Mounds of Earth and Shell: Native Sites: The Southeast

by Bonnie Shemie

Book Overview

Much of what we know of life among the inhabitants of North America before the arrival of Europeans comes from mounds in the southeastern U.S. However, there is much debate among scholars about the findings. Excavations show sophisticated cities, large effigy mounds, centers of worship, and possibly, vast earthwork calendars. Objects found in the mounds and burial sites provide graphic information about how these ancient people lived.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0887763529
• ISBN13: 9780887763526
• Release Date: March 1995
• Publisher: Tundra Books (NY)
• Length: 24 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 8.0" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Rare Glimpse Into Ancient America

In teaching ancient history to elementary students, I found it so hard to get great books at their level in this subject area, especially for the Western hemisphere, and North America in particular. Additionally, our schools focus so much on the native American tribes we tend to ignore where they began. Shemie's book focuses on the earliest Americans of the eastern half of the country, their earthen structures, and their capital of Cahokia (near modern-day St. Louis). The text is written beautifully, with simpler text on one page followed by more detailed information, so it is great for a student (or class) and teacher to read together. I used this with first graders, but especially because of the mixed-level text, it would be appropriate for older students as well. It makes a great introduction to the study of the genius of the early Americans, and my students were able to make some great comparisions between these structures and those of the Mayans, Aztecs, Egyptians and Mesopotamians. Living near Chicago, we were able to follow up this study with a class trip to the Cahokia Mounds state park. (Note: the park has a fantastic visitors' center with a brief but very well done video presentation, museum exhibits, and store with teaching materials)