Adena Mound in Chillicothe, Ohio, gave the Adena culture its name. Once about 26 feet high, it was excavated by William C. Mills in 1901 and again in 1904. The work uncovered 36 burials and the carved Adena pipe—a man with earplugs, a feathered headdress and loincloth, commonly interpreted as a shaman. The mound was largely dismantled; only its base survives in a residential neighborhood.
Adena Mound: 1901 and 1904 excavations, 36 burials and the carved Adena pipe
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Key facts
- The Adena Mound, the type site for the Adena culture, stood about 26 feet high on the Adena plantation in present-day Chillicothe, Ohio.
- William C. Mills excavated the mound in 1901 and again in 1904. The first excavation occurred during Gov. Frank T. Pomeroy's term; Thomas Worthington was governor decades earlier and died in 1827.
- The excavations uncovered 36 human burials and numerous burial-offering artifacts.
- The Adena pipe is a carved stone male figure with earplugs, a feathered headdress and a loincloth, commonly interpreted as a shaman or ritual specialist.
- The mound was largely dismantled after excavation, with only its base surviving in a Chillicothe residential neighborhood.
- Ephraim Squier and Edwin Davis recorded Adena Mound during their 1845–1847 surveys, which documented more than 1,000 mound and earthwork sites.
Sources
Catalog Record: Excavations of the Adena moundcatalog.hathitrust.org
Excavations of the Adena mound. ; Main Author: Mills, William C. (William Corless), 1860-1928. ; Language(s): English ; Published: Columbus, F.J. Heer, 1902.
Adena Mound — Site in United States - ArcheoAtlasarcheoatlas.com
Mills, Ohio's state curator of archaeology, excavated the mound in 1901; before the excavation, it was 26 feet (7.9 m) tall. Artifacts found in the mound ...
Excavation of the Adena Moundscientificamerican.com
Excavation of the Adena Mound By William C. Mills. This article was published with the title “Excavation of the Adena Mound” in SA Supplements Vol. 54 No. 1392 ...
Early Woodland Period - The Adena Cultureopenvirtualworlds.org
Adena Mound, the 'type site' It was excavated by William C. Mills in 1904 and now only the base survives. Adena houses ranged from 15-90 feet in diameter
WOODLAND PERIOD MOUNDBUILDERS OF THE ...heritage.ky.gov
From 1934-1942 in the Bluegrass counties of Bath, Boone, Fayette, and Montgomery alone, federal relief programs funded excavations at 17 Adena mounds and.
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