Sarah first began to notice distinctive, raised earthen mounds while photographing Indigenous Stone Landscapes throughout New England. The two seemed to be interwoven,
and the shapes and heights of the mounds reminded her of the iconic Adena/Hopewell and Mississippian Mounds, which are primarily associated with the Midwestern and Southeastern regions of what is now the United States. Although Adena mounds are recognized as extending into Western New York, the mound-building traditions are not (yet) recognized as having been practiced in New England. Utilizing publicly available USGS LiDAR, Sarah was able to see that these mounds are, in fact, coherent and distinct from the
surrounding landscapes. She has identified numerous types, shapes, heights, and locations. Their geographic placements follow predictable patterns, and these patterns align with
16th and 17th Century European writings and reflect geopolitical norms. The LiDAR image and photo shown here and those that will be presented are examples of mounds Sarah has verified with both LiDAR and ground-truthing in New England.
Sarah stewards land with her husband, Mark, in Western Massachusetts. They keep a small herd of Scottish Highland cattle to keep the pastureland open and a large flock of landrace chickens that lay blue and green eggs. Sarah was formerly a member of her town’s Historical Commission and currently chairs the Planning Board in her town. An independent researcher of pre-colonial stone and earthworks of the northeast, Sarah chairs the newly created NEARA Preservation Committee.
27 авг 2024
