Park Archives: Effigy Mounds National Monument

At first you see low rises on the landscape, but soon your eye picks out regular patterns in the hills. Trace the patterns, and those hills turn into familiar shapes—animals rising out of the ground in low relief. The effigies aren't nature's work—American Indians created them between 850 and 1,400 years ago. American Indians built mounds at various times and places across the Americas, but only in the upper Midwest did a culture regularly build mounds seemingly shaped like birds, turtles, lizards, bison, and, most commonly, bears.

Why were effigy mounds created? They are best viewed from above, so who or what was meant to see them? With no written records and few surviving tribal stories and traditions, the mounds' origin and meaning remain a mystery.

Effigy mounds have attracted the most attention but are not the area's oldest mounds, nor were their builders the first to live here. Humans have lived in eastern Iowa for over 10,000 years. Dome-shaped conical mounds began to be built about 2,500 years ago by people now known as Woodland Indians.

By 1,400 years ago, in the Late Woodland period, area Indians began to build effigy mounds from just west of the Upper Mississippi River to Lake Michigan's western shore. Locally this hunter-gatherer culture thrived on the rich resources of Mississippi waters, wetlands, and forests. From summer camps along the river they fished and gathered freshwater mussels, arrowhead roots, wild rice, acorns, fruits, and berries. White-tailed deer and elk were staple foods in winter when extended family groups lived in rock shelters in the local river valleys.

Earthen effigy mounds began to appear 1,400 years ago, and were possibly religious sites or clan symbols used in seasonal ceremonies. Some show evidence of fire, probably ceremonial, in the mound's head, heart, or flank. Some tribal stories hold that the bear is the guardian of Earth and the bird the guardian of the sky. Perhaps the mounds were a means of connecting the people to the land and their spirit world and ancestors.

Around 850 years ago, the building of effigy mounds ceased. Archeological evidence suggests a major cultural transition: the people started to live in larger permanent villages, making new forms of pottery, and most significantly depending far more on agriculture than on hunting and gathering. Archeologists call the prehistoric people who took up this new way of life the Oneota Culture. It is believed that they are the ancestors of historic tribes in the effigy mounds region.

European explorers began arriving in the late 1600s. The fur trade among the Indians, French, British, and later Americans continued into the mid-1800s. The region saw a big influx of American settlers starting in the 1840s. Land with mounds was logged, plowed, and turned into farmland. In the early 1700s many held that technologically advanced cultures from the Middle East, China, or Europe had built the mounds, but Smithsonian Institution research in the 1880s showed that the moundbuilders were prehistoric American Indians.

Surveys of northeastern Iowa in the 1800s and early 1900s documented the presence of over 10,000 mounds of all types. But within 100 years, fewer than 1,000 survived, and several people mounted efforts to preserve some of the remaining mounds. Effigy Mounds National Monument was established in 1949. Today, as you walk along the bluffs and around the mounds, be respectful of the ancient people whose relationship with nature inspired these creations.

Stone was abraded to make a celt or adze and a hammerhead. Chert was fashioned into spear points and arrowheads. Clay from riverbanks was used for pottery. Exotic materiais came from trade: the breastplate was made from copper mined on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Effigy Mounds National Monument holds 206 known prehistoric mounds, 31 in the form of animal effigies. Others are conical, linear, or compound.

Conical mounds, round domes of earth, are the oldest and most numerous mounds in this area, dating back 2,500 years. They are 2 to 8 feet high and 10 to 20 feet in diameter.

Similar mounds can be found throughout the eastern United States, but especially in the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys. Ancient peoples in this region buried their dead in conical mounds. The oldest have traces of red ocher (iron oxide) used in burials.

Linear mounds, built between 1,700 and 1,300 years ago, were 2 to 4 feet high, 6 to 8 feet across, and could be 100 feet long.

Compound mounds are conical mounds joined by linear mounds. They may mark a transition phase from conical to linear styles. Groups of these mounds usually will have three or four linked conical mounds. The largest group in this park has seven conicals and extends 480 feet. Linear and compound mounds are found only in the Effigy Mounds region.

This upper Mississippi region is famous for its effigy mounds. The Effigy Mounds culture lived in northeastern Iowa, southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois, and southeastern Minnesota.

