THE MOUNDS OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. HISTORICALLY 
CONSIDERED.* 
By LUCIEN CARR. 
Tn a paper upon the Prehistoric Remains of Kentucky, published in 
the first volume of these memoirs, I have expressed the opinion that it 
was impossible to distinguish between a series of stone implements 
taken from the moumds in the Mississippi Valley and a similar series 
made and used by the modern Indians. In fact, so alike are these 
objects in conception and execution that any attempt to distinguish 
them, based upon form or finish, must be but the merest guesswork. 
From the rude knife to the carved and polished “gorget” they may, 
one and all, have been taken from the inmost recesses of a mound or 
picked up on the surface amid the débris of a recent Indian village, 
and the most experienced archeologist, if called upon to decide as to 
their origin, would have to acknowledge himself at fault.t Nor does 
this similarity stop with objects made of stone. On the contrary, it is 
believed to extend to all the articles, of every kind whatsoever, that 
have thus far been taken from the mounds. Indeed, I might even go 
further, and as the result of some years of work, as well in the field as 
in the library, venture the assertion that not only has there not as yet 
been anything taken from the mounds indicating a higher stage of de- 
velopment than the red Indian of the United States is known to have 
reached, but that even the mounds themselves, and under this head 
are included all the earthworks of the Mississippi Valley, were quite 
within the limits of his efforts. 
This conclusion, together with its corollary as to the origin of these 
structures, is neither new nor original; and yet, in spite of the simple 
explanation it gives of the mound question, or, perhaps, it might be 
more correct to say on account of this very simplicity, it has made its 
way but slowly. It seems difficult to account for this fact except on 
* Memoirs of the Kentucky Geological Survey, vol. 11, 1883; N. 8. Shaler, Director. 
tCompare Schooleraft’s Indian Tribes of the United States, vol. Iv, p. 141. Brin- 
ton, Floridian Peninsula, p.176: Philadelphia, 1859. M. F. Force, Some Considerations 
on the Mound-builders, p. 72: Cincinnati, 1873. S. F. Haven, in vol. vin of the 
Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, p. 158. Lapham, in vol. vir of same,p. 30. 
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