Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley

Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley (full title Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley: Comprising the Results of Extensive Original Surveys and Explorations) (1848) by the Americans Ephraim George Squier and Edwin Hamilton Davis is a landmark in American scientific research, the study of the prehistoric indigenous mound builders of North America, and the early development of archaeology as a scientific discipline.

By the time he arrived in Chillicothe in 1845 as the editor of the weekly Scioto Gazette newspaper, he had received training in civil engineering, education, and journalism.

Ross County includes Mound City and Seip Earthworks (both now part of Hopewell Culture National Historical Park), as well as Dunlap Works.

James McBride, John Locke, and Charles Whittlesey, among others, contributed additional first-hand reports, but the scope of Squier and Davis's own work was unprecedented.

[1] A major part of Squier and Davis's achievement was their classification of sites according to apparent function, such as burial grounds, effigies, fortifications, and building foundations.

[1] Ancient Monuments was edited by the physicist Joseph Henry, the first Secretary of the Smithsonian, who wanted a worthy initial volume for the Institution's Contributions to Knowledge series.

His choosing a book devoted to the mound builders was risky, as their origin, history and identity were the subject of much debate and literature, but little scientific investigation.

Knowing that both anthropology and archaeology were relatively new fields of study, Henry sought to minimize Squier and Davis's speculation about the origins and purposes of the works they had surveyed and sketched.