The “Myth of the Moundbuilders” Explored, Again Several theories surround the “myth of the Moundbuilders” despite the data and evidence that exists about who built the mounds and when. Archaeologists debunked this “myth” nearly a century ago and concluded that Native Americans did in fact build the mounds. Yet, there is still speculation surrounding the Moundbuilders due to inquiries about the influences of outside cultures and their effect on the Moundbuilders’ society, as well as, where exactly the ancestors of the Moundbuilders came from. In the film The Lost Civilization of North America an overview of the myriad of myths still surrounding the Moundbuilders are presented for debate between archaeologists and other “experts” over the validity …show more content…
The premise behind this claim is a link between Ancient Egyptian pyramid building and the building structure of the earthen mounds found in North America. Using some complicated finagling of the math, the claim suggests that both the pyramids and the mounds have an angle of 51.8˚ to true north. Why this is important wasn’t made clear in the film, but it was used as evidence none the less and was used as proof that a more advanced society intervened in the building of the mounds. The film then offers that these claims are highly contested and that only a small, fringe group of individuals, called diffusionists, believe in these ideas. The film defines diffusionists as individuals who “believe contact between inhabitants of America and other geographies may have taken place before Christopher Columbus” and that these contacts acted as a trading system of cultural ideas and beliefs. This differs a bit from the traditional definition of diffusionists offered by the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. It states that diffusionists are “anthropologists who emphasizes the role of diffusion in the history of culture rather than independent invention or discovery.” The distinction here is that it is actually a group of professionals who believe in the diffusionists theory, not some fringe group of individuals, and they are not limited in their research to just the Moundbuilders’ society. Instead, diffusionists look at the spread of culture in its entirety as part of their research. Yet, there are still some who use the diffusionists’ claim to explain the “myths of the Moundbuilders” because they like the implication of an outside influence on the Moundbuilders; in the past it allowed them to believe their manifest destiny claim and today it feeds into conspire theories about cover-ups by the scientific and historic
When the Europeans first migrated to America, they didn’t know much about the ancestral background of the different types of the Indian tribes that were settled in Virginia and along the East Coast. Many of the Indian tribes became hostile towards the colonist because the colonists were interfering with their way of life. This lead the natives to attempt to destroy the frontier settlements. Many forts in this area were erected to protect the settlers and their families. One the historical land...
There are three parts in West’s book; the first part focuses on the sociological, ecological and economic relationships of the plains Indians, starting with the first establish culture of North America, the Clovis peoples. Going into extensive detail pertaining to early geology and ecology, West gives us a glimpse into what life on the early plains must have looked to early peoples. With vastly differing flora and fauna to what we know today, the early plains at the end of the first ice age, were a different place and lent itself to a diverse way of life. The Clovis peoples were accomplished hunters, focusing on the abundance of Pleistocene megafauna such as earlier, larger forms of bison. Though, little human remains were found, evidence of their s...
Cahokia: Ancient America’s Great City on the Mississippi, by Timothy R. Pauketat, is on the history, society, and religious customs of the Cahokian people. Consisting of twelve chapters, each chapter deals with a different aspect of Cahokian society. Chapter one opens up by telling the reader how the stars in the sky played an important role in the Native American belief system. The Planet Venus was the key figure in all of this, in fact the ancient Maya believed Venus to be a god. According to the Cahokians , Venus had a dual nature, in the daytime Venus was viewed a masculine, and in the evening it was seen as feminine. In the same chapter, Pauketat lets us know about the discovery of, two hundred packed-earth mounds constructed in a five-square mile zone represented the belief systems of the Cahokian people. Historical archeology was the main reason for the discovery of two hundred earth packed mounds. At its peak, Cahokia had a population of over ten thousand, not including the people who lived in the towns surrounding the city. By the time the 1800s came around, the European Americans had already been living in North America for some time; however, many Europeans refused to acknowledge the Native American role in building these ancient mounds. Instead, they believed the mounds to been built by a race of non-Indians. Due to the preservation of Cahokia within a state park and modern highway system, many things became lost. Since many things became lost, very few archaeologists have a good understanding of Cahokia. While there may be a loss of a complete picture, archaeologists are still making progress with numerous discoveries. These discoveries bring into question long-held beliefs such as a people who were peaceful an...
