woodland period moundbuilders of the bluegrass - Kentucky ...

oth men and women were shamans. They would have led Adena groupsin rituals that ensured successful harvests; fertility; the balance thatmaintained good health; and the continuation of the world order.Judging by the recovery of tubular smoking pipes from Adena ritualsites, it seems likely that at least Adena shamans smoked before or duringceremonies. Ritual smoking has a deep history in Eastern WoodlandsIndian culture. Smoking is a way to connect with the spirit world.Smoke itself is used to purify people and important ritual objects beforeceremonies.Archaeologists do not know what they smoked. It could have beentobacco or some other mixture of plant materials, like the inner bark ofcertain trees and the leaves of plants like sumac.Copper and marine shell traditionally held symbolic significancefor Eastern Woodlands groups. The former was considered a powerfulunderworld substance. Adena peoples’ use of copper and marine shellobjects as burial offerings suggests that they may have shared thesebeliefs.The symbolic meanings of other elements of Adena religion arehidden from us in plain view. Archaeologists do not understand whyAdena peoples sometimes purposefully buried body parts (mostcommonly single skulls, but articulated body sections, too, like limbs ortrunks) below or within their mounds. What did their use of clay and barkin burials mean? Why did they sprinkle or smear red ochre on the deadand the offerings buried with them? What accounts for their tendency tobury the dead with their heads pointing to the rising sun?YOUR ROLE IN PRESERVING THEIR LEGACYThanks to the work of countless individuals over many decades,we know that the Adena peoples who lived in the Bluegrass regionled full, richly textured lives. Yet, we still know very little about their42