Prehistory (Prior to 1650)

History began with written records. To understand the past, historians read documents left behind by earlier people. Of course, people existed before written records. According to scholars, these people are "prehistoric." "Prehistoric" or "prehistory" simply means before written records.

History began at various times for the different people that make up the world's population, as not all people developed writing at the same time. The "Prehistoric Period" ended in what is today Ohio when French explorers and mapmakers began to make the first vague reports regarding the lands lying south of Lake Erie, the southernmost of the Great Lakes. Nicholas Sanson's map of 1650 shows unnamed rivers flowing southward from the yet unnamed lake. The Sanson map is the earliest known historic record of northern Ohio, although geographic knowledge of the region was more approximate than accurate.

The subjects of the entries in the "Prehistory" section all occurred before the development of written records in what is now Ohio. Because of this, the entries include events before approximately 1650. The entries primarily pertain to American Indians before 1650, as historians and archaeologists have yet to discover written records from these people. Ohio enjoyed a rich prehistoric life.

To learn more about this era in Ohio's history, please browse these entries at your leisure.

There are 75 entries matching this time period. They are listed below in alphabetical order.

Adena Culture: The Adena culture refers to the prehistoric American Indian peoples that lived in southern Ohio and neighboring regions of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana during the Early Woodland Period. . . .
Adena Mound: The Adena Mound was located in Chillicothe at the base of the hill where Governor Thomas Worthington built his home. "Adena" is the name Worthington gave to his estate. The Adena culture (800 B.C. to 1 A.D.) of prehistoric Native American people is named for the Adena Mound. . . .
Adena Pipe: The Adena Pipe is one of the most remarkable artifacts in the collections of the Ohio Historical Society. . . .
Adena Spear Points: The spear points of the Adena culture typically are long, leaf-shaped points with a rounded stem. . . .
Alligator Mound: Alligator Mound is an effigy mound located in Granville. The mound is 200 feet long and five to six feet high at its highest point. It is located on the top of a bluff overlooking the Raccoon Creek valley. . . .
Archaic Period: Archaic hunters and gatherers continued the successful way of life of their Paleoindian ancestors, but moved about in a smaller area. They found new ways to harvest the rich natural bounty of Ohio's forests. . . .
Archaic Spear Points and Knives: During the Archaic period, people made flint spear points in a variety of shapes reflecting the various uses intended for the points as well as the different traditions of cultures living in different regions of the continent. . . .
Arrowheads: While small projectile points have been found at some Archaic sites, it appears that the native peoples of the Ohio country first began to use the bow and arrow during the Late Woodland period at around AD 500. . . .
Ater Mound: The Ater Mound was a large, conical burial mound located in Concord Township, Ross County, Ohio. It was built by the people known to archaeologists as the Hopewell Culture (circa 100 BC-AD 500). . . .
Bannerstone: "Bannerstone" is the name given to a variety of beautifully-crafted stone artifacts. . . .
Baum Village: The Baum Village site is a large village of the Fort Ancient culture (AD 1000-1650) located along Paint Creek in Ross County, Ohio. The village covered more than ten acres and included more than 49 houses, 127 burials, and 234 storage pits. There was a flat-topped pyramid-shaped mound at the center of the village. The mound was 120 feet wide at the base and fifteen feet high. . . .
Buffington Island Mound: The Buffington Island Mound is a large, conical burial mound located along the Ohio River in Meigs County, Ohio. It is typical of mounds known to have been built by the Adena Culture (circa 800 BC-AD 100), but the cultural affiliation is not known for certain. . . .
Chillicothe Earthworks: The area near what is now Chillicothe, Ohio was in the heartland of the prehistoric Woodland cultures of Native Americans known to archaeologists as the Adena and Hopewell. The importance of this region for these ancient societies is evident in the number and variety of earthworks located in the Scioto River Valley north and south of modern Chillicothe. There are more earthworks per square mile here than in any other part of North America. . . .
Circleville Earthworks: The Circleville Earthworks were constructed by the Hopewell culture (100 B.C. to 500 A.D.) of prehistoric Native American people in what is now Circleville, Ohio. A circular earthwork consisted of an outer circular wall 1,140 feet in diameter and an inner circular wall with a ditch between them. . . .
Clovis Culture: The Clovis culture is one of the oldest widely recognized cultures of prehistoric native peoples in North America. The hallmark of the Clovis culture is the Clovis spear point. . . .
