At its height, Adena culture spread out from the Ohio river valley and reached as far north as New York and as far south a Kentucky. Making their mark on the landscape with impressive mounds and leaving trade outposts throughout their sphere of influence, the Adena also transported many of their cultural traits to these new venues. But what became of these outposts, and what happened to the Adena? Archeologists and cultural historians have struggled to answer these questions for close to a century. Was it invasion by other groups that drove the Adena away? Did they finally become so widespread that they reached a cultural zenith and experienced an inevitable decline? Could the sheer size and scope of the Adena trade network have become so complicated that it resulted in the development of independent cultures? So far, no definitive conclusion has been reached. What is known is that there is no evidence distinctly Adena culture exiting anywhere after 250 A.D. It was around this time that the area occupied by the Adena came under the influence of a new dominant culture--the Hopewell.
Hopewell Tradition
As with most indigenous cultures that existed in the Woodland Period, little is known about the origins of the Hopewell. The earliest evidence of the Hopewell dates to around 200 B.C. This is the earliest period of time in which artifacts that are distinctly Hopewell in origin have been identified. It should be pointed out that the Hopewell do not represent a single nation, but rather a collection of indigenous groups that shared a cultural background. This culture, known as the Hopewell Tradition, forms a link that binds these groups together. The basic elements of the Hopewell “root” culture share many similarities with the Adena and the Hopewell came to occupy much of the same geographic area as the Adena. It is widely held that the Hopewell existed in tandem with the Adena, most likely as partners in the very same regional trade that had made that culture flourish.
Growth of Hopewell Tradition
For nearly 400 years, the Hopewell and the Adena were neighbors. Growing out of the Illinois river valley, the Hopewell soon moved into Ohio and encountered the Adena. As the Adena cultural presence waned, the Hopewell were in the ascendancy. They built an extensive trade network that allowed them to flourish and import items from across the continent. From the Rocky Mountains, the Hopewell imported obsidian, which was used to carve spear tips and knives. From the Great Lakes region, copper was introduced and used to fashion ornate headdresses and armor. From the Appalachian Mountains, the Hopewell imported mica and used it in the creation of highly detailed effigies. From Florida, they brought in alligator skulls and teeth which had a variety of uses.
Social Organization and Agricultural Base
While the scope of their trade network has yet to be fully determined, the sheer variety of imported materials suggests that it was the largest of any previous mound culture. This allowed for the creation of a highly organized society, more centralized than the Adena or the people of Poverty Point. This last fact has led many to suggest that the Hopewell were the first trade empire to exist in the American northeast. Their social structure was very much like an empire, with different regional governments working together to sustain the greater body politic. The Hopewell cultivated corn and established an agricultural base that sustained their growing culture, allowing it to expand in all directions. As they grew, the Hopewell established new outposts and organized themselves into a complex exchange system.
Mounds
Like the Adena, the Hopewell began constructing burial mounds and then moved into more complicated earthworks. It is with the Hopewell that the next phase of mound development becomes apparent---the evolution of the practice. From burial mounds, they constructed effigy mounds in the shape of animals. Eventually, the Hopewell began to outline their communities with perimeter mounds in a variety of geometric shapes. Some of these mounds stand 40 feet high and are 200 feet in width at the base. Excavation of mound sites has revealed that Hopewell burial mounds were larger than those of the Adena. However, the structures share the same basic design. Tombs were built of logs and filled with ornate treasures like copper armor, pearls, carved stone pipes, and pottery.
Sources:
Le Roy H Appleton, American Indian Design and Decoration. (New York: Dover Publication, Inc., 1971).
Carl Waldman, Atlas of the North American Indian. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2000).
Carl Waldman, Encyclopedia of Native Tribes. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2006).
