Early Man in North America Kill a Mastodon. Were They Mound Builders?

 Early Man in North America Kill a Mastodon in Missouri

Several Native American historical accounts claim the mound builders in the Ohio Valley used the Mastodon as a beast of burden to construct the large earthworks in the Ohio Valley.

     Several accounts have appeared of discoveries tending to prove that primitive man in the United States was contemporaneous with the mastodon or mammoth. Three of these have attained a wide circulation. First in time as well as importance is that of Dr. Koch, of St. Louis. " In the year 1839, I discovered and disinterred in Gasconade County, Missouri, the bones of a Mastodon giganteus. The greater portion of the bones had been more or less burned by fire. The fire had extended, but a few feet beyond the space occupied by the animal and had been kindled by human agency with the design of killing the huge creature which had been found mired in the mud. The fore and hind legs of the animal were in perpendicular position in the clay with the toes attached to the feet. All the bones which had not been burned by the fire had kept their original position, standing upright, and apparently quite undisturbed in the clay, whereas those portions which had extended above the surface had been partially consumed. Mingled with the ashes and bones were many broken pieces of rock quarried from the river to be hurled at the animal. I found also among the ashes, bones, and rocks, several arrowheads, a stone spear-head, and some stone axes. The layer of ashes, etc., was covered by a stratum of alluvial deposits from eight to nine feet thick. [Koch afterward] found in Benton County several stone arrowheads, mingled with the bones of a nearly entire skeleton, mentioned above as the Missourian. Two arrowheads found with the bones were in a layer of vegetable mold, which was covered twenty feet in thickness with alternate layers of sand, clay and gravel. One of the arrowheads lay under the thigh bone of the skeleton, the bone actually resting in contact upon it. The layer of vegetable mold was some five or six feet thick, and the arrowhead and bones were found buried in it. Above this layer there were six undisturbed layers of clay, sand and gravel." 

10 Foot Nephilim Giants Discovered in Missouri 40 Feet Deep in the Ground

Marietta Daily Leader, (Marietta, Ohio) December 2, 1900

FIND BONES OF A GIANT RACE

Skeletons of Prehistoric Men, ten Feet Tall, Dug Up in Missouri

      The fossils of three human beings, evidently prehistoric giants were found near Montesano, Mo., the other day by C.H. Beehler, a farmer, at the depth of 40 feet. The size of the skulls indicates that the bodies must have been at least ten feet high, and the bones, resembling those of a human skeleton, seem to bear out this theory.

Beehler has quite a collection of fossils relics which he has found at various times in this vicinity, which is alive with them. He is confident that he has discovered the missing link and intends to submit his find to the professors of Washington University in St. Louis to see if they sustain his theory.

Babylonian Swastikas as Sun Symbols to the Missouri Sioux Hopewell

Babylonian Swastikas as Sun Symbols to the Missouri Sioux Hopewell

The Swastika as a sun symbol dates to the Bronze Age was introduced to the Sioux Hopewell by Eastern Mediterranean metal traders.  Note that the 5 holes represent another Bronze Age sun symbol of the Sun Cross.  

History of Dunklin County, Missouri 1896

     The mounds and other ancient earthworks constructed by these people are abundant in Southeastern Missouri. Some are quite large, but the greater part of them are small and inconspicuous.

     Along nearly all of the watercourses that are large enough to be navigated by a canoe, the mounds are almost invariably found, so that when one places himself in such position as to command the grandest river scenery he is almost sure to discover that he is standing upon one of these ancient tunnels, or in close proximity thereto. The human skeletons, with skulls differing from those of the Indians that are found in these mounds, are usually accompanied by pottery and various ornaments and utensils showing considerable mechanical skill.

Their axes were of stone, and their military works were such as a people would erect who had just passed to the pastoral state of society from that dependent alone from hunting and fishing. They were no doubt idolaters, and it has been conjectured that the sun was the object of their adoration. The mounds were generally built in a situation affording a view of the rising sun; when enclosed in walls their gateways were toward the east and finally, medals have been found representing the sun rays of light. Dunklin County is an especially rich field for archaeologists. Situated on the farm of C.V. Langdon, one mile south of Cotton Plant, is one of the largest mounds in the county, adjoining are smaller ones.

      In the north part, and, in fact, nearly all over the county at comparatively short distances, these mounds are very noticeable. Extra large-sized human bones, skulls, earthen pots, rude ornaments, and various implements have been exhumed from many of these mounds.

Remains of the Ancient Gayoso, Missouri Canal

Remains of the Ancient Gayoso, Missouri Canal

A straight depression with an acute bend to the Mississippi River is located to the east of Gayosa, Missouri.  The width of the depression is 50 feet wide as described in the following history. A canal of this width was constructed for commerce and not irrigation.

