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Ancestral Mounds deconstructs earthen mounds and myths in examining
their importance in contemporary Native communities. Two centuries
of academic scholarship regarding mounds have examined who, what,
where, when, and how, but no serious investigations have addressed
the basic question, why? Drawing on ethnographic and archaeological
studies, Jay Miller explores the wide-ranging themes and variations
of mounds, from those built thousands of years ago to contemporary
mounds, focusing on Native southeastern and Oklahoma towns. Native
peoples continue to build and refurbish mounds each summer as part
of their New Year's celebrations to honor and give thanks for
ripening maize and other crops and to offer public atonement. The
mound is the heart of the Native community, which is sustained by
song, dance, labor, and prayer. The basic purpose of mounds across
North America is the same: to serve as a locus where community
effort can be engaged in creating a monument of vitality and a safe
haven in the volatile world.
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