Indian Temple Mound Essay Research Paper Dr

Indian Temple Mound Essay, Research Paper

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.