Illustrated History of Missouri, 1879

    “The pre-historic people of Missouri were not only great in populous towns, in their agriculture, in their huge piles of earth and embankments and buildings of stone, but they, too, were canal-builders. With surprising skill, they developed a system of internal navigation, so connecting the lakes and bayous of the southern interior of the State, that the products of the soil found a ready outlet in the great river. The remains of these artificial water-courses have been frequently alluded to by travelers who have seen them but never thoroughly explored. Dr. G. C. Swallow, while at the head of the Geological Survey, called attention to them, and described one which was " fifty feet wide and twelve feet deep." For the fullest description of this class of works, I am indebted to Geo. W. Carleton, Esq., of Gayoso ; who, in response to a note of inquiry, — in addition to many interesting facts concerning a great number of ancient structures in Pemiscot County, — kindly furnished the following account, which I give in his own words: "Besides our Mounds, we can boast of ancient canals. Col. John H. Walker informed me that before the earthquakes, these canals — we call them bayous now — showed very plainly their artificial origin. Since the country has become settled, the land cleared up, the embankments along those water courses have been considerably leveled down. One of these canals is just east of the town of Gayoso. It now connects the flats of Big Lake with the Mississippi river. Before the bank crumbled off, taking in Pemiscot bayou, it connected this bayou with the waters of Big Lake. 

Ancient Stone Buildings Diagrammed in Missouri and Franklin County, Indiana

Ancient Stone Buildings Diagrammed in Missouri and Franklin County, Indiana

Illustrated History of Missouri, 1879
    The stone edifices thus described seem to have been peculiar to Missouri alone, as I find no notices of existing similar works in any other locality, unless those described by Mr. Brown in his Western Gazetteer were such. Those were found near the town of Harrisonville, Franklin Co., in the State of Indiana. They were located on the neighboring hills, northeast of the town. The ruins of quite a number were observed, all of which, it is stated, were built of rough, unhewn stone. The walls were leveled nearly to the foundations, and covered with soil, brush and full-grown trees. Mr. Brown informs us that "after clearing away the earth, roots, and rubbish from one of them, he found it to have been anciently occupied as a dwelling. It was about twelve feet square. At one end of the building was a regular hearth, on which were yet the ashes and coals of the last fire its owners had ever-enjoyed, for around the hearth were the decayed skeletons of eight persons, of different ages, from a small child to the head of a family. Their feet were all pointing towards the hearth, which fact suggests the probability that they were murdered while asleep." The bottom lands in this region are said to have abounded in mounds similar to those described elsewhere, and containing human bones, implements of stone, and a superior article of glazed pottery. A skull taken from one of them was found pierced with a flint arrow which was still sticking in the wound, and was about six inches long. The stone dwellings described by Mr. Brown were evidently of inferior construction to those of Missouri. The authors of the latter showed no mean skill in architecture; while the rough and ruder walls of the Indiana structures, their diminutive size, along with the fact of the whole family lying together on the floor, would indicate a social condition but little removed from barbarism. Whether their builders belonged to the race of the mounds in the valleys near, is not certain, and the means of deciding the question are doubtless destroyed.

70 Miles of Ancient Canals are Described in Missouri

70 Miles of Ancient Canals are Described in Missouri

Illustrated History of Missouri, 1879
    The pre-historic people of Missouri were not only great in populous towns, in their agriculture, in their huge piles of earth and embankments and buildings of stone, but they, too, were canal-builders. With surprising skill they developed a system of internal navigation, so connecting the lakes and bayous of the southern interior of the State, that the products of the soil found a ready outlet to the great river. The remains of these artificial water-courses have been frequently alluded to by travelers who have seen them but never thoroughly explored. Dr. G. C. Swallow, while at the head of the Geological Survey, called attention to them, and described one which was " fifty feet wide and twelve feet deep." For the fullest description of this class of works, I am indebted to Geo. W. Carleton, Esq., of Gayoso ; who, in response to a note of enquiry, — in addition to many interesting facts concerning a great number of ancient structures in Pemiscot County, — kindly furnished the following account, which I give in his own words: "Besides our Mounds, we can boast of ancient canals. Col. John H. Walker informed me that before the earthquakes, these canals — we call them bayous now — showed very plainly their artificial origin. Since the country has become settled, the land cleared up, the embankments along those watercourses have been considerably leveled down. One of these canals is just east of the town of Gayoso. It now connects the flats of Big Lake with the Mississippi river. Before the bank crumbled off, taking in Pemiscot Bayou, it connected this bayou with the waters of Big Lake. Another stream, that Col. Walker contended was artificial, is what we now call Cypress Bend Bayou. He said that it was cut so as to connect the waters of Cushion Lake with a bayou running into Big Lake. Cushion Lake lies in the northern part of Pemiscot county. The canal was cut from the flats of the lake on the south side, about three miles into Big Lake Bayou. By this chain of canals, lakes, and bayous, these ancient mound-builders and canal-diggers could have an inland navigation from the Mississippi River at Gayoso, into and through Big Lake bayou and the canal into Cushion Lake, through Cushion Lake and a bayou into Collins Lake or the open bay, thence north through a lake and bayou some eight miles, where another canal tapped this watercourse and run east into the Mississippi river again, some five miles below the town of New Madrid. Col. Walker, in referring to these water-courses, spoke of them only as canals. They show even now a huge bank of earth, such as would be made by an excavation, on the side opposite to the river, so that in case of overflow the water from the river would not wash the excavated dirt back into the canal."  Although in the foregoing account the present depth and width are not given, from it and from the reports of others, there can be no doubt that the ancient inhabitants had constructed with a skill which would do no discredit to our own engineers, a system of connecting canals which must have been necessitated by an extended internal trade, and which required boats of respectable dimensions. The evidences of work of such magnitude as canals, widen the "broad chasm" which is to be spanned before we can link the Mound-builders to the North American Indians until it becomes an impassable gulf.

1 In reply to a subsequent note of inquiry as to the length of this water-course, including canal and bayou, Mr. Carlton estimates it to be about seventy miles.