Clovis Spear Points: Clovis spear points are among the oldest stone points found in America, ranging in age from about 11,000 to 10,900 years BC. . . .
Coon Mound: The Coon Mound was a large, conical burial mound located in The Plains in Athens County, Ohio. It was named for Gabriel Coon, the owner of the land that included the mound. . . .
Copper Artifacts: The native peoples of Ohio first began to use copper late in the Archaic period. . . .
Cowan Creek Mound: The Cowan Creek Mound was a conical burial mound located in Vernon Township, Clinton County, Ohio. . . .
Early/Middle Archaic Culture: The people of the Early and Middle Archaic period continued the basic hunting and gathering way of life established by the earlier Paleoindian cultures, but as the enviroment shifted from the open spruce forests of the Ice Age to the mix of deciduous trees more characteristic of modern Ohio, the people had to adapt to the changed circumstances. . . .
Edwin Harness Mound: The Edwin Harness Mound site was part of the Liberty Works, a ceremonial center of the Hopewell culture (100 BC – AD 500) located in Ross County. . . .
Enon Mound: The Enon Mound is a large conical mound preserved by the Village of Enon in Clark County. . . .
Esch Mounds: The Esch Mounds were a pair of conical burial mounds located along the Huron River in Erie County, Ohio. Emerson Greenman conducted early excavations at the Esch mounds in 1930. . . .
Fairmount Mound: The Fairmount Mound is a large conical mound located on the grounds of Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Licking County. . . .
Flint Ridge: Flint Ridge is a nearly eight-mile long vein of high-quality flint located in Licking and Muskingum counties of eastern Ohio. Hundreds of quarry pits and workshop sites are scattered across more than 2,000 acres of ridgetop in these Appalachian foothills. . . .
Fluted Spear Points: Fluted spear points include a variety of styles made by different cultures during the early Paleoindian Period. . . .
Fort Ancient Culture: The Fort Ancient culture thrived in southern Ohio and northern Kentucky. Villages were made up of a number of circular or rectangular houses surrounding an open plaza. . . .
Fort Ancient Earthworks: The Fort Ancient Earthworks are a series of earthen embankments that extend for more than three and one half miles around a high bluff along the Little Miami River in southwestern Ohio. Although it is called a "fort," it probably never served as a defensive work. . . .
Fort Hill: Fort Hill is one of the best-preserved examples in Ohio of a monumental hilltop enclosure. Prehistoric Native American people constructed it. A wall made of earth and stone winds around this prominent hilltop for more than one and a half miles. . . .
Glacial Kame/Red Ocher Cultures: The Glacial Kame and Red Ocher cultures are names for the burial practices of certain Late Archaic groups. The Glacial Kame "culture" is found in northwestern Ohio and parts of neighboring states as well as southern Ontario. . . .
Great Circle Earthworks: The Great Circle is a large earthen enclosure that formed one part of the Newark Earthworks. The Newark site is the largest set of geometric earthworks built by the Hopewell culture (100 B.C. to 500 A.D.) of prehistoric Native American people. . . .
Great Hopewell Road: The "Great Hopewell Road" is a set of parallel earthen embankments approximately three feet in height and 200-feet apart that extended from an opening in the octagonal earthwork at the Newark Earthworks at least 10 miles to the southwest. . . .
High Bank Earthworks: The High Bank Earthworks consist of a large circular embankment connected to an octagonal enclosure located along the Scioto River southeast of Chillicothe, Ohio. The circle is 1,050 feet in diameter and encloses 20 acres. . . .
Highbanks Park Earthworks: The Highbanks Park Earthworks consist of a C-shaped embankment that encloses a tall bluff overlooking the Olentangy River in Delaware County, Ohio. . . .
Hopeton Earthworks: The Hopeton Earthworks site is a large Hopewell culture (100 BC -- AD 500) ceremonial center located along the Scioto River in Ross County. It includes a large circular enclosure, 1,050 feet in diameter, attached to a square about 900 feet across. . . .
Hopewell Culture: The Hopewell culture grew out of the earlier Adena culture of prehistoric Native American people. The mounds and enclosures built by the Hopewell were larger and more varied in design, but Hopewell farming villages still were small and scattered around the great ceremonial centers. . . .
