Iowa, Allamakee County, Harper Ferry
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In 1766, English and French Canadian traders wintered near this site. They must have puzzled over these strange earthen shapes-or others even nearer their cabin. The traders could not have known that the humble grave markers were vestiges of a prehistoric mound-building culture which spread across most of eastern North America 1,000 years before Christ.
Discovery of larger mounds in Ohio in the late 1700’s led some historians to claim the “Mound Builders” were remnants of Old World tribes. Others insisted the builders were survivors of the fabled lost continent of Atlantis.
In 1766, English and French Canadian traders wintered near this site. They must have puzzled over these strange earthen shapes-or others even nearer their cabin. The traders could not have known that the humble grave markers were vestiges of a prehistoric mound-building culture which spread across most of eastern North America 1,000 years before Christ.
Discovery of larger mounds in Ohio in the late 1700’s led some historians to claim the “Mound Builders” were remnants of Old World tribes. Others insisted the builders were survivors of the fabled lost continent of Atlantis.
The argument continued until modern archeologists began unraveling the mystery of the mounds and their builders.
(Anthropology • Native Americans) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
