Mound-Building Cultures in the Eastern Woodlands

THE AMERICAS IN ANCIENT TIMES HIST 1301 | History Mound-Building Cultures in the Eastern Woodlands The term "Adena" refers to the mound-building civilization that was prevalent in the Ohio River basin and was named for a mound that was unearthed in 1901 in Ross County, Ohio. These were burial sites, as were the hundreds more found nearby. They began modestly, with one or two notable individuals interred, but they developed as more were interred and more soil was used to bury them. Logs lined the interior of some of the mounds, while a sizable circular ditch surrounded others. Posthole evidence suggests the areas may have served as gathering or ceremonial places since it shows that buildings had existed there as well. Red ocher and other colours were frequently used to adorn the deceased people's bodies. Jewellery, firearms, stone tools, seashells, and pipes used to smoke tobacco and/or kinnikinnick, a blend of leaves and bark, were among the artefacts found in the grave. Initially, the valley's mound-building communities were tiny, possibly consisting of only a few buildings. In addition, the mounds themselves were modest in comparison to those of succeeding cultures such as the Hopewell tradition, which originated about 200 BCE and eventually extended throughout the Eastern Woodlands via a shared system of trade channels. The Hopewell tradition, one of the most remarkable of several from this era in the Woodlands, dates back to around 200 BCE and is named for a massive earthwork complex that once covered 130 acres in modern-day Ohio. The site is a vast earthen rectangle in the shape of a D that has thirty-eight distinct mounds. The biggest are three connected mounds that together reached over 300 feet in width and 30 feet in height prior to centuries of erosion. Large platforms were probably utilised for rituals and previously held up timber buildings. Similar in style is another Hopewell site at Newark, Ohio, which consists of earthen enclosures, mounds, and an observation circle arranged to correspond with the moon's movement and probably be used to forecast lunar eclipses and other seasonal phenomena. It would have taken a lot of labour to build such mounds using the technologies of the time, suggesting a highly organised civilization. There is little indication that the mound complexes were the location of urban communities; instead, they were used for ceremonial purposes. Rather, the majority of Hopewell culture members resided in tiny, scattered villages with a small number of extended families. They raised cultivated plants like bottle gourds and sunflowers in addition to using hunter-gatherer techniques. At their ceremonial grounds, neighbouring clans probably gathered to engage in religious rituals, hunting, and gatherings. Ancestors, including those interred in the mounds, were revered in religious traditions. Burying their dead leaders in the same mounds was a common practice across the surrounding villages, probably as a means of creating symbolic linkages between different kin groupings. Evidence from places such as the Newark site indicates that rituals for remembrance and burial were likely tied to significant astronomical observations as well as seasonal variations. Numerous creative representations of animals, such as beavers, bears, dogs, cats, and even strange combinations of these, were among the artefacts left in the mounds. These were probably tied to both the religious rituals and particular ancestor ceremonies of each kin group and held symbolic significance for them. The Hopewell tradition's political settlements were mostly egalitarian and decentralised. There were no strong leaders; instead, the leadership structures of various kin groupings may have been centred around shamans or shamanistic activities. But there were also specialised divisions of labour, such as among healers, clan chiefs, and those with certain spiritual traits required for deciphering astrological signs, arranging funerals, and safeguarding significant religious customs. Shamanistic characters were frequently interred with ceremonial artefacts fashioned like totem animals or bird claws made of copper, stone, wood, or other materials. Additional evidence of substantial long-distance commerce can be seen in items found within the mounds. Copper from Lake Superior, quartz from Arkansas, mica from the Appalachian area, marine shells from the Gulf coast, and obsidian from as far away as the Rocky Mountains are among those found in the Ohio River basin. Individuals travelling along rivers or the networks of village routes engaged in trade for these items. The construction of mounds and commerce declined in the fourth century CE, marking the beginning of the downfall of the Hopewell tradition towns. Larger kin group relationships may have disintegrated due to underlying theological difficulties, albeit the exact cause is unknown. In the Midwest, communities constructed many so-called effigy mounds starting around 600. Essentially, these are earthen mounds shaped like wolves, bears, snakes, and birds. The effigy mounds, like many older mounds, served as places of burial, however typically held the remains of a small number of people. Generally speaking, they were built faster and with less labour than the earlier Hopewell mounds—possibly by a few hundred individuals labouring over a few days.