1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:12,000 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here. Imagine you're a person living 3 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: about a thousand years ago and what's now the state 4 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 1: of Ohio. Your job is mostly growing corn and otherwise 5 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:20,919 Speaker 1: hanging out in and around your village, providing all the 6 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: necessities of life for yourself and your community, making pottery 7 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:27,480 Speaker 1: to cook in, maintaining your home and the other buildings 8 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: in the village, and working to cure food other than corn, 9 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:34,560 Speaker 1: growing squash and beans, hunting deer and turkeys and so on. 10 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 1: But one day you're talking with some friends and you decide, 11 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: let's make a snake sculpture on the edge of this 12 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:46,199 Speaker 1: meteorite crater over here. And so you do, and you 13 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 1: make it one thousand, three hundred and seventy six ft long, 14 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: that's four hundred nineteen meters. Located in southwestern Ohio, Serpent 15 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 1: Mound is a giant earthen mound, the largest serpent effigy 16 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: in the world, a thought to have been constructed by 17 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:07,680 Speaker 1: the fourt Ancient people around nine hundred years ago, although 18 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:09,840 Speaker 1: some argue that the site is much older and that 19 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 1: the four Ancient people didn't build it but actually refurbished it. 20 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:17,480 Speaker 1: Although no human remains or artifacts have been found in 21 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 1: the sinuous grassy hillock that is Serpent Mound, some graves 22 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 1: and burial mounds stand nearby, probably built by the people 23 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:28,039 Speaker 1: of the Adena culture, the fort Ancients, predecessors in the 24 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:34,119 Speaker 1: area about six hundred years even earlier. Regardless, Serpent Mound 25 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,759 Speaker 1: belongs to a class of structures called effigy mounds, which 26 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: were commonly built in the shape of animals like bears, 27 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: b links, bison, or birds, and often served as burial 28 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: sites for ancient peoples. Serpent Mound sits on the edge 29 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 1: of a meteorite impact crater, and the serpent itself ranges 30 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: between nineteen and twenty five feet wide that's six to 31 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,640 Speaker 1: seven and a half meters, and it rises around three 32 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: feet or one meter from the surrounding landscape, with its 33 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: head formed by a rock cliff overhanging a nearby creek. 34 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:10,240 Speaker 1: Although it's difficult to know what's purpose was since it 35 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: wasn't used for burials, it does act as a calendar. 36 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,519 Speaker 1: The sunset on the summer solstice lines up with the 37 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: serpent's head. The eastern facing curves of the snake's body 38 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: line up with the sunrise on the equinoxes, and the 39 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: serpent's tail coils line with the winter solstice. In the 40 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: year two thousand eight, Serpent Mound and eight other Ohio 41 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 1: American Indian earthworks were chosen by the United States Department 42 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: of the Interior for inclusion on the United States tentative 43 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,560 Speaker 1: list of sites to be submitted to UNESCO for inclusion 44 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: on the Prestigious World Heritage Sites List. The UNESCO is 45 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural organization. If Serpent 46 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: Mound is eventually inscribed on the list, possibly in three 47 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: according to Ohio History Connections World Heritage director Jennifer Altman, 48 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 1: it would be an among the likes of Egypt's Pyramids, 49 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 1: the Great Wall of China, Pompeii Stonehenge, and the taj Mahal. A. 50 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: Serpent Mound is located within the Serpent Mound State Memorial, 51 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 1: designated a National Historical Landmark in Peebles, Ohio, maintained by 52 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 1: the Ohio History Connection. The site is open seasonally from 53 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: April through November, with visitor hours every day except Mondays 54 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 1: and some holidays. The site boasts an observation tower that 55 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 1: was built in following increasing interest from European colonists that 56 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: started in eighteen forty seven when the mound was sketched 57 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: and surveyed. Though the tower is currently closed for the 58 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:45,960 Speaker 1: season for needed repairs, and archaeological investigation continues, as new 59 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: radio carbon dating suggested that the effigy maybe from his 60 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: early as three hundred BC. Today's episode is based on 61 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,520 Speaker 1: the article Ohio Serpent Mound is archaeological mystery on houst 62 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:04,680 Speaker 1: works dot com, written by Jesslyn Shields. Brain Stuff is 63 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff 64 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 1: works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. Four 65 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio. Visit the I Heart 66 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 67 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 1: favorite shows.