Spirits of Earth: The Effigy Mound Landscape of Madison and the Four Lakes

At one time boasting an estimated 1,200 preserved mounds of various types, the Four Lakes region of present-day-Madison, Wisconsin, was a major center of a Native American culture that built huge effigy earthworks from A.D. 700 to 1100. Shaped as birds, bears, spirit beings, and other figures, many clusters of effigy mounds persist today as world wonders, comparable to the great megaliths of Europe.

Copiously illustrated with maps, drawings, and photographs, Spirits of Earth is a compact his...