Some evidence suggests the site was used by Native Americans as late as The Criel Mound was originally one of 50 mounds and prehistoric earthworks that extended from present-day Charleston, West Virginia , to near Institute. The South Charleston Mound was significantly altered in the late s when a race track for horses was built around its base.
Its top was the flattened to accommodate a podium for race judges. The mound originally measured about feet in diameter and 35 feet in height. It is now approximately feet in diameter and 25 feet in height.
The mound was excavated by Professor P. Norris of the Smithsonian Institute in Norris provided the following description of the excavation in " Ancient Works Near Charleston " for the U.
Bureau of Ethnology:. At the depth of four feet, in a bed of hard earth composed of mixed clay and ashes, were two skeletons, both lying extended on their backs, heads south, and feet near the center of the shaft.
Near the heads lay two celts, two stone hoes, one lance head, and two disks. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Credit Card. I Agree to the Subscription Terms of Use. This service will be automatically renewed and your credit card billed once it nears expiration. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. Edit Close. Toggle navigation Menu. Don't have an account? Sign Up Today. Buy Now. Learn more about HD Media. Stories you might like.
The compass heading of the two mounds is degrees southwest by degrees northeast. As an amateur in the subject, Blake said he has done as much as he can. Led by Colonel Lewis Morris, the team conducted extensive digs of some 50 mounds in the area and issued a detailed report. In another mound, they found a circle of ten skeletons surrounding a giant skeleton, as well as underground vaults, various copper and mica ornaments, jewelry, religious items, pipes, and spearheads.
As similar discoveries were unearthed, the Charleston Daily Mail published an article in October that stated:. Probably no other relic of pre-historic origin has attracted a wide study among archaeologists as the Grave Creek Mound, which has given up skeletons of the ancients who constructed it… Some years ago, archaeologists investigating the mound dug out a skeleton said to be that of a female because of the formation of the bones.
The skeleton was seven feet four inches tall, and the jawbone would easily fit over the face of a man weighing pounds. The particular tribe or race which inhabited this section of the state is believed to have been composed of individuals ranging from seven to nine feet in height, and it is thought they were Siouan Indians.
The best-preserved skeleton found at Morgansville was in a clay encasement, and all of the vertebrae and other bones, excepting the skull, were saved without much crumbling. Careful measurement of the skeletons proved that the Indians were about seven feet, six inches tall.
The Adena Culture built the mounds in West Virginia. This was in response to Professor Ernest Sutton, the head of the Geography Department at Salem College, having excavated two mounds in Doddridge County, in which he uncovered four skeletons. A mortuary structure stood atop or near the mound, where the dead would be kept until their final burial was performed.
Within this structure, the remains would lie and grave goods of tools and other necessary items for the afterlife would be placed. After a period of time, the structure would be burned with the goods and honored dead within, and become part of the mound.
For important people, such as clan leaders, healers, and shaman, however, their bodies were buried on the mound with a variety of artifacts such as bone or flint tools, beads, jewelry, pipes and mica, and copper ornaments. These included both men and women of all ages. In the later Adena period, circular ridges were sometimes constructed around the burial earthworks which are thought to have been ritual spaces. His estate, which he called Adena, included a foot tall ancient burial mound, from which the culture and the mound took the name.
The Adena people were hunter-gatherers, but also grew various crops, including squash, sunflower, pumpkin, goosefoot, and tobacco. They lived in extended family groups of roughly 15 to 20 people, with several extended families forming a lineage or clan.
Between four to six of these clans made up an Adena social group. Their houses were circular with conical-shaped roofs, made of wood, bark, and wickerwork that were from 15 to 45 feet in diameter. Just a few of these dwellings formed a small village.
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