The incredibly active Mr. Silverberg, author of many books for
adults and children dealing with archaeological matters, again
illuminates some stunningly comprehensive research with his own
vigorous style and considerable joy in the telling. Although now
sometimes hemmed in by city streets, sometimes almost leveled by
erosion, the ancient piles of earth which appear in the Mississippi
Valley and southeastern United States at one time provided a basis
for myths that sparked the imaginations and fancies of Americans to
such an extent that a book purporting to tell the truth about the
mysterious "Builders of the Mounds" sold 22,000 copies in thirty
months in 1833. The myth of "lost tribes" nurtured the theology of
a religion (Mormonism); echoes of the belief that the ancient
peoples had come from Atlantis, Israel, Denmark, and (remembering
advanced civilizations) Mexico, sounded in prose and poetry. Yet in
the early enchantment with the magic of a new homeland was a
scientific experiment. Amateur archeologists, including two
Presidents (Jefferson and Harrison) began poking around the
earthworks; conservative and radical branches contering on the
identity of the Mound Builders researched, lectured, wrote, and
researched again. With scraps of contemporary writings from the
violent invasions of Spanish explorers, the author begins a study
of a developing body of scientific observations and romantic fancy
which persisted through the nineteenth century. Unsung heroes of an
infant American archaeology; the founding and growth of the
Smithsonian Institution; modern surveys of the nature of the Indian
cultures that produced the Mounds; a few of the fuzzier
theorists-are given their just due. With illustrations, a
distinguished book. (Kirkus Reviews)
In Illinois, the one-hundred-foot Cahokia Mound spreads
impressively across sixteen acres, and as many as ten thousand more
mounds dot the Ohio River Valley alone. The Mound Builders traces
the speculation surrounding these monuments and the scientific
excavations which uncovered the history and culture of the ancient
Americans who built them. The mounds were constructed for religious
and secular purposes some time between 1000 B.C. and 1000 A.D., and
they have prompted curiosity and speculation from very early times.
European settlers found them evidence of some ancient and glorious
people. Even as eminent an American as Thomas Jefferson joined the
controversy, though his conclusions-that the mounds were actually
cemeteries of ancient Indians-remained unpopular for nearly a
century. Only in the late 19th century, as Smithsonian Institution
investigators developed careful methodologies and reliable records,
did the period of scientific investigation of the mounds and their
builders begin. Silverberg follows these excavations and then
recounts the story they revealed of the origins, development, and
demise of the mound builder culture.
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