Indian Temple Mound Essay Research Paper Dr
Indian Temple Mound Essay, Research Paper
Indian Temple Mound Essay Research Paper Dr Essay Example
Dr. Julia Sublette
ARH2050
January 23, 2001
Indian Temple Mound
In the bosom of business district Fort Walton Beach, Florida lies a brilliant hill of Earth
created by prehistoric Native Americans as a political and spiritual centre. Built about 1,400
Ad, this construction of Earth is known today as The Indian Temple Mound. This temple hill
represents one of the most outstanding artefacts left by the early dwellers of the country. Not merely
is it thought to be the largest hill located on seawater, but besides it could perchance be one of the
largest prehistoric earthworks on the Gulf Coast. Many events that took topographic point so long ago in the
yesteryear have been discovered due to the objects found in this hill. In 1961, The Indian Temple
Mound Museum was built. This museum was the first municipally owned museum in the State
of Florida. Today the museum has a two-dollar charge to come in, yet it has become one of taking
recreational factors in which draws people from around the universe to the country of Fort Walton
Beach, Florida. The museum houses interpretive exhibits picturing 10,000 old ages of Native
American business. Over 6,000 artefacts of bone, rock, clay, and shell are found within this
museum, every bit good as the largest aggregation of Fort Walton Period ceramics in the Southeastern
United States. Although every artifact nowadays in The Indian Temple Mound Museum offers
clear grounds of cultural edification and artistic accomplishment, the more interesting artefacts I
encountered were the Ware Human Effigy Urn, the Buck Burial Mound Urn, and the Pump Drill.
In 1971, the Ware household found pieces of a clay vas at a little hill, perchance a
domiciliary or a house hill, about four stat mis west of The Indian Temple Mound Museum.
The pieces were made of light brown to tan coloured clay, coiled into a unsmooth form with characteristics
molded on the exterior. When the clay fragments were carefully placed together, an Effigy
( made to look like ) of a human male was formed. Although it is unknown, the figure was
likely made to resemble a specific single. Like a portrayal, this figure shows inside informations of
vesture and ornament. The hair is worn pulled back and a cosmetic set resembling a Crown
surrounds the caput. The eyes are closed, proposing a adult male already dead. The ears contain a set
of cosmetic earrings that dangle. The organic structure is bare, but watchbands can be seen on the carpuss and
a lip decoration is worn in the perforated underside lip. The usage of this bowl is still unknown today. It
would look to hold been a jar for keeping liquid in a ritual state of affairs, yet the dorsum has two
perforated holes as if the figure was made to be suspended. Possibly it was secured to a support for
show. Possibly one twenty-four hours in the hereafter, the enigma usage of this point will be revealed.
The Buck Burial Mound Urn is one of the more alone
artefacts made by the Prehistoric
Peoples. Found at a graveyard hill of the Woodland Time Period, this urn is thought to hold
held the cremated remains of an of import person. The urn is colored in black, white, and
red- colourss of the Earth and sacred to the Prehistoric People who made this vas. Unlike many
other vass, this was made from clay utilizing two methods. The organic structure was created utilizing spirals of
clay placed atop one another. The legs were made of slabs molded from the outside go forthing the
centre of the legs square. The caput has a topknot hairdo and ears which are pierced. The face
is blackened to resemble a ritual mask, while the organic structure is covered by a ruddy and white design
which is thought to resemble a feathery ness. The figure has clearly human custodies and pess, but
it besides has two projections much like stumps. These are thought to stand for a two legged stool.
The colouring and manner suggest a cultural contact with Central or South America, but this artefact
is most closely related to the Mississippi River Valley parts.
An ancient ready to hand tool used for cutting holes into wood, rock, bone, leather, shell,
and clay is called the pump drill. This drill is non an Indian innovation, nevertheless it was brought to
the Indians by the Spanish when they arrived in the New World. The pump drill is alone from
other drills in that it cuts with velocity, non force per unit area. The pump drill is made from merely three parts.
The first portion is a drill shaft. This is a stick on which a twine turns and is tipped with a drill spot.
The 2nd portion is a fly wheel. This provides impulse after each downward push. The last
portion is a bow. This changes perpendicular action into rotary action. One advantage of the pump drill
over other boring methods is that it could be operated with one manus. This allowed the other
manus to keep the stuff being drilled. Although the pump drill is an ancient ready to hand tool, it is
still used today for jewellery devising, boat edifice, and many other occupations. It is the lone method of
boring available in topographic points where electricity is non common or dependable.
Visiting the Indian Temple Mound Museum was genuinely a great experience. Each exhibit
displayed artefacts which reflected the technological, religious, and artistic accomplishments of the
Native Indians. The Indian Temple Mound Museum non merely educated me on the Prehistoric
Peoples, but besides created an consciousness of a clip that has gone by. The Ware Human Effigy Urn,
the Buck Burial Mound Urn, and the Pump Drill are merely three of over 10,000 artefacts on
show at the museum, most of which were found within a 40-mile radius of the hill. This
museum houses one of the finest aggregations of Southeastern Ceremonial art made by prehistoric
people. I would urge others to see The Indian Temple Mound Museum. Because of its
aggregation, it can talk about people who can no longer talk for themselves.