View toward the serpent's head
- Located above a river, the magnificent Serpent Mound winds across
a ridge in Ohio. If the serpent's body were uncoiled, it would measure
¼ mile in length. Created of earth and stone, the body of the
serpent rises about three to five feet in height. Its tail curls
at one end, and its mouth appears to open at the other. Built
around the year 1200 (based on recent radio carbon results), the
Serpent Mound was created by Native Americans who were part of a long
and continuous Mound Builder Culture. The
mystery of the Serpent Mound remains: What did it mean? Why was it
made? Why was it put here?
We do know the Serpent Mound was not used for burial, although it was surrounded by other mounds that were. That suggest the Serpent Mound may have had a ritual use, perhaps in association with the other burial mounds. We can also guess what a serpent might mean. Because serpents shed their skin, they are often associated with ideas of renewal and rebirth--the new serpent emerges from the old, dead skin. Serpents are also associated with the earth, where they burrow and slither through foliage. There are many reasons, then, to associate all serpents or snakes with ideas of rebirth, renewal or fertility. Recent investigations of the Serpent Mound have also revealed several alignments to the stars, which make ti fairly clear that this serpent did, in deed, relate to ideas of renewal. Alignments through the serpent's mouth and eye point directly to sunset at Summer Solstice, for instance, while one of the curving forms of the serpent's body is aligned to sunrise on Summer Solstice. If the Great Serpent Mound is aligned to the sun, which rises and sets daily (dying and being reborn), it can certainly be associated with ideas of life, death and renewal.
The Art History Teacher near the serpent's head, at the Great Serpent Mound, Ohio. By being here in person, it was easy to see how long and large this earth work really is. It was also possible to realize that its location by a river was probably not an accident. The Serpent Mound, we think, may refer to renewal and fertility. A river certainly can also convey similar ideas, because water was often associated with fertility.
