Who is Buried in the Wright Mounds? This study explores the Wright Mounds, specifically mound six. Who or what people were buried in mound six? Why were they buried there? And furthermore, what do the patterns in the mound tell us about status among the Adena peoples. In order to make inferences about past cultures we need to understand modern cultures first. There are certain things we look for that show status in modern society. This is called Wealth. Wealth should not be confused with cash or income. It describes what someone owns at one point in time. Many things indicate high status, from objects like jewelry and diamonds, to home and land. These are the types of archeological correlates that will lead this discussion of the Adena peoples towards a conclusion. Mound six has four levels. The first stage being the first created, and the last stage being the last created. Each level’s purpose was to cover the previous level, and each had it’s own central tomb. From the previous excavation of mounds belonging to the Hopewell cult, there is a “sophisticated kind of social organization that is reflected by the…. Earthworks”(Fowler, p2) How is it that social organization can be reflected through a mound of dirt? The answer lies in data. Extensive excavations have produced data about mound six that range from grave goods, to logs. This data must be processed then interpreted to find patterns within culture. What indicates elites within a population? To find evidence for elites within the population of mound six I am going to look at grave goods, labor per tomb, size of tomb, age, and gender. Grave goods are the single most important item in a grave that tells about that person’s past. Various goods found in mound six were indigenous to Adena culture, such as; stone pipes, snake skeletons, shell disk beads, and red ochre. Other items were imported, these are; copper bracelets, conch shells, and marginel...
