mound builder

¹

noun

1. megapode.

Mound Builder

²

noun

1. a member of one of the various American Indian tribes who, in prehistoric and early historic times, erected the burial mounds and other earthworks of the Mississippi drainage basin and southeastern U.S.

mound-builder

¹

noun

1. another name for megapode

Mound Builder

²

noun

1. a member of a group of prehistoric inhabitants of the Mississippi region who built altar-mounds, tumuli, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of mound builder¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Origin of mound builder²

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Example Sentences

Reading the heavens, these mound builders constructed several circular astronomical observatories — wooden versions of Stonehenge.

From Salon

The people of these “mound builder” civilizations dispersed before the European invasion, but we know their descendants today as the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee Creek, and Natchez Nations of the Southeast.

From Literature

These mound builders probably lived in temporary camps in structures similar to wigwams that could be easily dismantled and moved, Rosebrough said.

From Washington Times

Butler calls the new finding “a big deal, because this solidifies what we already believe to be true … that we’re descendants of the mound builders.”

From Science Magazine

The study of ancient mound builders who lived in the Mississippi River Delta near present-day New Orleans offers fresh insight into how the settlements emerged and why they were abandoned.

From Fox News