Nice Words For Baby Born

Mysterious Moundbuilder

Gisela Ermel

lecture maintained at the one-day meeting of the Research Society of Archaeology, Astronautics and SETI, Munich, October 2007

Before moving on to my real issue - the Moundbuilder - come to speak, I want to say a few words about the phenomenon of cultural leap. What is a cultural leap? According to the archaeologists something that should not even exist there. A people can not just leave out so a few stages and go on a much higher level. Unless it comes into contact with advanced culture purveyors.

Yet exactly this - the suddenly available know how in high-level of culture - there was in prehistoric North America, and indeed already from a time nearly four thousand years ago. To get straight to get to the point: the Moundbuilder as a common culture does not exist. This is very different cultures, especially had one thing in common: they built with earth.

roamed around 4000 years ago small groups of hunter-gatherers of the North American continent. There was a time of nomads, with no parent organization, a time of temporary mobile homes, the stone tools and spear points.

Poverty Point

But then something mysterious. Someone brought together hundreds of these primitive hunter-gatherers to a preplanned and laborious to have major project to carry out. What happened here now, the archaeologists call "cultural big bang": practically from one day to the other people built a structure have been as available to the high standing Knowlegde needs such as logistics, control and organization at a high level.

Artist's reconstruction of Poverty Point (Jon Gibson)

The central structure of Poverty Point - so that archaeological sites in Louisiana today named - was a semi-circular complex consisting of six ring walls with the center star-shaped outgoing transitions. At first, archaeologists were surprised that these programs were not created perfectly symmetrical, and early sketches of the site silently corrected the mass, to simulate a non-existent symmetry.

older drawing of Poverty Point

But the results of modern excavations and surveys clearly show that this structure was planned and everything is just right there where you wanted it.

Since the 1970s we know that the entire system of Poverty Point on the basis of a sophisticated geometrical and astronomical layouts designed was planned and built. One of the courses, which cuts through the walls ring out, for example, exactly - from the center of view - the point on the horizon, at which time the sun rose on the day of the winter solstice. Another pointed to the passage of the summer solstice. Two mounds were together on another solstice line, and three other Mounds of the plant formed a north-south line that ran right through the large mound. All this could be a coincidence.

Poverty Point fit is simply not the model of evolution that says that a culture is slow, stable and secure further developed, from simple to complex forms. The archaeologist Kidder once said: "According to conventional Doctrine, it is likely Poverty Point type at all! "

The purpose of this system is our completely unknown. A giant calendar? But why hunter-gatherers would have a precise calendar used?

While some brought dragged diligently basket to basket Earth to build the facility, there were other people in a number of workshops in how to produce on an assembly line of thousands upon thousands of items: jewelry, tools, weapons, stone pipes, and much more, as high-quality, stylized miniature pearls in animal form

. Beads of Poverty Point

puzzling the archaeologists found the objects looking like sinkers and the so-called Poverty Point Objects of clay, whose purpose you do not know to this day. There was even more distant outposts workshops, in which such items were also mass produced. The material was summoned to the part of up to 2,500 kilometers away, in order to be processed. Strangely enough, most of these artifacts were buried deliberately underground bulk depots. Everything was made in "unreasonable" amounts without the people of Poverty Point trade or export operation.

Just a mystery how it all began, it stopped too. The end was sudden and inexplicable to us. The plant was like the Field offices workshops simply abandoned and deserted. Was the project finished, completed the master plan? When everything built, later made all the artifacts and all deposits were buried, people went from there to henceforth again for centuries as a simple hunter-gatherers to roam the land.

And so it remained until the next Big Bang many hundreds of years later. Meanwhile, members of the so-called Adena culture now and then built a simple round burial mound, while in other places still attracted the hunters and gatherers of their ways. North America remained still on a stone age level.

