Comments on: The Serpent Mound

By: cfeagans

cfeagans — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:49:20 +0000

Essentially, that’s what archaeologists do. Ethnography is taken into account (stories and oral histories are included in this), but the cultures that built these mounds are long dead. Asking extant decendants why or how they were built is a bit like asking someone of European descent why Stonehenge was built or how Thracian tombs were built. Since there aren’t any written accounts or reliable oral histories, archaeologists combine what we know about more recent cultures of region with the material remains of the past in order to put together some good ideas. This an obviously flawed method, but it’s the best method available.

By: Marie

Marie — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:10:51 +0000

I believe you should get your information directly from the Native American Indians stories and teachings. Their ancestors built the mounds and therefore they will know what they were build for and why.

By: Joe Henderson

Joe Henderson — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:16:36 +0000

The comment concerning serpents’ striking caused me to look just a bit differently at the mound…if you take what can be a head beyond the “egg” area and compare this to the hood of a cobra, there are interesting similarities. Also, I found no one addressing the concept of the Orm, found in Viking mythology. Anyhow….

By: The Relevance of Anthropology â€“ Part 2 on the Best of Anthro Blogging 2008 « Neuroanthropology

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:30:08 +0000

[...] â€œA Vision of Students Todayâ€ (Digital Ethnography) Semantically Challenged (Urbi et Orbi) The Serpent Mound (A Hot Cup of Joe) The story behind an HTS picture (Culture Matters) Three medieval churches, two [...]

By: Marcelino 2.0 » Blog Archive » The â€œBest of Anthro 2008â€³ Prizes

Marcelino 2.0 » Blog Archive » The â€œBest of Anthro 2008â€³ Prizes — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:07:23 +0000

[...] Snake Striking Graphic The Serpent Mound (A Hot Cup of [...]

By: Os prÃ©mios para os melhores posts em blogs de antropologia em 2008 « Comunidade Imaginada

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 13:00:45 +0000

[...] Snake Striking Graphic The Serpent Mound (A Hot Cup of [...]

By: Round Up of the Best of Anthro 2008 « Neuroanthropology

Round Up of the Best of Anthro 2008 « Neuroanthropology — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 01:58:01 +0000

[...] answer: â€œno technological advantageâ€ between sapiens sapiens and sapiens neanderthalensis Best: The Serpent Mound Earthworks in Locus Grove, Ohio â€“ what are we to make of them? Includes a striking overhead [...]

By: The “Best of Anthro 2008″ Prizes « Neuroanthropology

The “Best of Anthro 2008″ Prizes « Neuroanthropology — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:41:09 +0000

[...] Snake Striking Graphic The Serpent Mound (A Hot Cup of [...]

By: Four Stone Hearth 45 and 46 « Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub

Four Stone Hearth 45 and 46 « Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:04:45 +0000

[...] to look at the “dig” in the Gulf of Mexico from Remote Central; also, check out the post at Hot Cup of Joe on the Serpent Mound in Ohio (pre-history should come fairly quickly in August or September, no?). Be sure to check out [...]

By: cfeagans

cfeagans — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 04:18:06 +0000

The Serpent Mound is definitely *an* effigy mound -being the effigy of a snake. As to its relationship to other effigy mounds, I’d say that there’s at least an indirect link in that they had similar forms and functions (ritual/funerary). Not having had the opportunity to study them at length, I really couldn’t comment on any direct links, either temporally or spatially. Perhaps the effigy mounds were like chrome wheels on cars: many different cultures of people like them for many different reasons. Yet the basic form and functions are the same.

With regard to busted link, which one and how so? Did you mean Provod’s site? I took a brief look at his site, which is laid out like a book. I’ve seen several pseudo/woo sites like this over the years. It’s an interesting phenomenon and enough to make one wonder where the line between crank and non-crank site truly is.