Last Stand of the Mound Builders: Giants, Obsidian Weapons, and a War of Extermination in Iowa
The Mound Builders, marked by their low, retreating foreheads, broad skulls, and advanced pottery, appear to have made their last stand in these canyons. One excavator unearthed a giant over 7 feet 6 inches tall, judged by a 25-inch shin bone reaching past his knee. Its massive jaw—1.75 inches deep, 6.5 inches around the base, 5.5 inches across—held perfect teeth, buried with a beautifully shaped pot over the mouth, strings of beads, and war implements, marking a great chief.
