Mounds State Park is a state park near Anderson, Madison County, Indiana featuring Native American heritage, and ten ceremonial mounds built by the prehistoric Adena culture indigenous peoples of eastern North America, and also used centuries later by Hopewell culture inhabitants. It is separate from (and about 79 miles northwest of) the similarly named Mounds State Recreation Area (near Brookville, Franklin County, Indiana). The park receives about 400,000 visitors annually. The park is 1 of 14 Indiana State Parks that are in the path of totality for the 2024 solar eclipse, with the park having 3 minutes and 45 seconds of totality. Mounds The largest earthwork, the "Great Mound", is believed to have been constructed around 160 BCE. The Great Mound is a circular earth enclosure with an internal ditch and south to southwest entrance. The earthworks measure across from bank to bank. The embankment is wide at its base, and the ditch is deep and across at its top. The central platform is across and was occupied by a central mound in diameter. One particular mound at the Anderson Site has a sequence of clay platforms, each deliberately covered by a layer of ash. Earthworks The term earthworks includes any structure made from the earth. In Native American studies, there are three primary types: mounds, circular enclosures, and complexes. All are found in Central Indiana and in the state park. Mounds State Park has a complex of enclosures, both circular and rectangular. There are seven enclosures and four additional earthworks, which have been divided into two groups, the northern complex and the southern complex. The "Great Mound" enclosure is the dominant structure in the park and the southern group. Great Mound The Great Mound is approximately across and consists of an outer embankment high and wide, surrounding a wide ditch that is deep. The central platform, is diameter with a central mound, high and in diameter. The central mound was excavated in 1968/69 and found to have three clay layers, each with ashes, showing a succession of use periods. The complex has been dated to 160 BCE through 50 CE These dates are obtained through radiocarbon dating and some artifacts. A nearby log tomb was found with a platform pipe typical of Hopewell styles from 50 C.E. Post hole remnants were dated to 60 BCE and 230 CE. Radiocarbon dates from excavated material of the Great Mound established 160