Mounds at Risk: The Plains Mounds Complex and modern development
A community information session about the development and preservation of prehistoric Native American mounds.
A new archaeological study will be done on the proposed sites of two new housing developments planned for The Plains.
The Friends of The Plains Mounds are supporting community members of The Plains that have voiced concern over the building of two housing developments close to known Native American Mounds and other archaeological sites. Community members have gotten the developers to agree to having a new study done of the areas that would be affected.
In this meeting we will:
1. Hear about the importance of The Plains Mounds
2. Learn about the other work of Friends of The Plains Mounds
3. Hear from community members and their strategy concerning development and the archaeological remnants of the Adena Mound building culture that existed in The Plains before modern settlement.
Information from the Archaeological Conservancy
The Wolf Plains is an archaeological district listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The district was listed on the NRHP in 1974 containing 2,300 acres and consisting of more than 30 earthworks, including 22 conical mounds and nine circular enclosures characteristic of the Adena culture. During the Woodland period, circa 1000 years BC to 400 AD, these indigenous people of Hocking Valley built this huge complex, likely for ceremonial purposes and burial practices. The Wolf Plains District is considered to be one of the most important centers of Adena culture due to having one of the greatest concentrations of mounds and circular enclosures. Unfortunately, most of the earthworks were destroyed throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and the few remaining mounds are scattered among commercial and residential neighborhoods. Very little scientific research has been completed within the Wolf Plains.
In addition to the earthworks, there is more to learn in the areas around them. Researchers have learned a great deal about the lives of the Adena people from the site areas around the mounds where people carried out activities. In the Wolf Plains, there were freshwater springs and a salt source that would have made this environment very appealing. The Earthworks have the potential to provide information about the funerary and ceremonial practices of the Adena. Knowledge about habitation and use areas is less studied as very few known, recorded habitation sites exist in the Wolf Plains. These sites affected by construction could add to that habitation knowledge.
One of the only large-scale sites recorded in the Wolf Plains is the Cottingham 1 site. This site is approximately 15 recorded acres, and the Dorr 2 Mound is located within it. The Dorr 2 Mound and Cottingham 1 sites are important components of the Wolf Plains Complex. Based on research in the 1970s, we know that in addition to burials located within the mounds, area of significance extend to the surrounding areas, which also contain archaeological remnants of earlier occupations that are not yet well understood. The Cottingham site was surveyed and recorded in the 1970s by Nancy Wilson, whose field notes were lost after she unexpectedly died. What we are left with is just a small glimpse into what she uncovered at the site. Based on what we gained from Ms. Wilson’s efforts, the Cottingham site has much potential to inform us about the practices and lives of the Adena and potentially the cultural practices leading to mound building at this location.
Closely associated with the Cottingham 1 Site and Dorr Mound 2 and Dorr Mound 1 is the Hamlin Garden site. Wilson did some work there but again her notes were lost. This site is directly in the path of construction.
There are two very large apartment developments that are moving toward construction that will directly affect the Cottingham 1 and the Hamlin Garden sites. Currently there is no intention or requirement to conduct archeological reviews and surveys of these two properties and there is no requirement for any mitigation if significant archeological information is discovered.
If avoidance of these sites is not an option, prior to the project breaking ground, the project footprint should have a cultural review completed to state standards, including an archaeological survey of the project footprint and site evaluation of Cottingham 1 and Hamlin Garden. If deposits are uncovered, mitigation should be developed. Since both these developments are located within an NRHP listed district and will directly affect known archaeology sites associated with that district, a cultural review would assess the property for intact subsurface deposits and assess for impacts to the site and district.
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