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Platform Mounds Marker
Photographer: William J. Toman
Taken: September 4, 2010
Caption: Platform Mounds Marker
Additional Description: Caption: Platform mounds were designed to hold buildings. Generally speaking, these mounds were not burial mounds, although occasionally they did not include burials of selected portions of the society. The buildings they held were not ordinary houses, but were locations of religious or specialized structures and houses for the elite. Platform mounds were often built in stages, each one having an accompanying structure. The northwest mound is one example of a platform mound with burials. The mound was built in three stages, and during the second stage, a special structure was placed on the west side of the mound, oriented in a northeast-southwest direction. Ten individuals were placed within the structure, atop a mat woven of cattails. The bones of an additional individual were bundled with a length of twisted cord. When the structure was completed with the deceased individuals inside, the building burned; however, it is unclear whether the burning was intentional or accidental. The final layer of earth was placed over the burned structure.
Submitted: September 9, 2010, by William J. Toman of Green Lake, Wisconsin.
Database Locator Identification Number: p126893
File Size: 3.201 Megabytes

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