Effigy Mounds National Monument

Effigy Mounds National Monument was established to preserve an important and representative collection of a notable type of prehistoric American construction--earth mounds in the form of effigies. Within the monument's borders are nearly 200 known prehistoric mounds, 29 in the form of bear and bird effigies and the remainder conical or linear-shaped. While the monument has the potential for providing information standing prehistory, little actual research has been conducted within its boundaries. Its significance lies principally in its representative collection of mound forms, highlighted principally by the effigies. The famous Marching Bear Group is the most striking ensemble, although some individual mounds are of truly monumental scale. The Great Bear Mound is 70 feet across the shoulders and forelegs, 137 feet long, and 3 feet high. While the mounds are important today for their visibility and the impressive artistry they represent, the intentions of their builders are open to speculation.

The monument has yielded isolated artifacts dating from Paleo-Indian times prior to 2500 B.C. and includes representations of all native periods thereafter. The oldest mounds in the monument are associated with the Red Ocher Culture, one burial mound dated to 2500 B.C. Other mounds are contemporary with the Hopewell Culture of ca. 100 B.C. to 600 A.D. and materials retrieved demonstrate some affinity with that culture, including pottery and projectile points. Thereafter, the area was occupied by the cultures that built the effigy mounds. While effigy mounds occur over a wide area of the upper Mississippi River system, those here are distinctively representational and possess great individual and group integrity. The culture that produced them apparently gave way before the Oneota Culture during about the 14th century, and no further mounds were built here. The Oneota people appear to have drawn their influences from areas farther south, as indicated by their pottery, economics, and evidence of their religion. Their occupation was based in large agricultural villages. They removed themselves from the area by the advent of the white man.

While whites were present in the area from the late 17th century, the mounds were first described by Theodore H. Lewis and Alfred J. Hill in 1881. Thereafter, they were subjected to the pressures of logging and development. The monument's gathering of mounds presents an unparalleled opportunity for public viewing, however, from early in the 20th century, the people of Iowa began pushing for their protection. The national monument was established on August 10, 1949, and subsequently enlarged in 1951 and 1961.

While the numerous mounds in the monument are in various stages of preservation, they retain the integrity of form that is notably rare in other areas where prehistoric earthworks have fallen victim to white development. The effigies in particular are striking, and their visibility has been enhanced by careful management of vegetation. They exist as a unique expression of prehistoric artistry, their purpose not wholly known today, and depend for their integrity on their continued preservation and freedom from intrusions. Accordingly, the area is most susceptible to adversities from actions that physically disturb the mounds, alter their appearance, or introduce elements inconsistent with these remnants of native artistry.