1919] BARRETT AND HAWKES, KRATZ CREEK MOUNDS. 15 



The effigy is the most important form of mound in this group, 

 and occurs in several types, as shown in figures 1, 5, 8, 9 and 15-19. 

 These mounds have been rather loosely named in the past after 

 certain animals on account of similarities of form. In this group are 

 several panthers, several bears, one bird, one lizard, and one of a 

 form which for convenience is here termed a "rabbit" mound. The 

 doubtful advisability of attaching names of animals to such mounds 

 when the similarity of the mound form to that of the animal is only 

 relative, will be sufficiently apparent from a consideration of the 

 mounds in this group alone. However, since these names have 

 come into general use, it seems best to retain them in this discus- 

 sion. 



In fact, if the aboriginal builders of these mounds did intend to 

 depict certain animals there is, in many instances, an interesting 

 naiveness of treatment suggestive of the artistic ideas of a child. 

 Having once established a pattern of the panther, bear or other ani- 

 mal form they repeated its general outline with almost stereotyped 

 faithfulness. However it was often varied in minor details and 

 somewhat distorted and frequently was embellished with extra legs, 

 ears or other appendages, misplaced in relation to the rest of the 

 animal. 



While some attention must be given to the possibility of odd 

 forms originating from mythological concepts it seems likely that 

 this form of art was entirely realistic in its essential features and 

 it is probable that any apparent anomaly in form is due rather to 

 this child-like distortion than to an attempt to depict a composite 

 or a mythical animal. In fact, this absence of composite forms is 

 quite in keeping with the religious and mythological concepts of 

 the Indians of the Central Algonkian region. The striking absence 

 of more elaborate geometric mound forms, such as exist in the Ohio 

 valley, may be due to the fact that the artistic conceptions of the 

 builders of these mounds, like those of the present day Indians, 

 were essentially realistic. 



MATERIALS OF MOUNDS 



A popular notion concerning mounds is that they were entirely 

 constructed of local materials obtained in the immediate vicinity. 

 This assumption is only partly correct so far as the mounds in this 

 group are concerned. While a large amount of the material used 



