The people that lived at or near these mounds belonged to the Caddo people. The remains are believed to be from 800 years ago or even older than that. This would place them around the time period of 1200 AD or before. The site has a small museum with artifacts on display. Here are some pictures from the museum:
Now here are some pictures of the re-created opened mounds:
Some of these skulls have elongated heads. It is believed they were made this way with head binding techniques. An elongated skull was a sign of royalty. To me these skulls are very similar to the skulls of the Pharaohs and European Kings and Queens.
As indicated in the sign, the mounds were built over a period of hundreds of years. When a chief died, the temple on top of the mound was destroyed by fire and a new layer of Earth was added on top and a new temple was constructed. A ceremonial fire burned continuously on top of the mound.
I didn't see evidence of it, but I would bet that these mounds may have been aligned to capture the sun light during solstices and equinoxes.
A butcher site was also dug up and on display.
by Rita Jean Moran (www.thelibrarykids.com)
Links:
http://www.caddotc.com/index.html
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