Mound BuildersWb. 32 and 51

Woodland Indians

• Many of the Woodland Indians who lived in Tennessee were Mound Builders.

• Their name comes from the large piles of earth, called mounds they built in or near their settlements.

What were mounds used for?• Burial grounds• Location of temples• Location for homes

How were they built?• Workers would carry heavy baskets of dirt,

one at a time, to their building sites.• Each mound could take months or even

years to build.• Mounds range from 20’ (6m) to 300’ (91m)

wide.

Dimensions• Some mounds were built in rectangular or circular

shapes.• Others had four straight sides that sloped up to a flat

top.• Some mounds were as tall as 72’ which is the same as

a seven-story building.

Mississippian Indians

• The Mississippi Mound Builders were the last group of Mound Builders to settle in Tennessee. (1600s)

• They were one of the greatest mound-building societies in Tennessee.

• They made their homes along the MS River.

• Some of the mounds they built were almost as large as a football field.

Let’s Review

• Nomads - Moved from place to place

• Woodland Indians - Built villages in Middle Tennessee

• Native Americans - First people to live in Tennessee

• Mound Builders - Built mounds of earth

• Mississippian Indians - The last of the Mound Builders