Purpose
The Serpent Mound is the largest effigy mound in the world. While there are several burial mounds around the Serpent mound site, the Serpent site does not contain any human remains. It was not constructed for burial purposes.
The Cherokee relate the legend of the Uktena, a large serpent with supernatural appearance and power. The existence of the legend attests to the importance of the figure. Researchers have speculated that perhaps ancient native people created large totemic shrines that were built on platforms made of earth and stone. Such an effigy could have been destroyed by war or changes among inheriting cultures, with the result that only the platform (the mound) was left.
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