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Who Were the Mound Builders? Part 2
Mound Builders were Inidans who built large mounds, or hills, or
earth. There were two types of mounds, flat-topped and conical.
Flat-topped mounds were flat on the top. These mounds were used
as the base for temples or chief's homes. Conical mounds were rounded
on the top like a steep hill. These mounds are believed to be where
the Mound Builders buried important people.
These mounds were built entirely by workers who carried loads of
earth on their backs. They had no horses or oxen or other forms
of transportation to use for help. Many of these mounds have several
hundred tons of dirt, stone, and other materials.
The Mound Builders were like the Pueblo Indians. Mound Builders
was not their name, just a name given to them because of the types
of homes or type of community they lived in. The culture of the
Mississippian Mound Builders is found in Cahokia, Illinois, which
is very close to where we live.
The largest of the Mississippian Mounds was found in Cahokia, Illinois.
It had about 40,000 people. Cahokia had over 100 mounds. Some were
conical to bury their dead. Some were platform mounds for homes
of the chiefs.
Religious ceremonies were held at the temples at the tops of the
mounds. Some families had small mounds where they buried their dead.
"Grave goods" would be buried with them. These were things such
as pottery, baskets, and carvings.
They practiced a religion called the "Southern Cult". Drawings show
pictures of spiders and woodpeckers, which the Indians believed
had special powers. These Indians are believed to have sacrificed
humans as part of their religion. Some of the Mound Builders had
a leader known as the "Great Sun". He would be worshipped as a god.
He would live on top of the highest mound, and his wife would live
on top of the next highest. The Indians believed that living that
high brought them closer to the heavens. If the "Great Sun" died,
his wife was strangled and buried with him. Others would be killed
also to go along with him into the world of death.
The Mound Builders were farmers. They planted corn, squash, beans,
and other seed plants. They also hunted for nuts, berries, and small
animals. The Mississippian Mound Builders are believed to have died
from diseases brought to this country by the white man.
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