Monday, September 2 - We did some hiking today at the 252 acres Mounds State Park.
The Mounds contains some of the finest examples of earthwork and mound buildings in Indiana. The Park features Native American heritage, and 10 ceremonial mounds built by the prehistoric Adena culture around 160 BC and also used centuries later by Hopewell culture inhabitants.
The ten mounds within the park were used primarily for ceremony, celebration and observation of solstices, equinoxes and stellar events.
The Great Mound is a circular earth enclosure with an internal ditch. The earthworks measure 394 feet across from bank to bank. The 9-foot-tall embankment is 63 feet wide at its base, and the ditch is 10.5 feet deep and 60 feet across at its top. The central platform is 138 feet across and was occupied by a 4-foot-high central mound 30 feet in diameter.
Embankment and ditch.
Entering the central platform.
What it might have looked like back in 160 BC.
Not quite as distinct as the Great mound is the Fiddleback mound.
No evidence has been found for homes of the Adena-Hopewill people in Mounds State Park. It is believed that people probably came to the site for short periods of time several times a year. They probably lived in the surrounding river valleys. No one knows what their dwellings looked like.
The Bronnenberg family recognized their responsibility to preserve the mounds. They guarded the mounds against artifact hunters. As the result of their vigilance, the mounds remain among the best examples in the state.
Their beautiful home.
The Park has six trails that circle and connect the mounds. They range from a half mile to 2.5 miles in length. Most are rated easy to moderate in difficulty, although we would rank them all as easy. We walked three of the trails totally about three to four miles.
One trail runs besides the White River.
There was some steep areas.
Trail master
It was a very interesting day and enjoyable refresher for hikes in the near future in Utah.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!
Good tour, interesting place.
ReplyDeleteGlad you shared pictures of the mounds. There were some outside St. Charles, Missouri but we didn't get to see them. I was wondering what they looked like.
ReplyDeleteGood idea to start toning up for those Utah hikes:)
Wow...lots of leaves on the ground in your pictures...fall is near!
ReplyDeleteThanks, that's an Indiana park I haven't visited. Nice tour.
ReplyDeleteKind of like Fort Ancient in Ohio. I had not heard of that one in Indiana.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! Kudos to the Bronnenbergs who took responsibility for maintaining the mounds! From your heading, I thought you were in Idaho and couldn't figure out how you got there so fast! LOL Then I realized you're still in Indiana.
ReplyDeletesince we are not too sure where we will head from here I will check out that park... we are at Kankakee State Park in Ill. now which is another nice spot
ReplyDeleteI see some else saw the ID instead of IN in the title. Didn't notice it the first time I looked at it.
ReplyDeleteI sure wish I had known about these when we went through that area. Guess my research skills took a breather. Would love to check out those mounds.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely an interesting place. It's good that you're getting a little practice with some hiking before you start off on the long ones in Utah.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tour and pics. What an interesting place to visit.
ReplyDeleteI seem to recall hearing about ceremonial mounds up here in B.C. used by our First Nations peoples....interesting.
You are getting close to our back yard. If you can, be sure to avoid Indy! Big repairs made on the inner loop and all traffic being diverted to the 465 around the city. You can take IN 32 out of Anderson (west) to Lebanon, IN and then south on IN 39 to I 70.
ReplyDeleteI doubt I would rate any of the hikes easy--be grateful for your health.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog about Mounds State Park. Effigy Mounds in NE Iowa is a national monument and worth a visit.
ReplyDeleteIndiana is one of those states that is still white on our travel map.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you found a great place to stop along the way and get in a pretty hike in the woods. The mounds history was very interesting.
We are learning much about the midwest from the two of you. Safe travels!
ReplyDeleteHave added this to our list, thanks
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