Then and Now: Archaeology, History and Preservation in the Mountain State Region
"Ohio Valley Native American Earthwork Sites and New Discoveries through Remote Sensing."
Jarrod Burks, Ph.D. Ohio Valley Archaeology, Inc.
The Ohio Valley is renowned for its Native American earthwork sites, which were built between about 300 B.C and A.D. 400. These sites consist of earthen enclosures in the shapes of circles, squares, octagons, and other forms that enclosed spaces ranging from 50 feet to 1,300 feet across. The biggest sites had miles of earthen embankments and enormous mounds. It's believed these earthwork sites were the ceremonial centers for communities of people who lived in the surrounding area, and they were also used for burying the dead in many cases. In this presentation we learn about what earthwork sites consist of and how they have been studied in the past. We then explore some new and exciting findings from a selection of sites where remote sensing instruments have detected a wide range of features, from large pits filled with bright orange burned dirt to the remains of large wooden post circles, to entirely unknown earthwork complexes- there is much yet to discover about earthworks in the Ohio Valley.
A public symposium sponsored by the West Virginia Humanities Council, West Virginia University's Native American Studies Program, and Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex, West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex, Moundsville, WV 6-8-13