woodland period moundbuilders of the bluegrass - Kentucky ...

may have symbolized the sky world’s mythical beings. Sheet copper“antlers” or mica crescents may have been symbols of the underworld’ssupernaturals.Archaeologists infer that ancestor worship also may have beenan element of Adena religion. The importance of cremation may berelated to this. In a single act, cremation removes a person’s bodyand soul from the world of the living, and transfers both to the worldof the supernaturals. Ancestor worship also would help explain whyAdena people used ritual places, like mounds, for many generations.The practice of mixing together the cremated remains of severalpeople suggests they placed more importance on the group than on theindividual.Mythical beings and Adena ancestors would have been only part oftheir spirit world, however. Like other traditional peoples, it is likely theyalso believed that every living thing, animal or plant, had a spirit. Evennatural phenomena that seem to move or have life, like the sun, moon,stars, rivers, and wind, and inanimate objects had spirits.Their most direct contact with spiritual powers may have comethrough their interaction with animal spirits. Adena people could haveasked these spirits for gifts of medicines for healing, hunting, andwarfare. Hunters seeking power could have called on these spirits, andthey could have served aspersonal guardians.It is likely that Adenareligious leaders wereshamans. Modern shamansserve as links between thehuman world and the spiritworld. They make theselinks by going into trances.Through trances, shamanscan heal the sick and interpretcommunications fromsupernatural beings or forces.In this way, shamans can helphunters or predict the future.They use special costumesand paraphernalia during theirtrances (see Focus On AnAdena Shaman).In Adena culture, probablyThe single symbol engraved on thissandstone tablet makes it unique.40