page_title: Prehistory of West Virginia
section_title: Adena mounds
hierarchical_section_title: Prehistory of West Virginia / Woodland period / Adena mounds
caption_attribution_description: The Criel Mound in South Charleston, West Virginia, USA.
context_page_description: The Prehistory of West Virginia spans ancient times until the arrival of Europeans in the early 17th century. Hunters ventured into West Virginia's mountain valleys and made temporary camp villages since the Archaic period in the Americas. Many ancient human-made earthen mounds from various mound builder cultures survive, especially in the areas of Moundsville, South Charleston, and Romney. The artifacts uncovered in these areas give evidence of a village society with a tribal trade system culture that included limited cold worked copper. As of 2009, over 12,500 archaeological sites have been documented in West Virginia.
context_section_description: Many Adena mounds were burial sites. The deceased were often cremated and placed in log tombs, which would be covered with dirt, forming the basis of a conical mound.
  Adena mounds in West Virginia include:
  Camden Park Mound, Cabell County
  Criel Mound, Kanawha County, 250–150 BCE
  Cresap Mound (46MR7), Marshall County, 1735 BCE
  Cotiga Mound (46MO1), on the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River, Mingo County, 1400 BCE
  Grave Creek Mound, Moundsville, 250–150 BCE
  St. Albans Site (46KA27), Kanawha County
  Turkey Creek Mound (46PU2), Putnam County
  Goff Mound, Harrison County
  Lynden Reynolds Farm Mound, Pleasants County
  St Mary's Mound, Pleasants County
  The Grave Creek Mound in Moundsville is the largest mound in the state and was once surrounded by a moat. Cresap Mound redefined what constitutes Early to Middle Adena culture (1000 BCE), as opposed to Late Adena (500 BCE).
caption: Criel Mound, South Charleston, West Virginia
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