I often thought that the Indians that remained here when the settlers came were the remnants of a much bigger civ. They had to be—if the descriptions of Kentucky as a dark and bloody ground were accurate, and we have no reason to think they weren’t, where did all the people that fought the battle come from? Where did they go? What happened to all the bodies? Nobody goes to all the trouble to build mounds like that for no reason. They would have been much to busy just surviving to play in the dirt, and some of the mounds are exquisite. And, the full effect is only seen from the air. HMMMM.... Each question snowballs into more questions. Love it!
I agree. I came across this most amazing reference from the Governor of New York, given in 1812, about the ancient civilizations that were formerly in the North Eastern US.
“Previous to the occupancy of this region by the progenitors of the present race of Indians, it was inhabited by a race of men much more populous and more advanced in civilization. Who they were, whence they came and whither they went, have been themes of speculation by learned antiquarians, who have failed to arrive at any satisfactory conclusion. ...Why have we no history of such a nation as must have inhabited this part of the world? Probably if a knowledge of these ancient people is ever obtained, it will be derived from inscriptions on stone or metals, which have withstood the rust of time.” 1812, Governor De Witt Clinton
Here's a small snippet, the whole chapter is great, the same way. The link follows.
“We are surrounded by evidence that a race preceded the present Indians, farther advanced in civilizations and the arts, and far more numerous. Here and there upon the brow of hills, at the head of ravines, are their fortifications, their location selected with skill and adapted to refuge, subsistence and defense. Uprooted trees of the forest that are the growth of many centuries, expose their molding remains, the uncovered mounds with masses of their skeletons promiscuously heaped one on top of the other, as if they were the gathered and hurriedly entombed dead of well contested battlefields. In our villages, upon our hillsides, the plow and the spade discover their rude implements adapted to war, the chase and domestic use. All these unintelligible witnesses, bring but unsatisfactory knowledge of races that have preceded us.
Although not confined to this region, there is perhaps no portion of the United States where ancient relics are more numerous. Commencing near Oswego River, they extended westwardly over all the western counties of the state. We clear away our forests and speak familiarly of subduing the “Virgin soil,” and yet the plow up turns the skulls of those whose history is lost. Then as now the western portion of New York state had attractions and inducements to make it a favorite residence, for this ancient people, assailed from the north and east, made this their refuge in a war of extermination, fortified the commanding eminences, met the shock of a final issue, were subject to its adverse results. The forest invited the chase, the rivers and lakes local commerce and fishing, and the fertile soil for agriculture. The evidence that this was one, at least of their final battlefields, predominate. They are the fortifications, entrenchments and warlike instruments of an extinct race. That here was a war of extermination, we may well conclude, from masses of human skeletons we find indiscriminately thrown together, indicating a common and simultaneous sepulcher from which age, infancy, sex and no condition, was exempt.
This kind of stuff really fascinates me.