WEBVTT - Who Built Ohio's Serpent Mound?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here. Imagine you're a person living

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<v Speaker 1>about a thousand years ago and what's now the state

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<v Speaker 1>of Ohio. Your job is mostly growing corn and otherwise

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<v Speaker 1>hanging out in and around your village, providing all the

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<v Speaker 1>necessities of life for yourself and your community, making pottery

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<v Speaker 1>to cook in, maintaining your home and the other buildings

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<v Speaker 1>in the village, and working to cure food other than corn,

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<v Speaker 1>growing squash and beans, hunting deer and turkeys and so on.

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<v Speaker 1>But one day you're talking with some friends and you decide,

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<v Speaker 1>let's make a snake sculpture on the edge of this

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<v Speaker 1>meteorite crater over here. And so you do, and you

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<v Speaker 1>make it one thousand, three hundred and seventy six ft long,

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<v Speaker 1>that's four hundred nineteen meters. Located in southwestern Ohio, Serpent

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<v Speaker 1>Mound is a giant earthen mound, the largest serpent effigy

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<v Speaker 1>in the world, a thought to have been constructed by

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<v Speaker 1>the fourt Ancient people around nine hundred years ago, although

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<v Speaker 1>some argue that the site is much older and that

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<v Speaker 1>the four Ancient people didn't build it but actually refurbished it.

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<v Speaker 1>Although no human remains or artifacts have been found in

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<v Speaker 1>the sinuous grassy hillock that is Serpent Mound, some graves

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<v Speaker 1>and burial mounds stand nearby, probably built by the people

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<v Speaker 1>of the Adena culture, the fort Ancients, predecessors in the

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<v Speaker 1>area about six hundred years even earlier. Regardless, Serpent Mound

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<v Speaker 1>belongs to a class of structures called effigy mounds, which

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<v Speaker 1>were commonly built in the shape of animals like bears,

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<v Speaker 1>b links, bison, or birds, and often served as burial

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<v Speaker 1>sites for ancient peoples. Serpent Mound sits on the edge

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<v Speaker 1>of a meteorite impact crater, and the serpent itself ranges

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<v Speaker 1>between nineteen and twenty five feet wide that's six to

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<v Speaker 1>seven and a half meters, and it rises around three

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<v Speaker 1>feet or one meter from the surrounding landscape, with its

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<v Speaker 1>head formed by a rock cliff overhanging a nearby creek.

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<v Speaker 1>Although it's difficult to know what's purpose was since it

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't used for burials, it does act as a calendar.

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<v Speaker 1>The sunset on the summer solstice lines up with the

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<v Speaker 1>serpent's head. The eastern facing curves of the snake's body

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<v Speaker 1>line up with the sunrise on the equinoxes, and the

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<v Speaker 1>serpent's tail coils line with the winter solstice. In the

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<v Speaker 1>year two thousand eight, Serpent Mound and eight other Ohio

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<v Speaker 1>American Indian earthworks were chosen by the United States Department

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<v Speaker 1>of the Interior for inclusion on the United States tentative

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<v Speaker 1>list of sites to be submitted to UNESCO for inclusion

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<v Speaker 1>on the Prestigious World Heritage Sites List. The UNESCO is

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<v Speaker 1>the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural organization. If Serpent

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<v Speaker 1>Mound is eventually inscribed on the list, possibly in three

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<v Speaker 1>according to Ohio History Connections World Heritage director Jennifer Altman,

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<v Speaker 1>it would be an among the likes of Egypt's Pyramids,

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<v Speaker 1>the Great Wall of China, Pompeii Stonehenge, and the taj Mahal. A.

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<v Speaker 1>Serpent Mound is located within the Serpent Mound State Memorial,

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<v Speaker 1>designated a National Historical Landmark in Peebles, Ohio, maintained by

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<v Speaker 1>the Ohio History Connection. The site is open seasonally from

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<v Speaker 1>April through November, with visitor hours every day except Mondays

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<v Speaker 1>and some holidays. The site boasts an observation tower that

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<v Speaker 1>was built in following increasing interest from European colonists that

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<v Speaker 1>started in eighteen forty seven when the mound was sketched

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<v Speaker 1>and surveyed. Though the tower is currently closed for the

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<v Speaker 1>season for needed repairs, and archaeological investigation continues, as new

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<v Speaker 1>radio carbon dating suggested that the effigy maybe from his

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<v Speaker 1>early as three hundred BC. Today's episode is based on

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<v Speaker 1>the article Ohio Serpent Mound is archaeological mystery on houst

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<v Speaker 1>works dot com, written by Jesslyn Shields. Brain Stuff is

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<v Speaker 1>production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff

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<v Speaker 1>works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. Four

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