An Effigy Mound is an animal shaped earthen mound built by people of the Late Woodland Period which lasted from 300 BC until 400 AD. The word "effigy" is from the Greek word epygious (F-fee-gee-ous) which means "in the shape of"'. Effigy Mounds are often about 3 feet high, and some are several hundred feet long. Construction probably involved most members of a society, who worked together during spring or early summer (after the ground thawed). The group would have dug and scraped earth from prairie settings, carrying the soil a short distance to the mound in baskets. The basket-loads of earth were piled into the shape of the mound. No one knows the exact reason why mounds were built. Educated guesses made by archeologists are that effigy mounds may have been clan symbols, territorial markers, monuments to animal spirits, and religious sites. Effigy mounds would also be used as burial sites. Effigy mounds are most commonly seen in the shapes of bears, birds, bison, turtles, panthers, and lizards. Effigy mounds are found in southern Wisconsin and parts of adjacent states.
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