1285: "The Serpent That Watches the Sky"

Interesting Things with JC #1285: "The Serpent That Watches the Sky" – A 1,348-foot serpent lies hidden on an Ohio bluff...coiled not for strike, but for story. No bones. No gold. Just dirt, sun, and the memory of a people who mapped the sky by hand.

• Curriculum

  Episode Anchor

  Episode Title
  The Serpent That Watches the Sky

  Episode Number
  #1285

  Host: JC

  Audience: Grades 9–12, college intro, homeschool, lifelong learners

  Subject Area: Archaeology, Astronomy, Indigenous Studies, Earth Science, Cultural History

  Lesson Overview

  Students will:

  • Define the historical and astronomical significance of the Great Serpent Mound.

  • Compare cultural attributions regarding the builders of the mound (Adena vs. Fort Ancient).

  • Analyze the astronomical alignments of the Serpent Mound and their implications.

  • Explain how oral traditions and observations were used to create complex monuments without written language.

  Key Vocabulary

  • Effigy (EH-fuh-jee) — A representation or image, often of a person or animal; in this episode, an effigy mound shaped like a serpent.

  • Solstice (SOL-stis) — Either of the two times in the year when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, marked by the longest and shortest days.

  • Radiocarbon Dating (RAY-dee-oh-KAR-bon DAY-ting) — A method for determining the age of an object by measuring the amount of carbon-14 it contains.

  • Cryptoexplosion Structure (KRIP-toh-ehk-SPLOH-zhun STRUK-chur) — A geologic term referring to a disrupted area of bedrock, typically caused by a meteor impact.

  • Lunar Standstill (LOO-nar STAND-still) — A rare lunar event that occurs every 18.6 years, where the moon reaches its extreme northern or southern rising point.

  Narrative Core (Based on the PSF – renamed labels)

  • Open — The episode begins by describing how the Great Serpent Mound does not dominate the landscape, but captivates those who study it.

  • Info — It introduces the mound's dimensions, form, and possible lunar and solar correspondences.

  • Details — Focus on the precise solstice and lunar alignments, cultural origin theories (Adena vs. Fort Ancient), and its construction atop a meteor crater.

  • Reflection — Emphasizes the enduring mystery, cultural reverence, and non-written memory systems of Native American builders.

  • Closing — “These are interesting things, with JC.”

  Transcript

  [Full unedited script as provided in your initial message.]

  Student Worksheet

  1. What are two possible cultural groups believed to have constructed the Serpent Mound?

  2. Why is the alignment of the serpent’s head with the summer solstice significant?

  3. What natural geological feature lies beneath the mound?

  4. Explain the role of oral tradition in constructing the mound.

  5. Write a short paragraph comparing the Serpent Mound to modern astronomical observatories.

  Teacher Guide

  Estimated Time
  1–2 class periods (45–60 minutes each)

  Pre-Teaching Vocabulary Strategy
  Use illustrated flashcards and guided imagery for terms like “effigy,” “solstice,” and “cryptoexplosion.”

  Anticipated Misconceptions

  • Students may assume mounds were burial sites by default. Clarify that the Serpent Mound contains no burials.

  • Some may think ancient cultures lacked scientific knowledge; emphasize observational astronomy.

  Discussion Prompts

  • Why might ancient cultures have built monuments aligned with celestial events?

  • How can oral traditions preserve scientific information over generations?

  Differentiation Strategies

  • ESL: Pair vocabulary with visual cues and sentence frames.

  • IEP: Offer audio version of the transcript with embedded questions.

  • Gifted: Invite comparative analysis with other world monuments (e.g., Stonehenge, Chaco Canyon).

  Extension Activities

  • Build a scaled model of the mound aligned to classroom windows simulating solstice shadows.

  • Research another celestial-aligned monument and present its function and culture.

  Cross-Curricular Connections

  • Physics/Astronomy: Solar angles, Earth's tilt, lunar standstills

  • Geography: Mapping coordinates and cultural landscapes

  • History: Indigenous North American civilizations

  Quiz

  Q1. What is the total length of the Great Serpent Mound?
  A. 300 feet
  B. 678 feet
  C. 1,348 feet
  D. 2,010 feet
  Answer: C

  Q2. Which astronomical event does the serpent’s head align with?
  A. Winter solstice sunset
  B. Summer solstice sunset
  C. Equinox moonrise
  D. Lunar eclipse
  Answer: B

  Q3. What type of crater lies beneath the mound?
  A. Volcanic caldera
  B. Sinkhole
  C. Meteor impact crater
  D. Ice age basin
  Answer: C

  Q4. Which culture is most closely associated with the 1070 CE date of construction?
  A. Hopewell
  B. Adena
  C. Fort Ancient
  D. Mississippian
  Answer: C

  Q5. What feature at the tail end of the mound is most distinct?
  A. Burial chamber
  B. Double coil
  C. Triple spiral
  D. Water basin
  Answer: C

  Assessment

  1. Why might the builders of the Serpent Mound have chosen to align it with solar and lunar events?

  2. What evidence supports the Fort Ancient culture as the creators of the Serpent Mound?

  3–2–1 Rubric:

  • 3 = Accurate, complete, thoughtful

  • 2 = Partial or missing detail

  • 1 = Inaccurate or vague

  Standards Alignment

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.3 — Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas.
    

