Native North American Cultures

Native AmericansNation = Tribe

Native American = Indian

Cultures of the Americas

• Adena• Hopewell• Mississippian

• Anasazi• Pueblo

–Hopi–Zuni

• Plains–Mandan–Sioux

Yes, Native Americans built pyramids, too.

There are THOUSANDS of ruins throughout the United States to

prove it !

Criel Mound, South Charleston, West Virginia

Colonial explorers crossed the Appalachian Mountains and discovered large earthen

mounds and geometric earthworks !!

Who built these mounds?

Why?

Mound Builders The Adena The Hopewell Culture The Mississippians

Mound Builders• Built mounds

• 3000 years ago• Stretched from Iowa –

Mississippi-Florida

Mound Builders• Effigy Mounds

– Iowa–Georgia–Minnesota–Wisconsin – Illinois

• Wisconsin built more mounds than did those in any other region of North America—between 15,000 and 20,000 mounds, at least 4,000 of which remain today.

• Native North American effigy mounds have been compared to the large-scale effigy forms depicted in the Nazca Lines of Peru.

Mound Builders• Effigy Mounds• Wisconsin has more mounds than

any other region of North America– between 15,000 and 20,000 mounds– 4,000 of which remain today

• Native North American effigy mounds have been compared to the large-scale effigy forms depicted in the Nazca Lines of Peru

Serpent Mound in Ohio – 1200 ft long, 3 ft high

THE ADENA MOUNDBUILDER

S

1000 BCE-200 BCE

•Adena built mounds to bury dead.

•Adena occupied valleys along Ohio River and its tributaries from about 1000 B. C. to 400 A. D.

•Hopewell and Mississippian people also built mounds

The Adena Moundbuilders

The Adena Moundbuilders

•Adena people named after estate of Ohio Governor Worthington

•In 1901 mound on Adena estate was excavated

• Adena mound contained distinctive artifacts that identify the Adena group

The Adena Moundbuilders

•May have migrated from Mexico•MtDNA indicates maternal lineage•Similar physical type•Similar decorative designs•Both groups erected mounds over burial tombs

•Adena pipe shows squat male, with goitered neck, and stylized hair.

•Ear spools and a loin cloth feathered in back similar to Aztec cultures

The Adena Moundbuilders

The Adena Moundbuilders:

Burials of Adena Elite • decorative objects• copper bracelets

• mica• pipes

• seed pearls• tablets incised with symbols• tablets with ancient writing

Adena Moundbuilders:Grave Creek Mound, Moundsville,

WV

Grave Creek Mound on Tomlinson farm excavated by local men. A tunnel started four feet above ground struck a lower tomb near the center. It contained two skeletons.

Adena Moundbuilders:Grave Creek Mound Excavation

Shaft sunk from top

A second tunnel 34 feet above ground reached upper tomb with one skeleton and grave goods including an inscribed tablet

Tunnel to lower tomb