Serpent Mound Still Built by the Adena, and Still Rebuilt During the Fort Ancient Period

Radiocarbon dates from the base of Serpent Mound in Ohio demonstrate that it was built 2,100–2,300 years ago during the Adena period but was subsequently rebuilt or repaired about 900 years ago during the Fort Ancient period. We describe the basis for supporting the chronology of this building seque...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMidcontinental journal of archaeology Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 84 - 93
Main Authors Monaghan, G. William, Herrmann, Edward W.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Taylor & Francis, Ltd 01.04.2019
Subjects
Adena
Archaeology
Fort Ancient
KEYWORDS
late prehistoric
Ohio
Serpent Mound
Social Sciences
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Summary:Radiocarbon dates from the base of Serpent Mound in Ohio demonstrate that it was built 2,100–2,300 years ago during the Adena period but was subsequently rebuilt or repaired about 900 years ago during the Fort Ancient period. We describe the basis for supporting the chronology of this building sequence, why it is the best and most complete explanation from the data at hand, and discuss the errors and misconceptions that critics of it have put forth. Our interest is in establishing a chronology of mound construction in order to address questions about cultural continuity/discontinuity, appropriation, and reuse of cultural monuments and religious/political symbols. We also plead that researchers jointly collect new data from Serpent Mound to end the back-and-forth questioning of chronological context and research competence.
ISSN:0146-1109
2327-4271
DOI:10.2307/26599989