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.2 — Determine the central ideas or information of a primary source.
    

  • NGSS HS-ESS1-4 — Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system.
    

  • C3.D2.His.1.9-12 — Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place.
    

  • ISTE 3b — Evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information.
    

  • OCR GCSE History J410 (UK) — Understand how historians investigate the past using archaeological evidence.

• Transcript

  Interesting Things with JC #1285: "The Serpent That Watches the Sky"

  It doesn’t rise like a tower or shine like gold. It doesn’t command attention. It waits for it.

  Laid low along a bluff above Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio, the Great Serpent Mound stretches 1,348 feet (411 meters) from end to end, never rising more than 3 feet (0.9 meters) off the ground. And yet, for more than a thousand years, it has captured the attention of astronomers, historians, and anyone who understands how difficult it is to build precision into dirt.

  The serpent’s shape isn’t accidental. Its body curves in seven coils, some researchers say they may correspond to the phases of the moon, or to constellations once visible to its builders. At one end, its tail forms a tightly wound triple spiral. At the other, its head is flattened and open-mouthed, appearing to swallow, or protect, an egg-shaped oval that measures about 120 feet (36.6 meters) long. No bones, no ash pits, no treasures. Just shape, earth, and alignment.

  And the alignment is the key.

  The serpent’s head points almost perfectly to the setting sun on the summer solstice. That’s June 20 or 21 in the modern calendar. When the sun lowers in the sky that evening, it appears to fall into the serpent’s mouth. Further along the coils, there are directional correspondences to the winter solstice sunrise, equinox sunrises, and major lunar standstills, a rare event occurring every 18.6 years, when the moon rises at its most extreme northern and southern points.

  These aren’t artistic accidents. They’re calculated markers, built into a calendar that required decades of sky watching. No written language. No telescopes. Just memory, oral record, and generations of observation.

  Who built it?

  That depends on the evidence you accept.

  Radiocarbon testing conducted in the 1990s suggested a construction date of around 1070 CE. That timing aligns with a celestial event, the appearance of Halley’s Comet in 1066, and a total solar eclipse in 1070. That suggests the Fort Ancient culture, a Mississippian-influenced society that lived in the Ohio Valley between 1000 and 1650 CE, may have created it.

  But earlier excavations in the 1880s uncovered nearby burial mounds belonging to the Adena culture, an older group that flourished from around 1000 BCE to 200 CE. Some scholars argue the serpent form was initially conceptualized by the Adena, then reshaped or completed by the Fort Ancient people centuries later. Others see it as wholly Fort Ancient, using sacred Adena sites as symbolic anchors.

  What’s uncontested is its deliberate engineering.

  The mound rests atop a rare geological feature, an ancient impact crater nearly 5 miles (8 kilometers) wide, known as the Serpent Mound cryptoexplosion structure. The bedrock beneath the mound is fractured and unstable, formed when a meteorite slammed into the region hundreds of millions of years ago. The builders didn’t have geologic maps. But they chose the rim of this crater as the location for their monument. Some geologists believe electromagnetic anomalies at the site may have influenced the placement, if such forces were sensed or honored by its creators.

  In some Native American traditions, serpents are protectors of life, guardians of water, fertility, and the passage between worlds. In others, they’re symbols of knowledge or cosmic power. The specific cultural identity of the mound’s builders remains unclear, but the symbolism of the snake, the sun, and the earth runs deep across tribal mythologies.

  And it’s not alone in the world.

  Serpent-shaped effigy mounds exist in parts of Canada and the southeastern United States, but none match the scale, orientation, or complexity of this one. No bones have been found inside it. It was not a tomb. It wasn’t defensive. It wasn’t residential. It was a marker, a skyward link, a structure made not to house the dead, but to communicate with the eternal.

  The site was first documented in 1846 by surveyors Ephraim Squier and Edwin Davis, who included it in their monumental volume Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley. Their drawings helped bring the Serpent Mound to national attention and led to eventual preservation.

  Today, the site is protected as a National Historic Landmark. It draws archaeologists, tourists, and Indigenous visitors. But its meaning remains contested, even sacred, especially among modern Native communities, who view it not as a curiosity, but as a living symbol of ancestral knowledge and unbroken memory.

  No hieroglyphs. No inscriptions. No declarations. Just alignment. Just structure. Just the long, still form of a serpent, quietly watching the sky.

  These are interesting things, with JC.

• Show Notes

  This episode of Interesting Things with JC explores the Great Serpent Mound in Ohio, a prehistoric effigy aligned with key astronomical events. It provides a vivid case study of Indigenous engineering, memory, and cosmology, offering students a lens into how ancient societies encoded knowledge into the landscape without writing. Perfect for interdisciplinary lessons in history, science, and cultural studies, this episode prompts critical thinking about time, belief, and the sky.

  Reference:

  Ohio History Connection. (n.d.). Serpent Mound. https://www.ohiohistory.org/visit/browse-historical-sites/serpent-mound/