The Use of Animals As Symbols

The animal-like shape of some Indian mounds raises many interesting questions about the religious beliefs and ceremonies of the Native American culture. This use of animal forms is quite different from those found in both the Lascaux Cave and modern sports team mascots. It is different because the Native Americans used these symbols in combination with the spiritual act of burying the dead, making these symbols representitive of deseased ancestors.

This spiritual type of function is not found in the Lascaux Cave and modern sports teams. The drawings of the Lascaux Cave are mainly representations of the things that people encountered in their lives and do not serve as a way of honoring the dead. Although there is one painting of a man about to be killed by an animal, this serves as more of a scene of action rather than a symbol of the dead. On a different end of the spectrum, team mascots serve to represent the rugged characteristics of a sports club. Rather than being a symbol of the deseased, they are a symbol of intimidation that is used to represent a group of people.

Where the effigy mounds differ from these two examples is in their main function of burial. The act of burial has many religious connotations to it throughout most cultures. The Native American culture was no different. By burying their dead in large animal shaped mounds, an attitude of respect and admiration seems to be commanded. This links with Geertz concept of "a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervaisive, and long-lasting moods." In the case of the Indian mounds, the Native Americans used animal symbols in order to establish the moods of respect and admiration for the deceased. Because of the quantity of these types of mounds, it can be inferred that these symbols were highly recognizable to the Native Americans and may have had as much clout as cross does when it appears on a gravestone.