Burial Mounds

I found the reading on Late Woodland effigy mounds fascinating. I have heard of these mounds, but have never encountered one in the shape of an animal. I hope to someday see one of these giant humans or thunderbirds.It is interesting how natives 1000 years ago believed in realms like Budhists contemporary to them. The different realms/worlds also parallel Christian beliefs in a heaven and hell, along with a life on earth. Every aspect of the mounds created was symbolic of the shape of the mound.
The consistency of three is interesting in the Chapter 5 reading. There are three elements for life corresponding to three realms. Upperworld animal mounds were built on higher elevations, just as underworld animal mounds were built near springs. The thunderbird, a powerful symbol in Woodland culture, was always associated with the upperworld, and the element air. The underworld was represented by sea creatures and beasts, like a sort of hell. Their element was water. Those animals could be appeased by offerings, unlike Christian demons. The middle world was represented by the element earth, and was the place where humans and most animals lived. However, animals associated with the realms corresponded to kinship groups unlike Christians. It was never quite clear whether natives could switch between realms or if they joined their clan spirit after death.
Obviously Woodland tribes had a strong connection to nature. Perhaps seeing a hawk flying while a thunderstorm began created the ellusion of a thunderbird. The fright of seeing a bear would enhance a sort of superstition toward that animal, believing that it had the power to give and take life. This is where the white bear in Menomonee mythology may have come from (pg 118, paragraph 2). The white bear may also be a holdover from Neolithic times. Polar bears were probably encountered by the Nadene tribes that migrated to Canada and the North Central US from Russia. The most puzzling connection to nature was the underworld. I understand that sea organisms live below land elevation, but large animals? The panther is probably a symbol from Uto-Aztecan religions, which probably migrated up through the south from Mexico and the Natchez. This is further backed up by the migration of corn from this area in 900 AD, mentioned several times in the text (pg 102, 3rd paragraph). Lizards and snakes are also southern organisms, not a common feature to the Southern Wisconsin landscape. However, they are seen as being part of the underworld. Perhaps because these organisms were more common elsewhere, especially in other religions, they were considered part of the underworld because of their nonexistence in Wisconsin.