Infirmary Mound: A Stry Lost In Time

Infirmary Mound: A Stry Lost In Time. . , Life of the Adena , Much of what is known about the Adena culture comes from investigating the artifacts and structures they left behind. They built conical burial mounds of varying size and small circular earthen enclosures that likely served as ceremonial centers for several neighboring groups. Artifacts include those made from materials found locally and those brought from great distances, such as copper from the Great Lakes region., The Adena lived in small communities through- out southern Ohio and neighboring parts of Kentucky and West Virginia between 800 B.C.E. and 100 C.E.. They were both hunter gatherers and farmers, growing crops like sunflowers and squash., Their culture gave rise to the Hopewell culture that built enormous earthworks such as Newark's Great Circle, and expanded their sphere of influence to much of eastern North America and beyond., A Shadow Of Its Former Grandeur , In 1870, the Infirmary Mound looked quite different than it does today. It was large enough that Samuel Park, who once owned the land that would become Infirmary Mound Park, could climb the mound to get a commanding view of the surrounding landscape. As with many earthwork mounds in Ohio, decades of plowing gradually reduced the Infirmary Mound until it can barely be made out. However, if you look closely you can see its current dimensions standing about two to three feet high and 70 feet in diameter., Many large mounds that were not plowed under were excavated by archeologists in the early 1900s and never reconstructed. There are no records of anyone excavating Infirmary Mound, so we can't say for sure what ancient American Indian culture built it. By comparing to similar mounds throughout the region, such as the Adena Mound pictured below, it is most likely to have been built as a burial mound by the Adena culture over 2000 years ago., [Captions:] , The Adena Mound was the first mound discovered and was named for the "Adena" estate of Governor Thomas Worthington in Chillicothe, OH. The ancient American Indian people that built it were given the name Adena., Sacred Sites , Adena burial practices varied. The Adena used a burial mound multiple times, with the mound growing in size with each addition of burial remains. Some individuals were buried in mounds, while others were not. In addition, some individuals were cremated while others were not. Artifacts such as copper bracelets, spear points, and important funerary objects were found at some burial sites and not others. These differences in burial are thought to reflect the individuals stature in life., Because Infirmary Mound is an ancient burial mound, it is a sacred site for American Indians and should be treated with the respect due to any cemetery or church., Cross-section of the Adena Mound in Chillicothe showing the stages of construction and the location of burials at the base of the mound as well as in a central tomb. If the Infirmary Mound had a similar structure, ancient burials may still be preserved within the mound., (Modified from: Mills, William C., 1902 Excavation of the Adena Mound, Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, 10: 452-479, Columbus), The Adena Pipe was found in the Adena Mound in Chillicothe. As of 2013, it is recognized as the State Artifact of Ohio. , Image courtesy of the Ohio History Connection AL00218., This is a Cresap Style Projectile Point associated with the early Adena Culture around 2500-3000 years ago. Item was found at the Boyd Wilkins Farm, Licking County, Ohio., "And the mound-builders vanished from the earth. , The solitude of centuries untold , Has settled where they dwelt. The prairie-wolf , Hunts in their meadows, and his fresh-dug den , Yawns by my path. The gopher mines the ground , Where stood their swarming cities. All is gone; , All-save the piles of earth that hold their bones...." , William Cullen Bryant "The Prairies" 1834