Vilas Circle Bear Effigy Mound and the Curtis Mounds

Vilas Circle Bear Effigy Mound and the Curtis Mounds form a Native American archaeological site in Madison, Wisconsin, with a bear-shaped effigy mound in present-day Bear Mound Park and remnants of nearby mounds on adjacent residential property. Built by Mound Builder cultures between 500 and 1200 A.D., these earthworks served as burial sites. In this tradition, bear effigy mounds symbolized earth and humanity, while other animal forms represented other elements. The bear mound survives largely intact except for part of one leg, while only portions of one or two of the Curtis linear mounds remain from a larger group that once included seven linear and several conical mounds.

Madison, Wisconsin · United States