Sinnissippi Mounds
Encyclopedia
The Sinnissippi Mounds are a Havana Hopewell culture
burial mound grouping located in the city of Sterling, Illinois
, United States
.
area around 2,000 years ago. At that time, the area was at the center of a vast trade network that stretched up and down the Mississippi River
. Mounds such as the Sinnissippi are common throughout the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys.
.
W. C. Holbrook investigated the mounds in 1877 and published a lengthy written account in History of Whiteside County, Illinois, published 1877. One year later, another written account of a mound investigation appeared in The Sterling Gazette. After the 1870s, the burial mounds were looted and most of the archaeologically significant material removed.
The Sinnissippi Mounds are part of the Sterling Park District's largest park, Sinnissippi Park. The park was acquired in parcels beginning in 1934 The area of the park where the mounds are found, on a bluff
overlooking the Rock River, was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
on May 14, 1979 as the Sinnissippi Site. It is listed as one of the National Register's "address restricted" sites, despite its public nature.
Havana Hopewell culture
The Havana Hopewell culture were a Hopewellian people in the Illinois River and Mississippi River valleys in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri from 200 BCE to 400 CE...
burial mound grouping located in the city of Sterling, Illinois
Sterling, Illinois
Sterling is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,370 at the 2010 census, down from 15,451 at the 2000 census. Formerly nicknamed "The Hardware Capital of the World", Sterling has long been associated with manufacturing and the steel...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
The mounds are a product of the Hopewell tradition which flourished in the SterlingSterling, Illinois
Sterling is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,370 at the 2010 census, down from 15,451 at the 2000 census. Formerly nicknamed "The Hardware Capital of the World", Sterling has long been associated with manufacturing and the steel...
area around 2,000 years ago. At that time, the area was at the center of a vast trade network that stretched up and down the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Mounds such as the Sinnissippi are common throughout the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys.
Modern Discovery
The first settler in Sterling, Hezekiah Brink, noted the mounds when he arrived in 1834. Among some of the other early settlers were a group of men who were interested in starting a Science Club. The Sterling Scientific Club, in existence as early as the 1870s, made one of their goals the investigation of the burial mounds near the Rock RiverRock River (Illinois)
The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Illinois. It rises in southeast Wisconsin, in the Theresa Marsh near Theresa, Wisconsin in northeast Dodge County, Wisconsin approximately south of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin...
.
W. C. Holbrook investigated the mounds in 1877 and published a lengthy written account in History of Whiteside County, Illinois, published 1877. One year later, another written account of a mound investigation appeared in The Sterling Gazette. After the 1870s, the burial mounds were looted and most of the archaeologically significant material removed.
Sinnissippi Site
Cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
overlooking the Rock River, was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on May 14, 1979 as the Sinnissippi Site. It is listed as one of the National Register's "address restricted" sites, despite its public nature.
See also
- List of Hopewell sites
- List of burial mounds in the United States
- Mound builder (people)
- Earthwork (archaeology)