They sit on the West side of campus just like two giant balls underneath a rug of green grass.
They were here long before the University, before the city and before the United States. In fact, some speculate they even predate the ancient Egyptian pyramids.
They are the Indian Mounds — sitting motionless and untouched for about 5,000 years.
The Indian Mounds have seen the landscape shift and the earth change its colors.
Ironically, the Indian Mounds have not changed much over the years.
“They belong to a set of mounds in Louisiana and are representative of how cultures were 3,500 years ago,” said Natural Sciences Museum Associate Curator Rebecca Saunders.
“The LSU Campus Mounds: A National Treasure,” an informative brochure, states the mounds are part of eight mounds across the state and many more around the eastern United States.
Saunders said Indian mounds usually are cone-shaped and similar in size, but their appearance now is slightly different than during their heyday.
“When they were made, they were usually taller and a little less wide,” Saunders said.
Countless speculations exist as to the Indian Mounds’ purpose and origins.
A 1955 Reveille article cited an early legend narrated by a “Nameless Indian” dating back to the 1840s.
The legend tells of two rival tribes existing in the campus area. Tribe members from one tribe captured a young, handsome chieftain from the other tribe who was hunting in their territory.
But he had a different purpose for being there. The young chieftain was in love with the opposing chief’s daughter.
A huge battle took place as the young chieftain prepared to be sacrificed. But the courageous daughter interrupted, professing her love for the chieftain and asking the opposing tribes to end their quarrels.
The chieftain and the chief’s daughter married and tribesmen constructed the mounds in their honor as a symbol of peace.
However, Saunders disagreed with the legend and its romantic undertones.
“I don’t think people back then communicated on that level,” she said. “It sounds a little elaborate for more than 3,000 years ago.”
Before the 1980s, most scientists speculated the mounds were only more than 1,000 years old and the possible usage was for a burial ground, Saunders said.
In March 1982, University professors Robert Miller, Richard Kesel and Robert Newman took six core samples from the mounds, according to a Reveille article published that same month.
The core samples gave the professors a clear picture of the Indian Mounds content, Saunders said. The findings showed the mounds were between 3,000 and 6,000 years old and proved wrong the previous theory that they were close to 1,000 years old.
Excavations of Indian mounds in Louisiana show the ancient people used tools made from materials found in the Ohio Valley, Saunders said. This leads scientists to speculate trade was a common occurrence and groups of people traveled together to certain spots to meet other tribes.
Saunders said similar mounds were created to identify the meeting areas. Groups would meet to exchange goods, information and find potential mates.
“Basically, they were like big tailgating parties,” she said.
But in addition to the Indian Mounds’ ancient history, its current history has left a mark on the University.
A 1984 Baton Rouge State Times article said the mounds were the site of a student fatality that year.
Reckless students often drove their vehicles over the mounds, seriously injuring one student in 1980 and killing student Elizabeth Smoak in November 1984, the article stated.
A plaque now stands on one of the mounds with Smoak’s name engraved in it.
The administration quickly constructed pole barriers around the mounds and later assigned students in the Landscaping Department to landscape the area to prevent further damage to the mounds and possible injuries, the Baton Rouge State Times article stated.
Although the administration took measures to barricade the mounds, no major excavations occurred to unearth its mysteries, Saunders said.
Saunders said the administration protects the Indian Mounds because no immediate need exists to see what is inside.
Any excavations, dealing with digs and construction, would cause major problems on campus. Also, the mounds are near heavy traffic areas and “treasure hunters” might steal findings at night, Saunders said.
“[Another] problem with excavation is that you destroy what you are looking at,” said history professor Paul Hoffman.
So the administration chose to leave the Indian Mounds alone, Hoffman said.
Saunders said the administration and Facility Services have done a good job preserving the mounds.
“In the last decade, they’ve really been responsive in taking care of them,” she said.
A Reveille article from September 1946 said the mounds were once used “as perches for campus politicians, loafing spots for the weary and locales for watermelon feasts.”
Today, students use the Indian Mounds more casually.
Political science senior Alyce Tabor sat on the Indian Mounds on Wednesday to study and enjoy the nice weather.
Tabor heard many legends and theories behind the mounds’ origins and finds it amazing the mounds have not been not knocked down yet.
“Most students don’t really wonder how old the land is,” Tabor said. “The mounds give students a greater sense of the history of the area.”