Episode 8 Adema Culture and the Early Midlands Period
Ancient Civilizations of North America
Dr Edwin Barnhart (2018)
Film Review
East of the Mississippi, the Archaic period transitioned into the Woodlands period around 1000 BC. Lasting 2,000 years, the Woodlands period is divided into the early (1000 BC – 200 BC), middle (200 BC – 500 AD) and late (500 – 1000 AD) Woodlands period. The late Woodlands period is followed by the Mississippian period (800 AD – European contact).
A major influence throughout the region, the Adena culture produced the first genuine North American civilization around 1000 BC. A sedentary culture, they lived in villages year round and engaged in agriculture, pottery making and mound building.
Residents associated with Adena culture lived in small villages with 10-30 homes per village. The homes had conical roofs covered with tree bark and and supported by wooden poles. The walls were made of woven branches. Each home had a central hearth and the larger ones could house 50 people.
Adena people hunted and collected nuts and berries, as well as growing sunflowers, pumpkin, squash, tobacco, goosefoot, may grass and pigweed. Adena people were the first habitual smokers. Most of their pipes were made of Ohio pipestone, which is soft and easy to carve. Although their first pipes were tubular and straight, they evolved into elbow pipes and the Adena pipe (which added a carved animal or human effigy to the tube).
The first North American pipes (from around 2000 BC) were found in shell middens in Tennessee. Initially only shamans smoked tobacco to aid in trance formation.
The Adena built their conical burial mounds separate from their villages. Groups of bodies, adorned with shell and copper jewelry, would be partially burned, prior to burial with weapons, smoking pipes and carved tablets. New layers would be added to the mound for subsequent burials.
Barnhart uses the last 10 minutes to summarize what other cultures were doing in the first millenium BC:
- Mesoamerica – building their first cities.
- South America – emerging Chauvin culture (characterized by cities and pyramids)
- Europe – dominated by Celtic culture and beginning Iron Age
- Middle East – Babylonia collapses in 1000 BC while Egypt’s dominion fades, Solomon builds temple 957 BC, 742 BC Assyrians destroy Israel
- Greece – first city-state formed 500 BC, first Persian wars 490 BC
- India – Hinduism thrives
- China – Zhou (2nd Dynasty) takes power 1122 BC, 551 BC Confucius born
Except for clusters of civilization, most of the world was living a lifestyle consistent with the North American Archaic period.
*Goosefoot is a type of wild spinach, maygrass produces starchy edible seed that is higher in protein than most grains, pigweed seed can be ground into flour or popped like popcorn.
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The Most Revolutionary Act 