Between 3000 bc and the 16th century native americans built thousands of mounds of all shapes and sizes and for a multitude of reasons in the eastern woodlands. One of these cahokia by the mississippi is the largest prehistoric site in the united states. Between 3000 bc and the 16th century native americans built thousands of mounds of all shapes and sizes and for a multitude of reasons in the eastern woodlands. One of these cahokia by the mississippi is the largest prehistoric site in the united states. This interesting well-illustrated study looks back over a century of fascination with these mounds many of which have now disappeared but have been preserved in old photographs. The focus however is on the cultures that built the mounds as burial mounds for thousands of bodies often sacrificial victims as platforms or as mounds of refuse built up over millennia such as the large mound of nothing but shell that was discovered in florida. Milner looks at how the changing environment and landscape affected populations as well as the movement towards sedentary life and the growth of villages. He also considers the many beautiful objects that have been found in the mounds from fragile shell carvings to copper animals. Throughout the study draws on recent archaeological evidence.
