The end of the Hopewells came about A.D. 550 , perhaps even earlier. They ceased to build their great ceremonial centers, and in another two centuries their distinctive way of life had disappeared, their territory was depopulated, and the people themselves had been absorbed into humbler tribes.
What did the mound builders leave behind?
The people of the mound-building cultures—the Poverty Point, Adena, Hopewell, and Mississippian cultures—left behind remnants of four types of mounds . Effigies (pronounced EFF-a-geez)—mounds shaped like animals such as snakes, birds, or bears—were built along the Great Lakes and in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Iowa.
Why did the Adena disappear?
Another possibility is that the Mound Builders died from a highly infectious disease . ... Although it appears that for the most part, the Mound Builders had left Ohio before Columbus arrived in the Caribbean, there were still a few Native Americans using burial practices similar to what the Mound Builders used.
Where did the Mound Builders go?
Mound Builders were prehistoric American Indians, named for their practice of burying their dead in large mounds. Beginning about three thousand years ago, they built extensive earthworks from the Great Lakes down through the Mississippi River Valley and into the Gulf of Mexico region .
In what four states do we believe the Adena lived in?
The “Adena culture” is an archaeological term used to refer to a pre-contact American Indian culture that lived in Kentucky, southeastern Indiana, southwestern Pennsylvania , and most prominently in the Scioto River and Hocking Valleys in southern Ohio, and the Kanawha Valley near Charleston, West Virginia, during the ...
Why did the Mound Builders decline?
Another possibility is that the Mound Builders died from a highly infectious disease . ... Although it appears that for the most part, the Mound Builders had left Ohio before Columbus arrived in the Caribbean, there were still a few Native Americans using burial practices similar to what the Mound Builders used.
What language did the Mound Builders speak?
So far as anyone knows, the Mound Builders had no written language ; they speak now only through what may be studied from the artifacts they left behind.
Why did they build mounds?
Mounds were typically flat-topped earthen pyramids used as platforms for religious buildings, residences of leaders and priests, and locations for public rituals . In some societies, honored individuals were also buried in mounds.
Why did Mississippians build mounds?
The Middle Woodland period (100 B.C. to 200 A.D.) was the first era of widespread mound construction in Mississippi. Middle Woodland peoples were primarily hunters and gatherers who occupied semipermanent or permanent settlements. Some mounds of this period were built to bury important members of local tribal groups .
Why did ancient people build mounds?
From c. 500 B.C. to c. 1650 A.D., the Adena, Hopewell, and Fort Ancient Native American cultures built mounds and enclosures in the Ohio River Valley for burial, religious, and, occasionally, defensive purposes . They often built their mounds on high cliffs or bluffs for dramatic effect, or in fertile river valleys.
Who was the leader of the mound builders?
(Archaeologists are scientists who study the remains of ancient people.) These Indians came to be called the “Mound Builders.” The leading Mound Builders were the Adena, Hopewell, and Mississippians .
What are the three different mound builders?
There are three different cultures that prospered at three different times that are classified as Mound Builders: the Adena (1000 BCE–200 CE), the Hopewell (100 BCE–700 CE) , and Mississippian (500 CE–1600 CE). There are thousands of their mounds throughout the eastern part of the United States.
What was the location of the largest mound building culture?
LaDonna Brown, Tribal Anthropologist for the Chickasaw Nation Department of History & Culture, describes Cahokia Mounds, which is located on the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city directly across the Mississippi River from present-day St. Louis .
What did the Adena believe in?
Adena Religion Although the mounds are beautiful artistic pieces themselves, Adena artists created smaller, more personal pieces of art. Many pieces of art seemed to revolve around shamanic beliefs . Also the transformation of humans into animals (particularly birds, wolves, bears and deer) and back to human form.
What happened to Adena people?
Lasting traces of Adena culture are still seen in the remains of their substantial earthworks . At one point, larger Adena mounds numbered in the hundreds, but only a small number of the remains of the larger Adena earthen monuments still survive today.
How old are Adena arrowheads?
Adena arrowheads are up to a few thousand years old – rather ancient, but not nearly the oldest projectile points you can find in North America. People used Adena points between 3500 years ago and 1300 years ago. In North American archeological terms, they were made in the late archaic period and the woodland period.
