Lesson plan
Rock Eagle
Rock Eagle Effigy Mound is an archaeological site in Putnam County, Georgia, US, estimated to have been constructed c. 1000 BC to AD 1000 (1,000 to 3,000 years ago). The earthwork was built up of thousands of pieces of quartzite laid in the mounded shape of a large bird (102 ft long from head to tail, and 120 ft wide from wing tip to wing tip). Although it is most often referred to as an eagle, scholars do not know exactly what type of bird the original builders intended to portray. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) because of its significance. The University of Georgia administers the site. It uses much of the adjoining land for a 4-H camp, with cottages and other buildings, and day and residential environmental education. What prompted the early inhabitants of Middle Georgia, who lived in a time long before the rise of the later Mississippian, Creek and Cherokee cultures, to build these massive effigy mounds is still something of a mystery. They obviously hold ceremonial significance and the Rock Eagle seems to have been expanded from a large dome-shaped central mound.
Article summary
Rock Eagle Effigy Mound is an archaeological site in Putnam County, Georgia, US, estimated to have been constructed c. 1000 BC to AD 1000 (1,000 to 3,000 years ago). The earthwork was built up of thousands of pieces of quartzite laid in the mounded shape of a large bird (102 ft long from head to tail, and 120 ft wide from wing tip to wing tip). Although it is most often referred to as an eagle, scholars do not know exactly what type of bird the original builders intended to portray. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) because of its significance. The University of Georgia administers the site. It uses much of the adjoining land for a 4-H camp, with cottages and other buildings, and day and residential environmental education. What prompted the early inhabitants of Middle Georgia, who lived in a time long before the rise of the later Mississippian, Creek and Cherokee cultures, to build these massive effigy mounds is still something of a mystery. They obviously hold ceremonial significance and the Rock Eagle seems to have been expanded from a large dome-shaped central mound.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.