From Mounds to Mammoths

For most Oklahomans the story of the state begins with the removal of the Five Tribes to Indian Territory early in the nineteenth century. In fact, Oklahoma has a rich, diverse, and enduring native cultural heritage. Using recent discoveries and information unearthed since its original 1980 publication, From Mounds to Mammoths presents Oklahoma’s prehistory from thirty thousand years ago to historic contact times.

Claudette Gilbert and Robert L. Brooks take the reader back thousands of years to experience life on the plains. They discuss the Cooper site, which has given us valuable insights into Folsom technology, hunting practices, and ritual. Here archaeologists discovered a thunderbolt painted on a bison skull-the earliest evident of artwork in North America. The story of Spiro Mounds, a more recent culture, reveals village life in the Arkansas River basin 800-1000 years ago.

Told chronologically with vivid chapter-opening vignettes, From Mounds to Mammoths provides a fascinating glimpse into the variety of Oklahoma native cultures.