The Hopewell culture

But then - about 2000 years ago - there was again an inexplicable cultural leap. Reassembled someone many people in order to have carried out a gigantic construction project. This time in and around the area of today's Ohio State. Where did all the necessary labor came, one can imagine, for the archaeological research has shown that at the time when this cultural leap took place, many of the Adena settlements were abandoned at once.

were built many Erdwerkstrukturen This time, consisting of walls, surrounded the large free inner surfaces, combined with mounds, roads and other structures. Everything was run according to a complicated, pre-planned layout. The individual Erdwerkanlagen anywhere in the rivers Ohio, Illinois and Mississippi were composed of various shapes and structures, all interconnected, zusammenghörigen each a whole.

sketch of Erdwerkanlage of High Bank Works, drawn by Squier and Davis 1848

The explanation for the importance of these forms came from a relatively new branch of research that Archaeoastronomy. The researcher Ray Hively made the discovery that the Octagon of Newark represented an accurate lunar calendar, matches well the time before 2000 years, indicating the points at the horizon of the so-called Great and Little Moon turning of the cycle lasted 18.6 years.

The Octagon of Newark: an accurate lunar calendar

The Archäoastronom Romain could add later that as the basis for the layout of the entire system was the line to the northernmost rising of the moon ran on the horizon - a point that reaches the moon just once every 18.6 years.

The astronomical orientation given by Newark

After understanding of the octagon from Newark, the researchers identified all places other astronomical and geometrical orientations. It is now known that all these facilities were built not only for a precise pre-planned layout, but that each plant were just part of a plan together, an invisible network of lines that the entire area of this culture that we now call Hopewell to a single coherent whole system combined. All this would be only from the air was clear. As have been here in Poverty Point has measured very accurately. Everything was placed with precise coordinates, were each and every Mound earth dam built on previously calculated exactly square. Everything was connected to everything.

For example, the distance from the square in Marietta to the center of the octagon in Newark corresponds exactly to the earth's circumference divided by 365, the number of days in a year. It's just unfortunate that so much data were lost because of the time were destroyed in the first white settlers more mounds and earthworks, obtained as we were.

But where had these stone age people the great knowledge of astronomy, geometry and engineering technology? Remarkable is the fact that the Hopewell inhabited these plants. The homes were still the simple, primitive dwellings as ever and were outside the enclosure. Why all the facilities were built, is completely unknown.

As if the worker had to do was not enough to build all of the complex installations, the other groups did it once again to produce items such as on an assembly line. And to an extent that some archaeologists believe that their production is the main purpose of the Hopewell culture was. And all to once again almost everything in deposits buried under ground or under mounds. There were also a few burials, which is taking home rich grave goods, but this was apparently only a marginal phenomenon. All these thousands of artful goods were not produced for its own use - but not as commercial objects.

Many of the Hopewell produced and then buried objects, we still do not know what they really represent. Since there are buttons, discs, plates, rods, rings, alleged sinkers (again!), Artificial noses with breathing tubes, metal antler-like objects, breast plates, and more of iron, copper, stone, mica, etc. from in depot-level balls pyrite , double copper rings, discs, combinations of rod and ring, circles, squares and half circles of copper and meteoric iron.

mica artifacts from the Turner Mounds

Many artifacts make a more technological impression that the jewelry. Archaeologists define this all too hastily away by the bank as ceremonial objects. There were workshops that were specialized in the production of goods for some material, such as an investment in the Paint Creek, camped alone more than 10,000 artifacts made of obsidian, mica, and more than 30,000 from more than 8,000 round disks made of flint stone in depots.

