supplemented this by hunting, fishing, and gathering nuts and berries.


What were the earliest anthropological theories made about the mounds?

About 1780 Thomas Jefferson began to excavate a mound near his Virginia estate, Montecello. Jefferson described his excavation in detail in his 1783 book, Notes on the State of Virginia: There being one of these in my neighborhood, I wished to satisfy myself whether any, and which of these opinions were just. For this purpose I determined to open and examine it thoroughly. It was situated on the low grounds of the Rivanna, about two miles above its principal fork, and opposite to some hills, on which had been an Indian town. It was of a spheroidical[sic] form, of about 40 feet diameter at the base... Thomas Jefferson may have been the first person to excavate an Indian mound He attended to this task in an organized manner and observed stratified human remains. In his published conclusions he stated that this particular mound was an ancient Indian burial place. This was perhaps the first systematic archaeological excavation in North America and the first realization that mounds might serve different uses, which has been proven correct again and again. While Jefferson found himself content with observations based on his excavation, the others proposed theories of the origin of these symbols of an early American Indian civilization with little fieldwork. Benjamin Franklin believed the mounds were leftovers built during the explorations of Hernando deSoto as deSoto and his entrada marched across the United States. Noah Webster extended this view. Stiles put forth his theory that the mounds were a remnant of a Canaanite culture (as were the advanced civilizations in Peru and Mexico) shortly after settlers discovered the mounds in Marietta, Ohio in 1787. Stiles was not the first to propose such a relationship; William Penn and Roger Williams believed the Aztec and Mayan cultures to be the Canaanites. Benjamin Barton published the first work on the Moundbuilders in 1797, New Views on the Origin of Tribes in America. Barton believed the mounds indicted a higher "cultural level." Soon after Barton's work was published, Reverend T. M. Harris of Massachusetts expressed his belief that the Moundbuilders were a civilization, a word not commonly applied to any Indian tribe of the time. Until relatively recently, writers tended to believe that the Moundbuilder culture was distinct from the surrounding Woodlands or Archaic cultures and some went so far as to hypothesize that the Moundbuilders were a separate race. Others combined Moundbuilders and specific tribes because some American Indians would mound dirt as a defensive structure. Dr. James H. McColloh began studying Moundbuilders about the time the United States entered the War of 1812. McColloh published Researches in America in 1816 and revised it a number of times over a 12 year period. One of the earliest to surmise that the Ohio Moundbuilders came from the South, McColloh also stated that Native Americans were the ones who created the mounds based on skull similarity but this work lacked scientific evidence. Constantine Samuel Rafinesque and John Clifford proposed that the mounds were created by Hindus. In early 1820 Circleville postmaster Caleb Atwater expanded on Rafinesque's earlier Hindu theory in "Description of the Antiquities Discovered in the State of Ohio and Other Western States." He believed that the Moundbuilders were a more stable population than the surrounding Woodlands Indians and that two migrations occurred from Asia to the Americas, one to North America and one to South America. Atwater's maps were helpful to modern archaeologists because they show mounds long since destroyed, but he was accused of plagiarism for not citing Rafinesque's earlier work. William Henry Harrison, just before he ran for President of the United States in 1840, again offered the theory that the Aztec Civilization rose from the Midwestern Moundbuilders. He became interested in the mounds shortly after arriving at Fort Washington (Cincinnati) in 1792. Harrison hypothesized that because these Moundbuilders seemed to disappear in the early 700's A. D., and the Aztecs rose about that time, that the two civilizations were related. He believed that the Moundbuilders lost a tremendous battle along the Great Miami River.


Are the mound builders Maya Olmecs and the Anasazi the tribes that lived in pueblos?

No, the Anasazi people lived southwest Four Corners area. The moundbuilders or Mississippian Indians lived the Mississippi valley and in Ohio and Illinois. They were the only ones to build mounds


What did the mound builders flag look like?

The mound builders did not have a specific flag representing their civilization as they existed long before the concept of flags developed. They were ancient Native American cultures that built earthen mounds for various purposes across the present-day United States.