The Adena culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from c. 1000 BC to 100 BC, in a time known as the early Woodland Period. The Adena culture refers to what were probably a number of related Native American societies sharing a burial complex and ceremonial system. The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the Americas continent. ... This article is about the people indigenous to the United States. ... The Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures lasted roughly from 1000 BCE to 1000 CE. The term Woodland was coined in the 1930s and refers to prehistoric sites between the Archaic period and the Mississippian cultures. ...

The Adena culture

The Adena was a Mound Builder culture that flourished in eastern North America before the time of European contact. The Adena lived in a variety of locations, including: Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, and parts of Pennsylvania and New York. The Adena culture is seen as the precursor to the cultural traditions of the Hopewell culture which are sometimes thought as an elaboration, or zenith, of Adena traditions. They are notable for their agricultural practices, pottery, artistic works and extensive trading network that supplied the Adena with a variety of raw materials such as copper from the Great Lakes to shells from the Gulf Coast. Miamisburg Mound, the largest conical mound in Ohio, is attributed to the Adena archaeological culture. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... Territories in the Americas colonized or claimed by a European great power in 1750. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Greater Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... For other uses, see Indiana (disambiguation). ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Largest metro area Charleston metro area Area  Ranked 41st  - Total 24,244 sq mi (62,809 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 240 miles (385 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area  Ranked 37th  - Total 40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Largest metro area Delaware Valley Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... This article is about the state. ... Hopewell mounds from the Mound City Group in Ohio Hopewell culture is the term used to describe common aspects of the Native American culture that flourished along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern United States from 200 BC to 400 A.D. At its greatest extent, Hopewell culture stretched from...

Once Adena mounds numbered in the thousands but only a number of Adena earthen monuments still survive today. Some of these mounds generally ranged in size from 20 to 300 feet in diameter, and served as burial structures, ceremonial sites, historical markers and possibly gathering places. The Adena were also known for their complex earthworks which are thought to mark places where important buildings or ceremonial sites once existed, although few of these sites are extant. These mounds were built using hundreds of thousands of basket-fulls of specially selected and graded earth. The Adena often included the remains of their honored dead in the mounds, sometimes enclosed in tombs of wood or stone. Look up mound in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Mounds

Grave Creek Mound in West Virginia

Adena culture's most lasting artifacts were substantial earthworks, a number of which still survive and can be studied by archaeologists. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 414 pixelsFull resolution (2856 × 1478 pixels, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 414 pixelsFull resolution (2856 × 1478 pixels, file size: 1. ... At 62 feet high and 240 feet in diameter, the Grave Creek Mound is the largest conical type burial mound in the United States of America. ... In civil engineering, earthworks are engineering works created through the moving of massive quantities of soil or unformed stone. ... For referencing in Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Citing sources. ...

According to archaeological investigations, Adena mounds were usually built as part of burial ritual, in which the earth of the mound was piled immediately atop a burned mortuary building. These mortuary buildings were intended to keep and maintain the dead until their final burial was performed. Before the construction of the mounds, some utilitarian and grave goods would be placed on the floor of the structure, which was burned with the goods and honored dead within. The mound would then be constructed, and often a new mortuary structure would be placed atop the new mound. After a series of repetitions, mound/mortuary/mound/mortuary, a quite prominent earthwork would remain. In the later Adena period, circular ridges of unknown function were sometimes constructed around the burial mounds.

• The Grave Creek Mound, at 62 feet high and 240 feet in diameter, is the largest conical type burial mound in the United States. It is located in Moundsville, West Virginia. In 1838, much of the archaeological evidence in this mound was destroyed when several non-archaeologists tunneled into the mound.
• The Criel Mound, a 35-foot high and 175-foot diameter conical mound, is the second largest of its type in West Virginia. It is located in South Charleston, West Virginia. P. W. Norris of the Smithsonian Institution oversaw the excavation. His team discovered numerous skeletons along with weapons and jewelry.
• Several mounds attributed to the Adena culture can be found between Charleston and Institute in West Virginia.
• The Rock Eagle and Rock Hawk Effigy Mounds, in Putnam County, Georgia are sometimes attributed to members of the Adena or Hopewell cultures, but may have been created by a distinct group.

At 62 feet high and 240 feet in diameter, the Grave Creek Mound is the largest conical type burial mound in the United States of America. ... Moundsville is a city in Marshall County, West Virginia, along the Ohio River. ... The Criel Mound The Criel Mound is a Native American burial mound located in South Charleston, West Virginia, USA. The mound was built by the Adena culture, probably around 250-150 BC, and lay equidistant between two “sacred circles”, each 556 feet in diameter. ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Largest metro area Charleston metro area Area  Ranked 41st  - Total 24,244 sq mi (62,809 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 240 miles (385 km)  - % water 0. ... South Charleston is a city in Kanawha County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 13,390 at the 2000 census. ... The Smithsonian Institution Building or Castle on the National Mall serves as the Institutions headquarters. ... Nickname: Home of Hospitality, The most northern city of the South and the most southern city of the North, Chemicalville, The Capitol City C-Town Location of Charleston in West Virginia. ... Institute is an unincorporated community on the Kanawha River in Kanawha County, West Virginia, USA. The community lies off of Interstate 64 and West Virginia State Route 25. ... Rock Eagle Effigy Mound, veiwed from adjacent observation tower, 26 August 2007. ... Rock Hawk Effigy Mound is an archaeological site in Putnam County, Georgia, U.S.A. () It consists of thousands of pieces of quartzite laid in the shape of a large bird. ... Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. ...

External Links

• Ohio Memory
• Ohio Historical Society's Archaeology Page