Artist's reconstruction of the flint wheel depots under a Hopewell Mound

provide for the archaeological deposits - also known as altars or sacrifice - one big puzzle dar. They existed in practically all Hopewell systems. The Hopewell seem to have tirelessly articles of mica, copper, meteoric iron, stone and other materials produced, brought into the plant and then buried carefully and systematically. Many artifacts have been artfully arranged before the burial, sometimes colorful mixtures of very different objects, as if we have here a representative cross-section of the craft arts want to show. But who? All of these deposits: were the stock? Hiding? A victim? For when and for whom?

stone disks from meteoric iron from a Hopewell Depot

copper artifacts from the Turner Mounds

Mysterious object made of copper, Turner Mounds

chlorite-ring of a Hopewell Depot

Man buries things really only two reasons: either want to hide something - or you want something safe for later or for someone store. But obviously the things that someone has not picked up. To all the speculation about altars and sacrifices I do not believe it. If the Hopewell, the so high astronomical facilities built and a combined master plan, had not these deposits have very practical reasons?

Two systems of Hopewell, whilst being out of line, but fit well in the big picture: the Great Serpent Mound and the Alligator Mound. At the Great Serpent Mound, we know now sure that he is not really a snake, but a complex astronomical calendar, the Alligator Mound is already suspected this, but needs to be verified yet.

The Alligator Mound

The Great Serpent Mound was created by the way just on the edge of a crater, the one about 250 million years to earth impacting final celestial bodies had caused, as we know only a few years. Was the selection of this site design or just a coincidence?

aerial view of the Great Serpent Mound

The astronomical alignments of the Great Serpent Mound

As was the case at Poverty Point, it was also the end of Hopewell Culture mysterious and abrupt. Why could hear this high culture simply to exist? Why no other facilities were built more? Why no other objects made of? Was a project completed? The Hopewell left simply the sites and jobs, and returned more or less back to their culture level at which they had held prior to the cultural leap. Stayed no master planner more of them who gave them orders? Were the bearer of culture after the completion of this major project went away, leaving people about yourself?

Effigy Mounds

But Kulturspringerei should go further. Again a few centuries later began a new and unique construction project, this time with the Center Wisconsin. Here, suddenly began to Stone Age nomads, how to build an assembly line pictures mound of earth, and this in a Order of tens of thousands of which has unfortunately survived until today only a fraction.

They built mounds in the shape of various animals in human form, but also linear, cross-shaped, round and combinations. In many cases, like the "Looks-like" method of the modern researchers have certainly led to misinterpretation.

Effigy Mounds, sketch of Squier and Davis 1848

Almost always these different mounds were arranged into groups. Once again basket was dragged to basket earth to - what to do? A large region in a recognizable only from a bird's eye view huge picture to turn? No one knows exactly why suddenly all these Effigy Mounds created, why were people gathered once again to have them run a labor-consuming and impractical actual construction project. It was not until very recently, archaeologists begin to sense that there seems to be even with the Effigy Mounds an astronomically-geometric background. In some early cases already have lunar and solar alignments are confirmed. But here, the research is still in its infancy.

One of the bears of the Marching Bear Group, Wisconsin: Modern High Tech unveils magnetic properties

The Effigy Mounds also pose another surprising secret. 1999 a team of five archaeologists Marching Bear Group of Mounds in Wisconsin with modern high tech. It turned out that the material from which the pictures hills were built, was strongly magnetic. No one had any idea what it all meant. To chance it could be, not the soil material was carefully selected and then been accumulated. You do not know yet whether this feature on many others - perhaps all? - Effigy Mounds is true as well. These pictures hills and linear structures, which are themselves out of the air is very difficult to see from the ground almost did not look, would certainly excellent for remote objects Sensing technology on board an aircraft or satellites.

One distinguishes the Effigy Mound Culture of Poverty Point and the Hopewell, this time there was no mass production of goods and not a creation of underground deposits - as far as we wissesn so far! But at one point there is a parallel: the culture stopped as abruptly as the previous one. Almost from one day to the other hills were no images created everything, and it went back as hunters and gatherers of the road.

The Mississippian culture

Before the first whites came to North America and sparked a very modern cultural leap, there was still once an unexplained Big Bang. In the area around the Mississippi and its tributaries were housed just over 1,000 years ago Stone Age farmers simple. But out of the blue also began her how to build on the drawing board designed mega-cities of earth, once again, after exactly vorgeplantem layout on astronomical and geometrical basis.

