Panther Intaglio Effigy Mound

Last updated
Panther Intaglio Effigy Mound
Panther Intaglio at Fort Atkinson Laphams map.jpg
Lapham's sketch of the mound from 1850
Location1236 Riverside Dr.
Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
Coordinates 42°55′31″N88°51′16″W / 42.9252°N 88.8545°W / 42.9252; -88.8545 Coordinates: 42°55′31″N88°51′16″W / 42.9252°N 88.8545°W / 42.9252; -88.8545
NRHP reference No. 70000035
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1970

The Panther Intaglio Effigy Mound is a ground depression in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. The effigy is a reverse mound: a depression in the shape of a panther or water spirit scooped out by prehistoric Native Americans. In the mid-1800s ten of these reverse effigy mounds were found in Wisconsin, but all except this one have been destroyed. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. [1]

The vast majority of effigy mounds are mounds, where people piled soil a few feet above the natural surface of the ground to form the shape of some animal or geometric object. In contrast, an intaglio "mound" is a hole dug in the shape of the object.

The Panther Intaglio in Fort Atkinson is a cavity 125 feet long and two feet deep on the north side of the Rock River. [2] The shape of the hole has been described as a lizard, a panther, and a water spirit. Whatever was intended, the shape is commonly found among the raised mounds of the upper Midwest. The hole at Fort Atkinson is also known to be man-made because it once lay in a group of over a dozen raised mounds, including some conical mounds, a bird, a bear, [3] a dumb-bell shape, and some linear mounds. [4] All these others are now gone, lost to farms and homebuilding, leaving only the panther intaglio in a small city park. [2]

Lapham's map of the mounds around the Panther Intaglio as they stood in 1850. The Panther Intaglio is the one labeled "The Excavation." Riverside Mounds Fort Atkinson.jpg
Lapham's map of the mounds around the Panther Intaglio as they stood in 1850. The Panther Intaglio is the one labeled "The Excavation."
The mound in 2020 Panther Intaglio Effigy Mound, Fort Atkinson, WI.jpg
The mound in 2020

Effigy mounds were built in Wisconsin from 700 to 1200 A.D., [2] [6] so the panther effigy was dug in that interval. The site was discovered in 1850 by Increase A. Lapham. Of the hundreds of effigy mounds he surveyed in southern Wisconsin, only eight others were intaglios:

Lapham termed the shape a "lizard" as a convenience, acknowledging that he didn't know what it was intended to represent. [7] Later archaeologists called them panthers and water spirits. Some speculate that water spirits constituted many of the intaglio mounds because water spirits are associated with the lowerworld, more like a depression in the ground than a mound above. [4]

Lapham's detailed sketch shows ridges around the head and body of the animal - probably soil removed from the hole. Antiquarian Stephen Peet felt that the tail of the lizard/panther led up to the large conical mound nearby, and he asserted that an intaglio was always connected with a conical mound, with the conical mound used as a lookout and the depression a hiding place for hunters. [8] [4]

Only two other intaglio mounds have been found in Wisconsin, two bear-shaped intaglios found near Baraboo in the mid-1800s. [9] By 1893 all the intaglios except the one at Fort Atkinson had been destroyed. By 1910 that last remaining intaglio was in some danger, so the Daughters of the American Revolution, working with ex-governor Hoard and others, managed to buy it and preserve it in a small park. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

In North American archaeology, intaglio is a term from art applied to burial mounds that refers to a design cut into a hard surface. In this case, the burial mounds have designs cut into the ground, though intaglio broadly applies to burial mounds which are raised above the natural surface of the terrain. There are much more rare forms where they are left as indents below the natural terrain. These are typically in some effigy shape such as the Panther Intaglio Effigy Mound, which can be seen in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, where it is the last remaining intaglio mound in the state.

Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin City in Wisconsin, United States

Fort Atkinson is a city in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States. It is on the Rock River, a few miles upstream from Lake Koshkonong. The population was 12,368 at the 2010 census.

