Alligator Effigy Mound | |
 | |
   | |
| Nearest city | Granville, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°4′11.76″N82°30′3.71″W / 40.0699333°N 82.5010306°W /40.0699333; -82.5010306 |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000643[1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 5, 1971 |
TheAlligator Effigy Mound is aneffigy mound inGranville,Ohio,United States. The mound is believed to have been built between AD 800 and 1200 by people of theFort Ancient culture.[2] The mound was likely a ceremonial site, as it was not used for burials.
Located on privately owned land, but accessible to the public, Alligator Mound is one of two extant effigy mounds known in the present-day state of Ohio, along withSerpent Mound inAdams County, Ohio.[2][3] Effigy mounds were built more often by ancientindigenous peoples located in the areas of the present-day states ofIllinois,Iowa, andWisconsin than in the Ohio area, and many have survived there.[2][3]
The site has been listed on theNational Register of Historic Places since 1971.[1] It is marked by an Ohio State Historical Marker, erected in 1998.[4]
Ephraim George Squier andEdwin Hamilton Davis surveyed the privately held site inGranville,Ohio forthe Smithsonian Institution and reported their findings in their 1848 publicationAncient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley. They described the site as "strange." They report the location of the work as being 150 to 200 feet in height. They note that people in the area called it "thealligator," "although the figure bears as a close resemblance to thelizard as any otherreptile." The head of the effigy points towards the southwest. The work totaled 250 feet in length from head to tail. The body was noted at 40 feet wide, and each leg was measured at 36 feet. They describe the ends of the paws as being "a little broader than the remaining portions of the same, as if the spread of those toes had been originally indicated."[5]
Squier and Davis note that the head, shoulders and rump of the effigy are higher than the rest of the body. The height of the mound ranges from four feet to six feet. In the middle of the effigy was a smallmound, which they believed was used as analtar.Stones covered the altar, with marks from being lit on fire in the past. A graded way was made from the altar to the "top of the effigy." The graded way is ten feet wide. They note evidence ofexcavation in parts of the effigy with littledisturbance to the site. Through excavation they determined that the site is made ofclay and that the clay had been imported from another area. They also noted that no historical excavation, made by the creators of the effigy, was found in the region.[5]
They examine theheadland where the mound is built. They describe it as a "beautifully rounded spur of land," and question if the site was rounded by humans to create such a rounded place. During their visit, they also noticed that damage had been done to the headland. They note that other earthworks can be seen from the top of the headland, specifically those in theNewark group.[5]
After their survey, Squier and Davis concluded that the site was used forsacrifices or "on stated or extraordinary occasions,".[5]
In 1999,Brad Lepper andTod A. Frolking conducted a professionalarchaeological investigation of the mound. Byradiometric dating of a piece ofcharcoal recovered from the base of the mound, they estimate its construction to have been 1,000 yearsBP (about AD 950).[2] Lepper suggests that the Alligator Mound is an effigy of anunderwater panther, a powerful figure inNative Americanmyth. He thinks that early European settlers misinterpreted what Native Americans told them about the effigy. They were told that it was a fierce creature that lived in the water and ate people, which they assumed to be an alligator.[6]
| Anderson Focus |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Baum Focus | ||
| Feurt Focus | ||
| Madisonville Focus | ||
| Topics | |
|---|---|
| Lists by state |
|
| Lists by insular areas | |
| Lists by associated state | |
| Other areas | |
| Lists of specific structure types | |
| Related | |
