i visited etowah indian mounds recently. the mounds are up near cartersville. the main mound is the largest indian mound in the southeast, at 61 feet. the dirt was all dug from a trench created around the base of the village that was there. with no shovels, buckets, or any kind of tools we know of, this mammoth mound was built. it is 1 acre big at the top, and is where important ceremonies took place. it was built sometime around 950 a.d...by the time deSoto arrived in 1520, it was deserted, and the indians around there had no knowledge of its history. the vista from the top includes a gorgeous view of the etowah river and surrounding fertile plains, as well as white man’s trailer park, and, on the horizon, industrial towers belching smoke. the lives of the indian inhabitants are surrounded in mystery, as is the future of white man’s progress.