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Earthen mounds built by an ancient native American civilization about 5,400 years ago were discovered in Louisiana last fall. The mounds are believed to be about 2,000 years older than any other mounds found in North America.
The discovery is important because it challenges traditional thinking about early American cultures. "We generally had believed that mobile hunting and gathering people would not have the capability to plan and organize such construction," said Dr. Joe W. Saunders, a professor of Geosciences at Northeast Louisiana University, commenting on the 11 mounds and connected ridges that his team discovered.
The new discoveries show that early native Americans in what is now the United States developed independently from the cultures in Mexico and Central America. "It's a rare and wonderful case where one
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piece of research fundamentally changes our whole picture of early American life," said Dr. Vincas Steponaitis, an archaeologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The purpose of the mounds remains a mystery. No human remains or burial areas have been discovered in the mounds, and there is no evidence that they served a ceremonial function. "I know it sounds awfully Zen-like, but maybe building them was the purpose," observed Dr. Saunders.
- What was the purpose of the mounds? Answer
- How did the discovery change archaeologists' thinking about ancient Native American culture? Answer
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