Myths And Moundbuilders

3 Pages 708 Words

Myths and Mound builders

A comparison and contrast

Emy Duncan

Multicultural Issues





The video of “Myths and Moundbuilders” was very similar to the article “Three Worlds Meet”. They both talked about the Indians who were Mound builders, and of how much they learned about digging up these Mounds. They were both extremely similar, and had much information to share about these builders of our past.
Both items reviewed a stereotype from the English, and most of the explorers to the “new world”, towards the Indians. “Colonizing Europeans ….described the people they met in the Americas as “savage,” “heathen,” or “barbarian.” (Prettyman, 9) They felt that the Indians were uncivilized, especially compared to themselves. They felt that the mounds could not possibly have been built by these heathens due to the fact that they were so expansive and large. It took a good degree of thought and work that went into most of these enormous mounds. There was a myth that it was not the Indians who built the mounds, but a lost band of people, perhaps from the lost city of Atlantis, or from some other lost civilization.
Both communications also found that there were valuables inside of these mounds. They found pottery, tools, and even skulls and bodies. Also found is some of the mounds were ornately made pipes carved from the Indians. It is through these mounds that archeologists have found out so much about these Indians. It has been found that they are not savages at all, but a civilization that rivals many others. Through their artifacts we have found a key to their history. A key that leads us to a culture of social, extremely organized beings. It was also found that there is not one “tribe” that were mound builders, but a vast array of groups that practiced this art.
In the movie we found that mound served a great ceremonious symbol for the mounds builders. For the Monks Mound it was used as t...