OHIO STATEWIDE FILES - Know your Ohio: Ohio's American Natives [2] *********************************************************************** OHGENWEB NOTICE: All distribution rights to this electronic data are reserved by the submitter. Reproduction or re-presentation of copyrighted material will require the permission of the copyright owner. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. *********************************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374 April 20, 2000 *********************************************************************** Historical Collections of Ohio Diaries of S. J. Kelly Plains Dealer Know Your Ohio by Darlene E. Kelley *********************************************************************** Ohio's American Natives -- Part 2 About 1000 B.C. we can mark the beginning of a new period for man in North America. This period, which lasted until about 700 A.D., is called the Woodland Period. It is during this time that a new culture emerged and made significant settlements in what is now known as west Virginia. These people are known to us today by the term as Mound Builders. They were so named for their practice of creating earthern burial mounds and other earthworks. The Mound Builders lived over a wide range from the Atlantic, the Midwest and the Ohio Valley to the Mississippi Valley. The term Mound Builders refers to several cultures that span a period of about 20 centuries. The first group of people to develop ths unique way of life were the Adena people. From about 1000 B.C. to appoximately 1 A.D. a later group of Mound Builders, the Hopewell, lived about 1 A.D. to 700 A.D. and represented a greater refinement over the Adena culture. Other cultures extended the Mound Builders to about 1300 A.D. Adena Mound Detail-- Built on a natural ground surface, the original mound is built with a covered passageway. The lower vault is 12x8 feet. There is a secondary mound surface built over the original mound with an 8x16 foot upper vault. In the center is a vertical shaft of approximate 10 foot in diameter. This is a burial Vault. The Adena built mounds range generally in size from 20 to 300 feet in diameter. The Adena lived in a wide area including much of the present day Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, and parts of Pennsylvania and New York. They had well organized societies since the consruction of the Mounds took a great deal of effort. The labor of many people must have been required since the Adena had not yet developed more sophisticated means of construction. The large amounts of earth had to be moved by the basket load. Perhaps for this reason, the mounds were often used more than once. We find in many mounds there are multiple burials at different levels. Over a period of time, the mounds gradually increased in size. A majority of the people were cremated after death, placed in small log tombs and covered with earth. More important people were ofen buried in the flesh and laid to rest with a variety of artifacts such as flints, beads, pipes, and mica and copper ornaments. The largest of these sites is the Grave Creek Mound. This site is of the late Adena Period and was built in successive stages over a period of 100 years or more. We do not know why the Adena chose to build this particular mound on such a large scale compared to other burial mounds in the area. The Adena people were extensive traders as evidenced by the types of material found in the mounds they constructed. Copper from the western Great Lakes region, mica from the Carolinas and shells from the Gulf of Mexico, all attest to the economic activity. In addition, the culture also practiced agriculture, hunting and fishing. An typical Adena house was built in a circular form from 15 to 45 feet in diameter. The walls were made of paired posts tilted outward, joined to other wood to form a conical shaped roof. The roof was covered with bark and the walls may have been bark, wickerwork or some combination. By about 500 B.C., the Adena culture began to slowly give way to a more sophisticated culture, the Hopwell. Although little remains of their villages, the Adena left great monuments to mark their passing, and one of the greatest of these is the Grave Creek Mound. Grave Creek Mound is probably the most famous of the Adena burial mounds, and certainly the most impressive. Not only is it the largest mound, but it is the largest conical type of any of the mound builder structures. In 1838, road engineers measured the height of the mound at 69 feet and the diameter at the base as 295 feet. Originally a moat of about 40 feet in width and five feet in depth with one causeway encircled the mond. Construction of the mound took place in sucessive stages from about 250-150 B.C., as indicated by the multiple burials, at different levels within the structure. The building of the mound and moat must have been a massive undertaking, since the total effort required the movement of over 60,000 tons of earth. ****************************************************** Timeline of Native Occupations of Ohio-- Paleo-Indians -- 10,000 to 8000 B.C. The first small groups of Native Americans known as the Paleo-Indians, enter Ohio in search of game animals in the newly ice-free lands of the Great Lakes. Archaic -- 8000 to 1000 B.C. People of the Archaic period hunt and gather modern forms of forest plants and animals in a seasonal cycle of movement between the river valleys, the Lake Erie shoreline, and interior forests and wetlands. Woodland -- 1000 B.C. to A.D. 1000. Woodland period inhabitants of northern Ohio begin the use of pottery. They also construct burial mounds and cultivate squash, gourds, and native seed plants in small gardens. Whittlesey -- A.D. 1000 to 1600. The latest prehistoric peoples of Northwest Ohio known as Whittlesey, live in settled villages. They fashioned elborate pottery, grow corn, beans, and squash; and use the bow and arrow for hunting and warfare. A, D. 1650 to 1740. Native peoples appear to have abandoned northern Ohio after A.D. 1650. Early Historic after A.D. 1740. The region is reoccupied by Wyandot, Ottawa and other native groups after 1740. Direct contact with Euro-Americans brings brass and iron trade goods and glass beads into widespread use. These quickly replace native pottery and stone tools. Epidemics of introduced diseases change tribal cultures forever. ****************************************************** to be continued in part 3 -- The Whittlesey People.