IV.

Adena Culture

The Adena mound-building culture, centered in the Ohio River Valley, occupied parts of Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New York. It lasted from about 1100 bc to ad 200. The majority of Adena earthworks were dome-shaped burial mounds, in which beautifully crafted tools and ceremonial objects were placed with human remains. The mounds rose higher over time as layers of dirt were added for new burials. Other Adena earthworks form geometric or animal shapes. The Serpent Mound, an effigy mound in southern Ohio, is in the shape of a snake 411 m (1,348 ft) long. It is believed to be Adena because of artifacts found in a burial mound nearby; its purpose is unknown. Adena peoples were primarily hunter-gatherers, but they also practiced some farming, especially the growing of tobacco for ceremonial purposes.