Farmington, Washington County, Wisconsin Town in Wisconsin, United States

Farmington is a town in Washington County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,239 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated communities of Boltonville, Cheeseville, Fillmore, and Orchard Grove are located in the town. The unincorporated community of Saint Michaels is also located partially in the town.

Aztalan State Park United States historic place

Aztalan State Park is a Wisconsin state park in the Town of Aztalan, Jefferson County, at latitude N 43° 4′ and longitude W 88° 52′. Established in 1952, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. The park covers 172 acres along the Crawfish River.

Increase A. Lapham

Increase Allen Lapham was an author, scientist, and naturalist.

Serpent Mound Prehistoric effigy mound in Ohio, United States

The Great Serpent Mound is a 1,348-foot-long (411 m), three-foot-high prehistoric effigy mound on a plateau of the Serpent Mound crater along Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio. Maintained within a park by Ohio History Connection, it has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of Interior. The Serpent Mound of Ohio was first reported from surveys by Ephraim Squire and Edwin Davis in their historic volume Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, published in 1848 by the newly founded Smithsonian Museum. The Serpent Mound is the largest serpent effigy in the world.

Lizard Mound County Park United States historic place

Lizard Mound County Park is a county-operated park in the Town of Farmington, Washington County, Wisconsin near the city of West Bend. Established in 1950, it was acquired by Washington County from the state of Wisconsin in 1986. It contains a significant well-preserved effigy mound group.

Kolomoki Mounds archaeological site in Georgia, US

The Kolomoki Mounds is one of the largest and earliest Woodland period earthwork mound complexes in the Southeastern United States and is the largest in Georgia. Constructed from 350CE to 600CE, the mound complex is located in southwest Georgia, in present-day Early County near the Chattahoochee River.

Effigy mound Raised pile of earth built in the shape of a stylized animal, symbol, human, or other figure and generally containing one or more human burials

An effigy mound is a raised pile of earth built in the shape of a stylized animal, symbol, religious figure, human, or other figure. Effigy mounds were primarily built during the Late Woodland Period.

Fort Walton Mound United States historic place

The Fort Walton Mound (8OK6) is an archaeological site located in present-day Fort Walton Beach, Florida, United States. The large platform mound was built about 850 CE by the Pensacola culture, a local form of the Mississippian culture. Because of its significance, the mound was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.

Earthworks (archaeology) General term to describe artificial changes in land level in history and pre-history

In archaeology, earthworks are artificial changes in land level, typically made from piles of artificially placed or sculpted rocks and soil. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features, or they can show features beneath the surface.

Alligator Effigy Mound Effigy mound in Granville, Ohio, United States

The Alligator Effigy Mound is an effigy mound in Granville, Ohio, United States. The mound is believed to have been built between AD 800 and 1200 by people of the Fort Ancient culture. The mound was likely a ceremonial site, as it was not used for burials.

Rock Eagle United States historic place

Rock Eagle Effigy Mound is an archaeological site in Putnam County, Georgia, U.S. estimated to have been constructed c. 1000 BC to AD 1000. The earthwork was built up of thousands of pieces of quartzite laid in the mounded shape of a large bird. Although it is most often referred to as an eagle, scholars do not know exactly what type of bird the original builders intended to portray. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) because of its significance. The University of Georgia administers the site. It uses much of the adjoining land for a 4-H camp, with cottages and other buildings, and day and residential environmental education.

The George Deffenbaugh Mound is a Native American mound in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located northeast of Laurelville in Hocking County, the mound sits on a ridgeline; it is 6.5 feet (2.0 m) tall and approximately 50 feet (15 m) in diameter. It was first excavated at an unknown date prior to 1941; at this time, a hole was sunk from the mound's crest to its base, and a smaller hole was dug into its edge.

