Have you ever wondered what came before?  Have you ever been fascinated by the legends of Atlantis or the origins of the Pyramids of Egypt?

Have you ever realized that the likelihood of having a similar site within driving distance is higher than you think?

My daughter is researching Creek Indians and their influence to our local culture for a school project.  While helping her do internet research, I realized two important things.  The first was, while I’m well-versed and historically educated in a variety of myths and legends involving everything from Asian mythology to Mayan death rites, I knew nothing about the mythology and cultural history of the ground I live on.

The second was that, like many people, I assumed that grand cultures were somewhere else.  South American temples and pyramids rival Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids.  There were no obvious evidence of a culture like that here, after all…right?

Wrong.  On one of my daughter’s random internet searches, we uncovered a surprising reality.  Ocmulgee Mounds – comfortably within driving distance – was a thriving Creek settlement.  Yesterday, we loaded up and took a field trip so she could see her subject first-hand.  But it wasn’t my daughter who had the biggest history lesson.

The site dates back 12,000 years.  That’s right.  TWELVE THOUSAND YEARS AGO, the American Indians had a thriving civilization.  Walking across the Macon Plateau, I felt awed and humbled by our own mound builders.  I also didn’t feel alone.

At Gettysburg, I have felt the dead watching as I tread on the grass fed by their blood.  Gettysburg is a restless presence.  The Ocmulgee site was a far more soothing, welcoming embrace similar to how it felt to walk the paths created by Vikings in Iceland.  It’s as if the ghosts from the past are glad they have not been forgotten…even if the threads of the historical records have been frayed by time.

I challenge you to do the same thing.  Take a moment out of your day to look into the possibilities of what came before European settlement in your area.  For the next six weeks, I’m going to hold a contest for a $25 iTunes giftcard.  To enter, all you have to do is comment with the State you live in and an internet link to a prehistoric or pre-European resource.

For me, it’s Georgia – and the link to the Ocmulgee Mounds (and I encourage you to check it out) is http://www.nps.gov/ocmu/.