Thomas, David Hurst. Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity. New York, NY: Basic, 2000. Print
Indian Givers How the Indians of the Americas transformed the world. This paper tries to explain Jack Weatherford's Indian Givers by examining the history of the Native American connection to many agricultural products that would not have been produced without the knowledge that Indians gave. Weatherford further stipulates that it is through these advances in agriculture that the United States has remained a strong contender in the global market, that without the influences of the Native Americans on the early settlers those early immigrants to America would not have survived. Through his work, "Indian Givers: How Indians of the Americas Transformed the World", Weatherford brings an insight to a people that most individuals have neglected to consider. The paper concludes that it is Weatherford's purpose to demonstrate that Native Americans have been a misrepresented and forgotten people when the history of North America is discussed.
"Creole Materialities: Archaeological Explorations Of Hybridized Realities On A North American Plantation. " Journal of Historical Sociology 23.1 (2010): 16-39. Academic Search Complete. 27 Apr. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Web.
Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 2009. Print. Whelan, Mary K. "Gender and Historical Archaeology: Eastern Dakota Patterns in the 19th Century." Society for Historical Archaeology 25.4 (1991): 17-32.
Frontier in American History is divided in two major parts each with an introduction. The first part claims that the gradual settlement of the west is what forms American History. In the following four paragraphs the frontier is explained in details. The frontier is viewed as a moving belts
“The Real Valley of the Dolls” refers to North Canyon, which Robbins describes as “rather vaginal in shape, terminating in a scooped out basin . . . those so inclined could read uterus or womb”, decorated with petroglyphs, also known as Canyon of the Vaginas. Robbins explains the different types of petroglyphs in the western U.S., “some of them are ceremonial in intention, some are mnemonic, some totemic (clan symbols), and some, it would appear, just an outburst of pleasurable doodling” (510). While glyphs depicting vaginas are not limited to the Canyon of Vaginas, “at no other site is it found in such concentration or profusion” (511). It’s not just petroglyphs that draw people here, but also a spiritual connection to the Earth, and a strong connection with the past.
The implementation of the NAGPRA has provoked a ranging conflict in interest between two groups, the scientists on one hand and the Native American tribes on the other. As expressed by Burt, scientists have held that the skeletal remains are a source of information that helps in relating the early and the new world (304). They argue that understanding the human evolution is beneficial to the modern communities as they are able to appreciate their history and origin. Conversely, the Native American tribes are of the views that preserving human remains prevents their spirits from resting. Unrest of the spirits may bring misfortune on the current and future generations. In terms of learning their history, the Native Americans bel...
One of the first exhibits visited was The Story of North Carolina: An Indian House that covered the history of the American Indians. It was learned that almost 400 years ago the English settled on Roanoke Island and found many Native American living on the coast. These Native Americans spoke three language groups, the Siouan, Iroquoian, and Algonquian. The Indians did not have a writing system, so many of their stories were told on oral traditions. The museum displayed the home of typical American Indian Piedmont Siouan tepee. We got to go inside this home, and watch a short video about the history of the Indians founded in North Carolina. There were artifacts on the farming tools use by the ...
This article focuses mainly on the emergence of the first people in America: Who they are, where they came from and how they got to America. He discussed three main routes as to how they arrived in America, none of which were without criticism. In trying to determine who the first people in America are, Hadingham began with the Clovis points and their creators, the Clovis people, who lived about 12,500 to 13,500 years ago, and tried to trace their origin. According to the article, a Gault site was first investigated in 1929 and the Clovis people who inhabited the Gault seem to have stayed there for long periods. Also from this site, the Clovis people seem to have preyed on mammoths, deer, turkeys, horses, frogs, birds, turtles and other small animals.
expansion on the native Americans of the Great Plains in the mid-19th century." History today. no. 4 (2006): 42.
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act established Indian nations as the owners of Native American cultural objects, including human remains, which were found on Federal land. It requires that the American Indians provide substantial amounts of information to validate their claims. However, only federally recognized tribes are recognized under this act, so if you are an unrecognized tribe good luck claiming anything that belongs to you. After this, the existing anthropological literature will be consulted. In some instances, Indians will disagree with the literature and take steps to correct it. Indians are also likely to provide additional information that had not yet been documented. The interpretations will be written from the perspective of the claiming tribe, how they view the world, and their perception of significance of objects in religious ceremonial rites. While some might raise the question of scientific objectivity, no one will deny that this perspective had often been lacking in the literature. These interpretations are bound to bring about new insights which will challenge earlier assumptions (5).
Archeologists credits advancements of women’s rights to western ideologies, but the western concept is not the status quo, there are better examples. When discussing these recent advancements with more liberated Native American women, what we thought as progressive to “civilized” western women amused the women in “need” of western liberation (McClure 2007). In feminist ethnography going out to do research with the state of mind that America’s reality is better than the rest of the world when it comes to treatment of women is not true. America is a mere representation of liberated women. Archaeologists should step back and listen to what the people they are studying have to say.