Mississippian culture pottery

Mississippian culture pottery is the ceramic tradition of the Mississippian culture found as artifacts in archaeological sites in the American Midwest and Southeast. It is often characterized by the adoption and use of riverine shell-tempering agents in the clay paste. Shell tempering is one of the hallmarks of Mississippian cultural practices. Analysis of local differences in materials, techniques, forms, and designs is a primary means for archaeologists to learn about the lifeways, religious practices, trade, and interaction among Mississippian peoples. The value of this pottery on the illegal antiquities market has led to extensive looting of sites.

Fort Center Archaeological site in Florida, US

Fort Center is an archaeological site in Glades County, Florida, United States, a few miles northwest of Lake Okeechobee. It was occupied for more than 2,000 years, from 450 BCE until about 1700 CE. The inhabitants of Fort Center may have been cultivating maize centuries before it appeared anywhere else in Florida.

Cahokia Woodhenge

The Cahokia Woodhenge was a series of large timber circles located roughly 850 metres (2,790 ft) to the west of Monks Mound at the Mississippian culture Cahokia archaeological site near Collinsville, Illinois. They are thought to have been constructed between 900 and 1100 CE; with each one being larger and having more posts than its predecessor. The site was discovered as part of salvage archaeology in the early 1960s interstate highway construction boom, and one of the circles was reconstructed in the 1980s. The circle has been used to investigate archaeoastronomy at Cahokia. Annual equinox and solstice sunrise observation events are held at the site.

Man Mound United States historic place

The Man Mound is a prehistoric humanoid earthwork located in Greenfield, Sauk County, Wisconsin, east of the city of Baraboo. Constructed during the Late Woodland period, the mound is the only surviving anthropomorphic effigy mound in North America. The mound depicts a horned humanoid figure and may have held religious or ceremonial significance to its builders. The mound was preserved as a county park in 1908, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2016.

Turkey River Mounds State Preserve

Turkey River Mounds State Preserve is a historic site located near the unincorporated community of Millville, Iowa, United States. The 62-acre (25 ha) preserve contains thirty-eight of forty-three Native American mounds located on a narrow Paleozoic Plateau at the confluence of the Mississippi and Turkey rivers. They vary in size and shape and are 1.3 feet (0.40 m) to 6 feet (1.8 m) in height. The conical mounds range from 20 feet (6.1 m) to over 100 feet (30 m) in diameter. The linear mounds vary from 80 feet (24 m) to 175 feet (53 m) in length. There is one effigy mound in the shape of a panther that is 98 feet (30 m) long and 40 feet (12 m) wide. There are also compound mounds in the preserve. The mounds were constructed during the Woodland period. They were used for burials and ceremonial places, and are now protected by law. The preserve is also home to a variety of trees, prairie grasses and flowers.

Stubbs Earthworks

The Stubbs Earthworks was a massive Ohio Hopewell culture archaeological site located in Morrow in Warren County, Ohio.

References

  1. "Panther Intaglio". Landmark Hunter.com. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
  2. 1 2 3 Birmingham, Robert A.; Leslie E. Eisenberg (2000). Indian Mounds of Wisconsin . Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. p.  203. ISBN   9780299168742.
  3. Khitsun, Andrew. "Panther Intaglio (Riverside Group)". Wisconsin Mounds. Retrieved 2018-02-04. Includes some nice photos.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Finney, Fred A. (January–December 2006). "The Theodore Hayes Lewis Articles". Wisconsin Archaeologist. 87 (1&2): 178–180.
  5. Lapham, Increase A. (June 1855). The Antiquities of Wisconsin. Washington D.C.: The Smithsonian Institution. p. 24. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  6. "Effigy Mounds National Monument Iowa". National Park Service. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  7. Lapham, p. 2.
  8. Peet, Stephen D. (1893). "Intaglio Effigies of Wisconsin - postscript". The American Antiquarian. 15 (3): 164–168.
  9. 1 2 Brown, Charles E. (Jan 1916). "The Intaglio Mounds of Wisconsin". The Wisconsin Archeologist. 9 (1). Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  10. Wheaton, Harriet; Brown, Charles E. (Nov 1920). "The Dedication of the Fort Atkinson Intaglio". The Wisconsin Archeologist. 19 (4): 197.

Further reading