Architecture and the Environment

The Hopewell and Mississippian Mound Builders valued the sky, earth, and water and reflected this in their architecture. The Mound Builders built their mounds in specific geometric or zoomorphic patterns that aligned well with the landscape and the heavens. Their mounds and homes were near large waterways such as the Mississippi River, and the people had the knowledge and skill to create water drainage ditches.

Milky Way Galaxy

Constellation Scorpius

 

The Mound Builders also had an advanced understanding and interpretation of astronomy. The interpreted the constellation Scorpius as a winged serpent from the Underworld, and what we today know as Orion, the Mound Builders saw as an Open Hand, the gateway along the Path of Souls (the Milky Way) to the Heavens.

 

Architecture of the Earth Mounds

Water and Sky

The Ancient Mound Builders of North America