Added August 27, 2000. Revised February 28, 2006, 10:19 – 5 GMT.

This page will be refined and improved as deemed necessary and useful.

Since it appears that there is relatively little readily available information in many parts of the world on American Archaeology, this Internet page aims to inform archaeologists on the subject. The aim is to facilitate Comparative Archaeology as defined on the home page of the Comparative Archaeology WEB©.

The Woodland Period of the Woodland Culture Area of the Eastern US

The Comparative Archaeology WEB. Copy Right © 2000 - February 28, 2006 . All rights reserved.

The Geography

The Eastern Woodland Culture Area reaches north of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. It is bounded by the Atlantic in the east and the northern part of the Golf of Mexico in the south. Its western boundary is formed by the great Mississippi Valley and the Great Plains.

Woodland Cultures

The Woodland Culture in Ohio and adjacent regions are listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Woodland Period Cultures (Click on the culture for detailed description)

Adena	900 BC – AD 100
Hopewell	100 BC – AD 500
Late Woodland Cultures	AD 500 – AD 1000

General Chronology

The Woodland Period starts some time around 1000 – 800 cal. BC, ending around AD 800-1000 (Table 2). In northern and northeastern regions of the US and adjacent Canada it continues until historic times.

Table 2. General Chronological Table of the Woodland Period

Early Woodland	900±100 – 200±100 cal BC
Middle Woodland	200±150 cal BC – AD 300±100
Late Woodland	AD 300±100  – AD 1000±200

The dating of the period varies by region and archaeologist. In the state of Tennessee the Woodland Period is actually divided into four phases (Table 3). In Ohio a slightly different time line is applied.

Table 3. Chronology the Woodland Period in Tennessee

Woodland 1 (900 - 200 B.C.)

Woodland 2 (200 B.C. - A.D. 350)

Woodland 3 (A.D. 350 - 600)

Woodland 4 (A.D. 600 - 900)

(Source: University of Tennessee Center for Transportation Research “Cultural Periods in Tennessee.”- Original link defunct.)

The Mound Builders

The most notable aspect of the Woodland Period is the building of mounds and enclosures. The beginning of this monumental architecture is currently being reevaluated. The first monumental structures may have begun in the Middle Archaic, as early as 4500 – 4000 cal BC.

More intensive mound building occurred during the Middle Woodland in the Adena culture. The people of Hopewell interaction sphere, built variously shaped mounds, as well as rectilinear, circular and even more complex earthworks, especially in the state of Ohio and immediately adjacent regions.

Some time after the demise of the Hopewell, mounds shaped in the form of birds, animals and reptiles were constructed, especially in southern Wisconsin and adjacent regions. Several thousand of these so-called effigy mounds, built between about AD 800 – AD 1100 BC, are still preserved, giving rise to the concept of the Effigy Culture. In southern Ohio the Fort Ancient people constructed the Serpent Mound around AD 1075. Similarly, the Mississippian culture built various mounds and palisaded enclosures.

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Related Links

Map of Adena, Hopewell, Mississippian, and Fort Ancient archaeological sites.

Ohio Historical Society Time Line. A simplified overview of Ohio’s prehistoric cultures

Please send comments or questions to Max Baldia.