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Between A.D. 700 and 1100 Native Americans built more effigy mounds in Wisconsin than anywhere else in North America, with an estimated 1,300 mounds—including the world’s largest known bird effigy—at the center of effigy-building culture in and around Madison, Wisconsin. These huge earthworks, sculpted in the shape of birds, mammals, and other figures, have aroused curiosity for generations and together comprise a vast effigy mound ceremonial landscape. Farming and industrialization destroyed most of these mounds, leaving the mysteries of who built them and why they were made. The remaining mounds are protected today and many can be visited. explores the cultural, historical, and ceremonial meanings of the mounds in an informative, abundantly illustrated book and guide.
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Spirits of Ear th
W L L A A Series Editor
Spirits of Ear th
The Effigy Mound Landscape of Madison and the Four Lakes
Rober t A. Birmingham
The Univer sity of Wisconsin Press
The University of Wisconsin Press 1930 Monroe Street, 3rd Floor Madison, Wisconsin 53711-2059 uwpress.wisc.edu 3 Henrietta Street London WC2E 8LU, England www.eurospanbookstore.com Copyright © 2010 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any format or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a Web site without written permission of the University of Wisconsin Press, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles and reviews. 5
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Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Birmingham, Robert A. Spirits of earth : the effigy mound landscape of Madison and the Four Lakes / Robert A. Birmingham. p. cm.—(Wisconsin land and life) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-299-23264-1 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Mounds—Wisconsin—Madison Region. 2. Earthworks (Archaeology)—Wisconsin— Madison Region. 3. Indians of North America—Wisconsin—Madison Region—Antiquities. 4. Madison Region (Wis.)—Antiquities. I. Title. II. Series: Wisconsin land and life. E78.W8B575 2009 977.5´83—dc22 2009011631
Contents
List of Illustrations
vii
Preface: Of Megaliths and Mounds, Recognizing a World Wonder
xiii
Acknowledgments
1 Spirits of Ear th: An Introduction to Effigy Mound Landscapes
xxiii
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2 The Ancient Mound Builders
42
3 The Effigy Mound Landscape of Madison and the Four Lakes
92
4 Yahara Inlet and Mendota: Lake of Spirits
115
5 Wingra: Lake of Sacred Springs
147
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Contents
vi
6 Lake Monona: Let the Great Spirit Soar
161
7 Waubesa: Lake of Reeds and Snakes
176
8 Kegonsa and the Mouth of the Yahara: End to Beginning
188
9 Landscapes of the Past, Questions and Issues for the Future
201
Appendix: Selected Mound Sites Open to the Public
207
Notes
215
Bibliography
229
Illustration Credits
241
Index
247
Illustrations
Figure P.1. Figure P.2. Figure P.3. Figure 1.1. Figure 1.2. Figure 1.3. Figure 1.4. Figure 1.5. Figure 1.6. Figure 1.7. Figure 1.8. Figure 1.9. Figure 1.10. Figure 1.11. Figure 1.12. Figure 1.13. Figure 1.14. Figure 1.15. Figure 1.16. Figure 1.17. Figure 2.1. Figure 2.2.
Poulnabrone megalith site in Ireland Nasca ground drawing in Peru Let the Great Spirit Soar Mound group overlooking the Fox River The e