On Effigy Mounds, and their Implications

There are a few crucial differences between the effigy mounds of america and the paintings found in the lascaux caves. The effigy mounds took an obvious community effort to create, something which may have been true of the paintings, though they seem more likely to be the collective personal works of various individuals. There is also a large difference in detail between the two- probably due in part to the vast scale on which the effigy mounds were created- but in general the mounds seem to be abstractions of the animals and humans they represent, whereas the paintings are fairly detailed.

The intentions behind these works is what I find most interesting. The cave paintings seem to me to be a way of reflecting nature, possibly a way of trying to understand it (or contribute to an understanding of it). The paintings also seem highly personal- artwork changes from section to section, and there is no evidence of community within the caves- though our knowledge of the caves at that time is very limited. In contrast, the effigy mounds, as is explained in the book, were probably created ritualistically, as a method of balancing and renewing nature- the late woodlanders believed they could affect the world through their creations. A more direct relationship with the spiritual world is also implied, as the mounds do not seem to have been constructed for human eyes only.

The importance of animals is a fairly common theme in religion historically. The egyptians had their animal-headed gods, and Hindus consider cows to be holy creatures which may not be harmed. Modern religious cultures in general, however, do not treat animals as sacred (and deities, similarly, have become increasingly human). We still use animals to name sports teams, but this is hardly reflective of any reverence for them, it is simply a convenient way of giving teams a way to identify themselves (the Miami Dolphins sounds much better than the blue-and-orange team, and animals give games a sense of living conflict).