They created many different shapes, but here the bird and bear mounds predominate. A typical effigy is 2 to 4 feet high, 40 feet wide, and 80 feet long. Wingspans of 124 and 212 feet are found on two bird mounds here in the park.

Stop first at the visitor center, open daily except for certain public holidays. For hours and days of operation, call the monument or check the website.

There are picnic areas along Iowa 76 south of the visitor center but no picnic tables in the park. Nearby towns offer lodging and restaurants.

Plants and animals of Effigy Mounds are typical of the upper Mississippi River valley. The park's main section has two units separated by the Yellow River. Both units are best explored by trails.

North Unit North of the visitor center a two-mile walk on the Fire Point Trail goes past Little Bear Mound (outlined with pebbles) and conical and compound mounds, with good river views. South of the visitor center the one-mile Yellow River Bridge. Boardwalk Trail (wheelchair-accessible) lets you explore a wetland environment. Rangers conduct programs from mid-June through Labor Day. A longer, self-guiding walk follows the Hanging Rock Trail past the Great Bear Mound, tallgrass prairie, and river overlooks. Educational tours may be arranged in advance during the school year.

South Unit The trail system in the south unit leads through hardwood forest and restored tallgrass prairie. Destinations include Marching Bear Group (10 bear and three bird mounds), Compound Mound Group, Founders Pond Overlook, and Nezekaw Point Overlook. A parking lot is 0.5 mile south of the visitor center at the day-use area.

Sny Magill Unit The monument's largest mound group is 12 miles south of the visitor center and other park areas. Please contact or inquire at the visitor center for information and directions to this remote unit.

For a Safe Visit All archeological and natural objects in the park are protected by law. Vandalism, looting, digging, or altering the mounds or features is prohibited. • Watch for poison ivy, mosquitoes, and deer ticks. • Pets must be restrained by leash at all times. • Stay on trails.

Accessibility We strive to make our facilities, services, and programs accessible to all. For information go to our visitor center, ask a ranger, call, or check our website.

Related Sites Other Woodlands-era mound sites are the Fish Farm Mounds, north of Lansing, Iowa; Pikes Peak State Park in Iowa; and Wyalusing State Park in Wisconsin. There are also mound sites that are open to the public in St. Paul, Minn., and throughout southern Wisconsin.

The contents of brochures, site bulletins and trading cards (denoted with a colored caption) can be viewed by clicking on the cover. Most modern-day brochures, however, are cover only (denoted by a white caption) due to photograph copyrights. These items are historical in scope and are intended for educational purposes only; they are not meant as an aid for travel planning. The dates under each brochure do not reflect the complete range of years that a particular brochure was issued.

1950		1956		1957
Date Unknown	cover only 1965	1973	cover only 1983	1988	1990
1991	cover only 1993
1995-1997		cover only 2001		cover only 2003-2005
2007-2009		cover only 2012-2021

Animal Resources Used by Prehistoric Peoples of the Upper Mississippi 2006		The Atlatl 2006		Mound and Burial Styles of the Woodland Era 2006
The New Albin Tablet 2006		Prairies and Savannas 2006		Prehistoric Resources 2006
2009	Bird List Date Unknown	Fire Point Trail Guide 2006		Yellow River Bridge Trail 2006
Calendar of Events May-December 2008		60th Anniversary Program of Events October 25, 2009
Trading Cards
(©Jefferson National Parks Association)

Cultural Affiliation Report, Effigy Mounds National Monument: Volume I Office of the State Archaeologist anad American Indian and Native Studies Program Research Papers Volume 26 Number 3 (William Green, Larry J. Zimmerman, Robin M. Lillie, Dawn Makes Strong Move and Dawn Sly-Terpstra, 2001)

Effigy Mounds National Monument (Wilfred D. Logan and J. Earl Ingmanson, extract from The Palimpsest, Vol. 42 No. 4, April 1961, ©The State Historical Society of Iowa)

The following visual bibliography is just a sampling of the handbooks and books which have been published for this park. NPSHistory.com does not endorse these, but are merely presenting them for informational purposes only. As most are copyrighted, we are only able to provide the covers, and not contents, of these publications.

cover only

A Guide to Effigy Mounds National Monument
Dennis Lenendorf
2000

cover only

Spirits of Earth: The Effigy Mound Landscape of Madison and the Four Lakes
Robert A. Birmingham
2009