Moundbuilders

Moundbuilders is a term traditionally used in North America to describe the prehistoric peoples who constructed large earthworks, mounds, and related earthen structures in the eastern half of the continent. The label is generic, covering several distinct cultures rather than a single group, and reflects 19th- and early-20th-century archaeological interpretations rather than modern understanding.

Prominent mound-building cultures include the Poverty Point culture (late Archaic, ca. 1700–1100 BCE) in what is now Louisiana; the Adena culture (ca. 1000 BCE–200 CE) in the Ohio River valley; the Hopewell tradition (ca. 200 BCE–500 CE) in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys; and the Mississippian culture (ca. 800–1500 CE) across the Southeast and Midwest, with Cahokia in Illinois serving as its largest urban center.

Mounds vary in form: conical burial mounds, effigy mounds shaped like animals, and large platform mounds that supported temples, council houses, or residences; extensive earthworks include geometric embankments, enclosing ditches, and large complexes such as the Newark Earthworks and other ceremonial sites.

Functions of mound-building sites included burial grounds, ceremonial centers, political and social hubs, and markers of territorial authority, as well as possible religious and astronomical purposes. The scale and organization of these societies indicate complex social networks and long-distance exchange.

Notable sites include Cahokia Mounds (the largest Mississippian city), Poverty Point, the Serpent Mound in Ohio, and the Newark Earthworks in Ohio. Modern archaeology treats mound-building as diverse cultural traditions rather than a monolithic “moundbuilder” culture, acknowledging decline before European contact and influence on later Indigenous communities.