Mia Kilkeary

AP Art History
Mrs. Tiedeman
1-23-17

Great Serpent Mound Newspaper Article

Title: Great Serpent Mound

Location: Ohio, U.S.A.
Date: 1070 C.E.
Period: Fort Ancient Culture
Artist/Patron: Native Americans

Medium: earth
History: The Great Serpent Mound is the largest snake effigy ever created. The structure is
1,340 feet long and 3 feet high. The entire structure mirrors the constellations and the curls on
the end refer to the summer solstice. The mound was believed to possibly be a scared calendar
and many historians have speculated that this structure was the response of the Native American
peoples to the crab nebula, which was a supernova.
Formal Elements: The Great Serpent Mound is constructed completely from earth. It holds
elements of wavy/curly lines that appear to convey movement of the snake. The snake appears
in a free form shape and the entire mound takes up a great deal of space on the land.