In North American archaeology, intaglio () is a term from art applied to
burial mounds
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...
that refers to a design cut into a hard surface. In this case, the burial mounds have designs cut into the ground, though ''intaglio'' broadly applies to burial mounds which are raised above the natural surface of the terrain. There are much more rare forms where they are left as indents below the natural terrain. These are typically in some effigy shape such as the
Panther Intaglio Effigy Mound, which can be seen in
Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
Fort Atkinson is a city in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States. It is on the Rock River, a few miles upstream from Lake Koshkonong. The population was 12,579 at the 2020 census. Fort Atkinson is the largest city located entirely in Jeffers ...
, where it is the last remaining intaglio mound in the state.
References
See also
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Blythe Intaglios
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Geoglyph
A geoglyph is a large design or motif (generally longer than 4 metres) produced on the ground by durable elements of the landscape, such as stones, stone fragments, gravel, or earth. A positive geoglyph is formed by the arrangement and alignmen ...
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Nazca Lines
The Nazca Lines are a group of geoglyphs made in the soil of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. They were created between 500 BCE and 500 CE by people making depressions or shallow incisions in the desert floor, removing pebbles and l ...
(famous example)
Types of monuments and memorials
Italian words and phrases
Archaeology of the United States
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