This is the plateau at the top of the Madira Bickel Mound.
Who Are the Moundbuilders?
Over ten thousand years ago, people are believed to have crossed an ice bridge from Asia to North America. From as far back as 500 years ago to as recently as about 1200 years ago, many cultures of these Indians were involved in mound building. Unfortunately, due to some poor archaeology and racist frames of mind, credit for these works have been given to anyone but the Indians responsible. Possible builders have been suggested, ranging from Vikings to Europeans to Egyptians and even including God. A man named Reverend West claimed that the Bush Creek Valley in Ohio was the original site of Eden, claiming that the Serpent Mound located there was a symbol for the snake of evil. Luckily, the Indians had some help on their side. The first archaeological excavation conducted in North America was in 1784 and led by Thomas Jefferson himself. The curiosities he found led others to follow, including Cyrus Thomas in 1894. Thomas was responsible for an over 700 page report to the Bureau of American Ethnology that dispelled many of the myths surrounding the moundbuilders. Five of these are discussed in further detail in the section entitled, “What Does Archaeology Prove.” In the end, the myth that the Indians simply could not be responsible for the amazing earth works is proven to be wrong. The American Indians are the architects of all kinds of mounds.
