October 2015 Meeting: Mark Cupp - Effigy Mounds

Effigy mounds are often described as artworks on the landscape and are earthen mounds in the shapes of animals and in rare instances, human forms.

Mark Cupp, Executive Director of the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board, gave a presentation on the effigy mound building culture and the connection to southwest Wisconsin particularly within the Riverway. 

Mark serves as President of Cultural Landscape Legacies, Inc., a nonprofit organization devoted to protection and preservation of mounds and rock art sites in the Upper Midwest. He is also Vice-President of the Three Eagles Foundation, also a nonprofit organization, which is involved in management of the famed mound site known as Frank's Hill located in southern Richland County across the river from Muscoda.

Mark's presentation described the types of mounds found in Wisconsin and focused on the effigy mound building culture which thrived in Wisconsin 1000 years ago. He showed photographs and maps of mounds sites that demonstrated the complexities of mound building. A question and answer session followed the presentation.