Serpent Mounds Provincial Park, Provincial park and archaeological site near Rice Lake, Peterborough County, Canada
Serpent Mounds Provincial Park is an archaeological site in Peterborough County featuring nine earthen mounds spread across 135 hectares of land. The main mound has a distinctive elongated shape and sits within a landscape of forest and open ground near Rice Lake.
The site shows continuous settlement from the 1st century BCE through the 3rd century CE and provides key evidence of the Point Peninsula cultural group. Later periods saw different patterns of land use, reflecting the long span of human presence in this region.
The mounds reflect how Indigenous peoples of the region conducted funerary practices and valued certain objects in death. The discovered shell beads, copper ornaments, and pottery fragments show the craftsmanship and ritual customs of these ancient communities.
The grounds have walking trails and marked paths that let visitors explore the different mounds at their own pace. Information boards are set up around the site to explain the archaeology and history of the location.
The central mound has an unusual serpent-like elongated shape that gives the park its distinctive name. This particular formation is found nowhere else in Canada, making the site exceptionally rare from an archaeological perspective.
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