Vilas Circle Bear Effigy Mound and the Curtis Mounds

Vilas Circle Bear Effigy Mound and the Curtis Mounds are a group of Native American mounds in Madison, Wisconsin. The Bear Effigy Mound is in the public Bear Mound Park, while the Curtis Mounds are on a neighboring residential property. As its name indicates, the Bear Effigy Mound is in the shape of a bear, and is intact except for a section of the bear's leg; the Curtis Mounds are linear, and only one of the two is still extant. Mound Builder civilizations built the mounds between 500 and 1200 A.D. to serve as burial sites.[2] Bear-shaped mounds represented earth and humanity in the Mound Builder tradition; other animal-shaped mounds, such as birds and lizards, were used to represent other elements.[3]

Vilas Circle Bear Effigy Mound and the Curtis Mounds
LocationBear Mound Park and adjacent property, Madison, Wisconsin
Coordinates43°03′47″N 89°24′41″W
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Builtc. 500-1200 A.D.
NRHP reference No.74000078[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 30, 1974

The mounds were added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 30, 1974.[1]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. Halsey, John R. (March 10, 1975). "Landmarks and Landmark Sites Nomination Form: Vilas Circle Bear Effigy Mound and the Curtis Mound" (PDF). City of Madison Landmarks Commission. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  3. "Bear Mound Park". City of Madison Parks Division. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
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