The size of these cities and the number of mounds and structures put anything before seen in the shadows. Once again, someone had numerous people versannelt for a major project and the former small settlements were abandoned almost all of them.
As in Poverty Point and the Hopewell also laid the representatives of the so-called Mississippian culture enigmatic material depots at. Pound here were beads, arrowheads and other buried.

And just as Poverty Point, the Hopewell and Effigy Mound culture also heard the Mississippian culture on us inexplicably to exist abruptly. Whether any of the Indian tribes that the first "White vorfanden then in this area, the successor to this culture is unclear. Never again were astronomical and geometrical Erdwerkanlagen or urban construction.

The most important question at this enigmatic culture revolves around their jumps unknown cause. In modern times there are examples of new religions that were formed after the contact of so-called primitives with them higher standing visitors such as the cargo cults of the South Seas. Such a thing is also available in North America. Towards the end of the Mississippian culture was established a new religion, called the Southern Cult. Archaeologists speculate about the reason for the beginning of this cult, because nothing was found, from which he could have developed. He was virtually out of nowhere in the final phase of the Mississippian culture.

is striking geometric designs often against the side of the so-called Birdman, the bird people. Time and time again these people were from humanoid figures, which represent a mixture of man and bird, usually equipped with wings, sometimes with bird-like head, the archaeologists also alternatively and vaguely interpreted as "long-nose god." What this should mean motive is unclear.

A few examples of "Birdmen" of the Mississippian culture

Decorated shell discs, both of Hopewell and the Mississippian culture show strange hybrid creatures and feathered serpents, is speculated wildly about their importance under the archeologists .

puzzling are the numerous figurines that show an abnormal elongated skull, like it exists anywhere on the planet in kind. Such figurines are of Poverty Point, the Hopewell and Mississippian culture. Sorry is me from this picture not yet available.

Striking parallels

remarkable is the fact that the Olmec began in Central America, figurines, monuments including produce, which are langschädligen these people, precisely from the aftermath of the sudden flood of cultural leap around 1200 BC . with the following geometric-astronomical scale sites, the mass production of objects, the creation of underground material deposits and the equally abrupt end to the culture. Also in Central America from the time were the cultural leap "Birdmen", "feathered serpents" strange hybrid creatures and Landschädler to main motifs in the performing arts.

There is a clear parallel. Around the same time as the Mississippian culture made over in the southwestern United States today the Anasazi Indians, an abrupt jump from the stone age farmers to high culture and began virtually from one day to the pre-planned with the construction of stone Great Houses and calendar systems. The gigantic construction project transformed almost the entire territory of present-day Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico in a network of invisible astronomical and geometrical lines, representing an overall master plan. Surprisingly, it seems, no archaeologist had the idea, even at the intersections of these invisible lines and those such as the Hopewell to dig.

The Anasazi began the mass production of goods which are then by all sides to the center, the Chaco Canyon, brought here and stored, if were not buried as in the Moundbuildern underground. The archaeologists say in this case by the "Black Hole" hypothesis. And this civilization ended as abruptly as that of the Moundbuilder cultures.

After the end of the Anasazi culture - and only then! - Formed a new religion, first as a display image on rock art and ceramics, then the time of the first white settlers fully trained with ceremonies, myths and rituals around the so-called Kachinas, to which even the modern Pueblo Indians (the regions around the former Anasazi inhabited area) to remember as heavenly teachers who came from somewhere to the people and then disappeared again sometime somewhere. The most important feature of these Kachinas: puzzling "headdress."

enigmatic head wear jewelry and the so-called Foxman of Poverty Point, figures of Hopewell, some of the humanoid Effigy Mounds and "horned creature" engraved on shells in the Mississippian culture.

Enter this presentation motives may be clues to the unknown cause of all the mysterious culture jumps, unknown to the master planner? I want to leave this question as in space, maybe they are indeed one or the other under them food for thought.

Gisela Ermel