1000 BC–AD 1550: Urban gardeners build earthen mounds in Ohio River valley

The Adena and Hopewell farming cultures build large earthwork mounds at the center of their cities and community gardens. Like other early Native farmers, they grow mainly corn, beans, and squash.

The Adena (1000 BC–AD 200) and Hopewell (300 BC–AD 700) establish large metropolitan centers on Ohio Valley floodplains, where waterborne nutrients support lush plant and animal populations for gathering and hunting, as well as community gardens in which they grow corn, beans, and squash. These prosperous urban dwellers build their cities around large earthen mounds. The Great Serpent Mound, in what is now Adams County, Ohio, stretches 4 football fields in length and is 20 feet high in some places.

Theme

Land and Water

Region

Northeast