Hopewell Mound Group: The Hopewell Mound Group is a large Hopewell culture (100 BC-AD 500) ceremonial center located along the North Fork of Paint Creek in Ross County. . . .
Hopewell Shaman: The Hopewell Shaman of Newark, also known as the Wray figurine, is a small stone sculpture representing a shaman, or spiritual leader, of the Hopewell culture (100 B.C. to A.D. 500). . . .
Inscription Rock: Inscription Rock is located in Erie County on Kelleys Island. It is one of Ohio's most famous rock art sites. Ancient Indians engraved more than one hundred designs onto a huge limestone boulder on the south shore of the island. . . .
Island Creek Mound: Island Creek Mound is a publicly-accessible Indian mound near Manchester, Ohio. The mound is located along the Ohio River. . . .
Late Archaic Culture: By the Late Archaic period there were larger numbers of people living in larger social groups in the Ohio country. Many of these people adopted a more sedentary lifestyle settling down in villages for much of the year. . . .
Late Prehistoric Period: The Late Prehistoric Period refers to the centuries preceding the movement of Europeans into the Ohio country. . . .
Late Woodland Cultures: The Late Woodland Period, though often regarded simply as the time between the decline of the remarkable Hopewell culture and the rise of the Late Prehistoric cultures, actually is a fascinating period that witnessed dramatic cultural changes. . . .
Leo Petroglyph: Leo Petroglyph is located in Jackson County near Leo, Ohio. It is actually a series of petroglyphs, or rock carvings, ancient Indians chiseled into an outcropping of sandstone in southeastern Ohio. . . .
Maize: Maize is another name for corn, a cereal grain. Originally, maize was a wild plant, but Indians in Central America eventually domesticated it and improved on the wild variety. . . .
Marietta Earthworks: The Marietta Earthworks site is a large Hopewell culture (100 BC – AD 500) ceremonial center located at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers in Washington County. Originally, it included a large square enclosure surrounding four flat-topped pyramidal mounds, another smaller square, and a circular enclosure with a large burial mound at its center. . . .
Miamisburg Mound: Miamisburg Mound is one of the two largest conical mounds in eastern North America. The other is West Virginia's Grave Creek Mound. It is a burial mound built by the people that archaeologists have called the Adena culture (800 B.C. to 100 A.D.). Adena was the name Governor Thomas Worthington called his estate in Chillicothe, Ohio. . . .
Monongahela Culture: The Monongahela culture is a Late Prehistoric group that occupied portions of far eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. It is distinguished from other Late Prehistoric societies mainly by distinctive kinds of pottery. . . .
Mound City Group: The Mound City Group is a large Hopewell culture (100 BC -- AD 500) ceremonial center located along the Scioto River in Ross County. It consists of 24 burial mounds framed by a large earthen enclosure shaped like a square with rounded corners. . . .
Newark Earthworks: The Newark Earthworks were the largest set of geometric earthworks ever built in Ohio. They were constructed by the Hopewell culture (100 B.C. to 500 A.D.) of prehistoric Native American people. . . .
Niles-Wolford Mound: The Niles-Wolford Mound was a conical burial mound located in Pickaway County, Ohio. Raymond Baby excavated the mound in 1955. . . .
Octagon Earthworks: The Octagon Earthworks consist of a circular earthen enclosure connected to an octagonal enclosure by a short segment of parallel walls. The Octagon Earthworks formed one part of the Newark Earthworks, the largest set of geometric earthworks built by the Hopewell culture (100 B.C. to 500 A.D.) of prehistoric Native American people. . . .
Ohio's Prehistoric Timeline: People have lived in the land we now call Ohio for more than 12,000 years! This timeline is an outline of the story of Ohio's past, from 13,000 B.C. until 1843, as related by archaeologists and historians. . . .
Paleoindian Period: Paleoindians were the hunting and gathering peoples who originally discovered the Americas. They lived in Ohio in the last centuries of the Ice Age. . . .
Piketon Mounds: The Piketon Mounds are a grouping of four conical burial mounds preserved in Mound Cemetery in Piketon, Ohio. . . .
Plano Culture: The Plano culture of prehistoric Native American people followed the Clovis culture from around 8,000 to 7,000 B.C. Following the extinction of Ice Age big game animals, the Paleoindians had to change their way of life. . . .
Pollock Works: The Pollock Works site is a Hopewell culture (100 BC - AD 500) ceremonial center located in Greene County. It consists of a series of earthen embankments ranging from three to ten feet in height that partially enclose a large, 12-acre, plateau located along Massie Creek. . . .
