Tatham Mound is a 1991 fantasy-historical novel written by

Piers Anthony Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (born 6 August 1934) is an American author in the science fiction and Fantasy (genre), fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is best known for his :Xanth books, long-running novel series set in ...

. The story tells of Throat Shot, a member of the Floridian

Toco Toco is the most northeasterly village on the island of Trinidad in Trinidad and Tobago. The island of Tobago is to the northeast, making Toco the closest point in Trinidad to the sister island. The name Toco was ascribed to the area by its early ...

tribe, and his quest to prevent an unknown danger from harming his people. The story was inspired by finds at Tatham Mound, located near the Withlacoochee River in

Citrus County Citrus County is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 153,843. Its county seat is Inverness, and its largest community is Homosassa Springs. Citrus County compris ...

, Florida.

Summary

During his first raid, an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

boy named Hotfoot is injured by a rival tribe's arrow piercing through his upper arm, eventually crippling him. In an attempt to hide from his pursuers, Hotfoot stumbles upon a burial mound, watched over by its Spirit, Dead Eagle. It is Dead Eagle who chooses Hotfoot for a very important task: a terrible danger is coming, and in order to discover a way to avoid it, Hotfoot must seek out a

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical ...

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macro ...

called the Ulunsuti, which is guarded by a terrible snake known as the Uktena. To help him in his quest, Dead Eagle gives Hotfoot the ability to communicate with the dead, though Hotfoot will find that many will not speak to him later on. Not only that, but Hotfoot's fear has been taken away as well. Reluctantly, Hotfoot accepts the mission.

Characters

*Throat Shot: The protagonist, a member of the

Tocobaga Tocobaga (occasionally Tocopaca) was the name of a chiefdom, its chief, and its principal town during the 16th century. The chiefdom was centered around the northern end of Old Tampa Bay, the arm of Tampa Bay that extends between the present-da ...

people of Florida (shortened to Toco in the novel). Earning his name when he set foot on hot

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

as a child, Throat Shot earned his new name when he fatally shot a Cale in the throat during a raid with two of his fellow tribesmen. Though his tribe now viewed him as a man for his actions, Throat Shot feels shock over what he'd done. His upper left arm no longer works due to an arrow piercing through it during that same raid. He is now tasked with finding a crystal to help prevent a danger from harming his people. *Tzec: Also called Wren, Tzec is a young girl who was captured by the Toco and kept at their village of Ibi Hica when Throat Shot and the Trader arrived. Her mother, the Lady Zox, is a member of the

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...

, taken away from her homeland as a slave by a man who was ordered to protect her, while her father was a Calusa

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

. Tzec had taken an interest with Throat Shot, and wishes that he would be able to buy her, but she is later taken on as the Trader's foster daughter. An ancestor of hers, known as Little Blood, played an important role in an

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...

myth. *The Trader: A man that Throat Shot first travels with. Like his name implies, The Trader travels through the region, trading with other tribes. He has one sister, named Three Scales. 1991 novels {{1990s-hist-novel-stub