Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley
Encyclopedia
E. G. Squier
Ephraim George Squier was an American archaeologist and newspaper editor.-Biography:He was born in Bethlehem, New York, the son of a minister of English heritage and his Palatine German wife. In early youth he worked on a farm, attended and taught school, studied engineering, and became interested...
and Edwin Hamilton Davis
Edwin Hamilton Davis
Edwin Hamilton Davis was an American archaeologist and physician who did pioneering investigations of the mound relics in the Mississippi Valley.-Medical career:...
is a landmark in American scientific research, the study of the prehistoric Mound builders of North America, and the early development of archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
as a scientific discipline. Published in 1848
1848 in archaeology
-Publications:* Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley by Ephraim George Squier and Edwin Hamilton Davis* First volume of Austen H. Layard's Nineveh and its Remains* Final volume of Lord Kingsborough's 9 volume Antiquities of Mexico...
, it was the first volume of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
's Contributions to Knowledge series, and the Institution's first publication. The book had 306 pages, 48 lithographed
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
maps and plates, and 207 wood engraving
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
s.
Davis and Squier
Edwin Davis was born in 1811 in Hillsboro, OhioHillsboro, Ohio
Hillsboro is a city in and the county seat of Highland County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,605 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hillsboro is located at ....
, just a few miles from Chillicothe
Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States.Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio and is located in southern Ohio along the Scioto River. The name comes from the Shawnee name Chalahgawtha, meaning "principal town", as it was a major settlement of...
and the many mounds and earthworks
Earthworks (archaeology)
In archaeology, earthwork is a general term to describe artificial changes in land level. Earthworks are often known colloquially as 'lumps and bumps'. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features or they can show features beneath the surface...
of the Scioto River
Scioto River
The Scioto River is a river in central and southern Ohio more than 231 miles in length. It rises in Auglaize County in west central Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets the Ohio River at Portsmouth...
valley. Seeing these features as a young man led to his deep curiosity about them. At the time, archaeology was not yet a viable career option. Davis explored the mounds while a student at Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...
and wrote a paper on the subject which he read at his commencement. Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
, an early member of the American Antiquarian Society
American Antiquarian Society
The American Antiquarian Society , located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and national research library of pre-twentieth century American History and culture. Its main building, known also as Antiquarian Hall, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark...
, heard the paper and encouraged Davis to continue his research. After graduating from medical college and establishing a practice in Chillicothe, Davis used his free time to continue his explorations. He collected artifacts he discovered in and around the mounds.
Ephraim Squier, ten years younger than Davis, was born in Bethlehem, New York
Bethlehem, New York
Bethlehem is a town in Albany County, New York, USA. The population was 33,656 at the 2010 census. The town is south of Albany. Bethlehem includes the following hamlets: Delmar, Elsmere, Slingerlands, Glenmont, Selkirk, South and North Bethlehem. U.S. Route 9W passes through the town...
in 1821. By the time he landed in Chillicothe in 1845 as the editor of the weekly Scioto Gazette newspaper, he had received training in civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
. Squier was intrigued by the numerous prehistoric monuments in the surrounding area. His questioning local residents about them failed to provide much insight. With his characteristic ambition, Squier decided to "take the compass and chain in one hand and the mattock and spade in the other" and begin his own research.
When the two encountered one another, they formed a collaboration based on Davis' knowledge of the Scioto Valley sites and growing collection of artifacts, combined with Squier's knowledge of surveying and writing. Their joint personal interests soon became a formal project.
Project scope
Ross County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 73,345 people, 27,136 households, and 19,185 families residing in the county. The population density was 106 people per square mile . There were 29,461 housing units at an average density of 43 per square mile...
in southern Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. This area includes Serpent Mound
Serpent Mound
The Great Serpent Mound is a -long, three-foot-high prehistoric effigy mound located on a plateau of the Serpent Mound crater along Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio. Maintained within a park by the Ohio Historical Society, it has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the United...
, Fort Ancient
Fort Ancient, Ohio
Fort Ancient is a collection of Native American earthworks located in Washington Township, Warren County, Ohio, along the eastern shore of the Little Miami River about seven miles southeast of Lebanon on State Route 350...
, Mound City and Seip Earthworks (both now part of Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, formerly known as Mound City Group National Monument, is a United States national historical park with earthworks and burial mounds from the Hopewell culture, indigenous peoples who flourished from about 200 BC to AD 500. The park is composed of five...
), and Newark Earthworks
Newark Earthworks
The Newark Earthworks in Newark and Heath, Ohio, consists of three sections of preserved earthworks: the Great Circle Earthworks, the Octagon Earthworks, and the Wright Earthworks. This complex contained the largest earthen enclosures in the world, being about 3,000 acres in extent. Today, the...
. All their Kentucky sites were taken from the manuscripts of the late C. S. Rafinesque. James McBride, John Locke and Charles Whittlesey
Charles Whittlesey (geologist)
Charles Whittlesey was a soldier, geologist and an investigator of mounds relics of the United States.-Biography:...
, among others, contributed additional first-hand reports, but the scope of Squier and Davis' own work was unprecedented.
A major part of Squier and Davis' achievement was their classification of sites according to apparent function, such as burial
Burial
Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
grounds, effigies, fortifications, and building foundations. They sometimes were limited by their own preconceptions about the cultures which they described. Their observation and descriptive skills often exceeded the quality of the records they made regarding excavation methods and recovery techniques. Their drawings, excavation cross-sections, and site layouts now provide the only record of numerous sites, as many features were destroyed within the following several decades by farming and expanding development. Despite their shortcomings, Squier and Davis' data helped preserve and restore some sites, particularly Mound City.
Contributions to knowledge
Ancient Monuments was edited by physicist Joseph HenryJoseph Henry
Joseph Henry was an American scientist who served as the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, as well as a founding member of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, a precursor of the Smithsonian Institution. During his lifetime, he was highly regarded...
, the first Secretary of the Smithsonian, who wanted a worthy initial volume for the Institution's Contributions to Knowledge series. Henry knew that the first book's reception would be important for both the Smithsonian and for American science. His choosing a book devoted to the mound builders
Mound builders
The group of cultures collectively called Mound Builders were prehistoric inhabitants of North America who constructed various styles of earthen mounds for religious and ceremonial, burial, and elite residential purposes...
was risky, as their origin, history and identity were then the subject of much debate and literature but little scientific investigation. In addition, the subject touched on issues of race, religion, and the still raw tensions between Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
and European-born settlers. Knowing that both anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and archaeology were relatively new fields of study, Henry sought to minimize Squier and Davis' speculation about the origins and purposes of the works they had surveyed and sketched. He instead emphasized the scientific presentation of their findings. Nevertheless, the work clearly communicates the view—commonly held at the time—that the earthworks had been created by a race separate from and superior to contemporary Native American populations. When the book was published, Squier and Davis' work immediately became a milestone in a still developing field. Established then as a primary source on the subject of the mound builders, it retains that position because of the breadth of its coverage.
Re-issue
A 150th anniversary paperback edition of Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley was published by the Smithsonian in 1998. The extensive introduction was written by David J. Meltzer, professor of AnthropologyAnthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
at Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
.