On The Road Friday ~ Effigy Mounds National Monument ~ Iowa

Welcome to On The Road Friday, today we are going to take a trip to 

Effigy Mounds, National Monument. 

We visited the Effigy Mounds during Labor Day Weekend. We enjoyed beautiful weather and lovely company as we explored.

 

Here is a little history to get you started for the trip.

The animal-shaped mounds remain the symbol of the Effigy Mounds Culture. Along the Mississippi River in northeast Iowa and across the river in southwest Wisconsin, two major animal mound shapes seem to prevail: the bear and the bird. Near Lakes Michigan and Winnebago, water spirit earthworks—historically called turtle and panther mounds—are more common.

 The Late Woodland Period (1400-750 B.P.) along the Upper Mississippi River and extending east to Lake Michigan is associated with the culture known today as the Effigy Moundbuilders. The construction of effigy mounds was a regional cultural phenomenon. Mounds of earth in the shapes of birds, bear, deer, bison, lynx, turtle, panther or water spirit are the most common images. Like earlier groups, the Effigy Moundbuilders continued to build conical mounds for burial purposes, but their burial sites lacked the trade goods of the preceding Middle Woodland Culture. The Effigy Moundbuilders also built linear or long rectangular mounds that were used for ceremonial purposes that remain a mystery. Some archeologists believe they were built to mark celestial events or seasonal observances. Others speculate they were constructed as territorial markers or as boundaries between groups. 

Click here for more information  

 The hike around the Effigy Mounds is absolutely beautiful. 

We hiked along looking at the mounds and making out the features of the bear and the bird.

This hike was full of history as we hiked along the mounds. The visitor's center is also very well done at the monument.

Wishing you all a peaceful weekend.