ABSTRACT
As Europeans settlers began to enter the regions west of the Appalachian Mountains, they encountered large, sophisticated, and complex earthworks (Fig. 1.1) in the form of pyramids, conical mounds, and linear mounds, some in geometric forms and others as representations of animals. Some of these mound complexes looked to Europeans like defensive constructs and were called “forts.” Early investigations of the mounds revealed some details of their complicated construction, and many contained elaborate burials and exotic materials. It was realized that the construction of the mounds would have required a huge investment in labor, but it was thought that were too few Indians currently living in those regions to have built them. So, who had built these mounds? How could this have been done? What happened to the people who built them? The mystery of the “Moundbuilders” generated considerable public interest and was the subject of a great deal of speculation (see Silverberg 1968; Tooker 1978; Willey and Sabloff 1993:22–28, 39–45).
