High Temple Mound

High Temple Mound. . This mound was originally at least three times its current length and reached 35 feet tall. It was the spiritual and political center of the village with buildings for worship or government. Archeological evidence suggests that periodically, the buildings on top of the temple mound were ceremonially destroyed by fire and then rebuilt on a layer of fresh dirt brought to cover the charred remains., Ceremonial Rebirth Through Fire , In the Caddo account of creation, the first man and woman brought fire, a tobacco pipe, a drum, and seeds for planting into this world with them. All of these items appear in the ceremonial life of the Caddo, with fire featuring prominently. Along with the ceremonial burning of structures, at least one village structure may have housed a "perpetual fire," tended by the xinesi, or priest, a feature also common to later Caddo groups., The Maze , During the 1940 excavation of this mound, archeologists unearthed the remains of a very unique structure which they called "The Maze", which was approximately 30 feet in diameter. While the exact use of the building remains unknown, its specialized construction indicates that it was a ceremonial or ritualistic space., Illustration: Howell Golson