Cyrus Thomas (1825 – 1910) was a U.S. ethnologist and entomologist prominent in the late 19th century and noted for his studies of the natural history of the American West. In 1890 he published the book "The Cherokees in Pre-Columbian Times" which he describes as "an attempt by the writer to trace back the history of a single Indian tribe into the prehistoric or mound-building age. For this purpose the Cherokees have been selected."
In the advertisement of the book it is said that Dr. Thomas will reverse the usual method of dealing with prehistoric subjects—that is to say, he will commence with the earliest recorded history of the tribe as a basis and trace the chain back by the light of the mounds. Now we ask the question, will modern history and Indian tradition and the study of a single tribe in the light of mound testimony really solve the Mound-builder problem?
He thinks that the Cherokees built the Grave Creek mound, the altar mounds of Ohio, the large conical mounds of the Kanawha Valley, all the burial mounds of East Tennessee and nearly all of the mounds of North Carolina; makes them to be the Mound-builders of this entire region. In the present paper, the evidence is given upon which the author bases his belief that the Shawnees also were mound-builders, and some suggestions are made as to the probable movements of the tribe in the prehistoric era.
The migrations and tribal connections of the Cherokees, as indicated by traditions and references in the early writers, are outlined. Conclusive evidence from the mounds and from historic data that they were mound builders is presented. The work is valuable, in that it plainly shows that some Indians built mounds, and suggests the ready inference that there was no mysterious race of mound builders.
In the advertisement of the book it is said that Dr. Thomas will reverse the usual method of dealing with prehistoric subjects—that is to say, he will commence with the earliest recorded history of the tribe as a basis and trace the chain back by the light of the mounds. Now we ask the question, will modern history and Indian tradition and the study of a single tribe in the light of mound testimony really solve the Mound-builder problem?
He thinks that the Cherokees built the Grave Creek mound, the altar mounds of Ohio, the large conical mounds of the Kanawha Valley, all the burial mounds of East Tennessee and nearly all of the mounds of North Carolina; makes them to be the Mound-builders of this entire region. In the present paper, the evidence is given upon which the author bases his belief that the Shawnees also were mound-builders, and some suggestions are made as to the probable movements of the tribe in the prehistoric era.
The migrations and tribal connections of the Cherokees, as indicated by traditions and references in the early writers, are outlined. Conclusive evidence from the mounds and from historic data that they were mound builders is presented. The work is valuable, in that it plainly shows that some Indians built mounds, and suggests the ready inference that there was no mysterious race of mound builders.
