Between c. AD 700 and 1100, Late Woodland people of the Upper Midwest of North America used the topography and other features of the natural landscape to create vast ceremonial landscapes consisting of thousands of earthen mounds sculpted into animals and animal spirits. These mounds, which are often grouped into impressive linear arrangements running along the crest of hills or river bluffs, mirrored their belief and clan-based social structure and served an important role in mortuary ritual. In doing so, the Late Woodland people created visible three dimensional maps of ancient cosmology...