Portsmouth Earthworks: The Portsmouth Earthworks were constructed by the Hopewell culture (100 B.C to 500 A.D.) of prehistoric Native American people. It is a large ceremonial center located at the confluence of the Scioto and Ohio rivers. Much of the site is now encompassed by the city of Portsmouth in Scioto County, Ohio. . . .
Pre-Clovis Culture: Exactly when the first people discovered America is one of the most hotly debated subjects in American archaeology. There is increasing evidence that people arrived in the New World before the Clovis culture (13,000 B.C. (?) to 9,500 B.C). . . .
Sandusky Culture: The Sandusky culture is a Late Prehistoric group that occupied portions of northwestern Ohio. It is distinguished from other Late Prehistoric societies mainly by distinctive kinds of pottery. . . .
Seip Mound and Earthworks: Seip Mound is one of the largest earthen mounds built by the Hopewell culture (100 B.C. - 500 A.D.) of prehistoric Native American people. . . .
Serpent Mound: Serpent Mound is a spectacular effigy earthwork of a serpent uncoiling along a prominent ridgetop in northern Adams County, Ohio. From the tip of its nose to the end of its tail, the effigy is 1,348 feet long. When it was originally described, in 1848, the body of the serpent was five feet high and 30 feet wide. . . .
Shrum Mound: Shrum Mound, sometimes referred to as Campbell Mound, is a conical burial mound built by the people known to archaeologists as the Adena Culture (800 B.C. to 100 A.D.) of prehistoric Native American people. . . .
Spruce Hill Works: Spruce Hill Works is a monumental hilltop enclosure, similar to Fort Ancient and Fort Hill. It is unique, however, in that the enclosure wall is built entirely of stones. The people known to archaeologists as the Hopewell culture built the stone wall nearly 2,000 years ago. . . .
Story Mound: Story Mound is a large, conical burial mound built by the Adena Culture (800 B.C. to 100 A.D.) of prehistoric Native American people. Originally, it was 25 feet tall and 125 feet in diameter. It is similar in size to the Adena Mound and it is located in Ross County, Ohio about one mile southeast of the Adena State Memorial. . . .
Stubbs Earthworks: The Stubbs Earthworks site is a large Hopewell culture (100 BC - AD 500) ceremonial center located in Warren County. It included a large earthwork enclosure incorporating circular and rectangular elements and a smaller circular enclosure. . . .
Tarlton Cross Mound: The Tarlton Cross Mound is a symbolic earthwork located near Tarlton in Fairfield County, Ohio. It is owned by the Fairfield County Historical Parks Commission. . . .
Tremper Mound and Earthworks: The Tremper Mound and Earthworks are located in Scioto County, Ohio about five miles north of Portsmouth on a plateau overlooking the Scioto River. The Hopewell culture (100 B.C. to 500 A.D.) of prehistoric Native American people built the Tremper Mound and many of the earthworks in the Portsmouth area. . . .
Turner Earthworks: The Turner Earthworks site is a large Hopewell culture (100 BC-AD 500) ceremonial center formerly located along the Little Miami River in Hamilton County. . . .
Whittlesey Culture: The Whittlesey culture is a Late Prehistoric group that occupied portions of northeastern Ohio. It is distinguished from other Late Prehistoric societies mainly by distinctive kinds of pottery. Many Whittlesey communities were located on plateaus overlooking stream valleys or the shores of Lake Erie. . . .
Winchester Works Mound: Winchester Works Mound is located in Adams County, Ohio near the community of Winchester. . . .
Woodland Animal Effigy Pipes: During the Woodland period, artisans crafted many ceremonial pipes into the shapes of various animals and sometimes people. . . .
Woodland Period: The Woodland Period generally marks the appearance of pottery, cultivated plants, settled village life and mound building. In addition, the pace of cultural change began to quicken. Archaeologists have defined several cultures within the Woodland Period. . . .
Worthington Earthworks: The Worthington Earthworks site is a Hopewell culture (100 BC-AD 500) ceremonial center located along a high bluff overlooking the Olentangy River in Franklin County. . . .
Wright Earthworks: The Wright Earthworks are remnants of the Newark Earthworks, the largest set of geometric earthworks built by the Hopewell culture (100 B.C. to A.D. 500). . . .