Feurt Mounds and Village Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Feurt Mounds And Village Site
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Overview from east
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| Nearest city | Portsmouth, Ohio |
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| Area | 4 acres (1.6 ha); 11 acres (4.5 ha) |
| Architect | Fort Ancient culture |
| Architectural style | Burial mound |
| NRHP reference No. | 73001531; 75002080 |
| Added to NRHP | June 18, 1973; January 9, 1975 |
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site is an amazing ancient place in Ohio. It was once home to people from the Fort Ancient culture. Here, you can find three large burial mounds and the remains of a village where these people lived long ago. It's located in Clay Township, Scioto County.
Contents
Who Lived Here?
The people who built the Feurt Mounds lived in a village nearby. They were part of the Fort Ancient culture, a group of Native American people who lived in the Ohio River Valley. The time period when the Feurt people lived is called the "Feurt Phase." This phase lasted longer than some other parts of the Fort Ancient culture. Many sites like this one are found in Southern Ohio and western West Virginia. They are often along rivers like the Ohio River.
Exploring the Site
The three mounds are located right by the Scioto River. This river flows into the larger Ohio River.
In 1917, a person named William C. Mills described the area. He said the mounds and village were on a flat area of land. This flat area was about five acres big. It was also about 40 feet higher than the land around it. It stuck out like a small hill with steep sides. This Feurt site was the first one of its kind found. It helped archaeologists understand other similar discoveries later on.
The Mounds Up Close
There are three main mounds at the Feurt site. Each one tells a unique story.
The smallest mound was about 75 feet long and 60 feet wide. It was also about two and three-quarters feet high. Archaeologists found 107 skeletons buried inside this small mound.
The second mound was the tallest, reaching about eight feet high. About half of this mound had fallen down the hill. A total of 137 burials were discovered here. One interesting find was a triangular arrow point. It was found stuck in the head of one of the adults.
The third mound was six feet high. It measured about 90 feet by 112 feet at its base. This mound held 101 burials. These burials included both teenagers and adults. They were buried in a "flexed position," which means their bodies were bent. Some of the people buried here wore beads as decoration.
Tools and Jewelry of the Feurt People
The people of the Fort Ancient culture, including those at Feurt, used many things from nature. They used shells from local rivers to make tools and jewelry. Animal bones and shells were also attached to tree branches. These were used as hoes for their gardens.
Animal bones were shaped into different tools. These included sharp tools called awls and punches. They also made fish hooks, needles for sewing, and tools for scraping animal hides.
For jewelry, they created beads, hairpins, and pendants. They also made tinklers, which are small objects that make a sound. These items were made from both bone and shell. Gourds from their gardens and turtle shells were used to make rattles for special ceremonies.
What Archaeologists Found
The Feurt site is very important. It's known as the "type site" for the Feurt Phase. This means that other sites found in the Ohio Valley are compared to this one.
Archaeologists dug up the site in 1916. They found 345 burials in total. All but one of these burials had the body in a flexed (bent) position. The items found were typical of the Fort Ancient culture. These included tools made of flint, stone, bone, shell, and pottery. Most of the flint arrowheads were long and triangular. They had very sharp, needle-like points.
Before the main dig, a man named Mr. Wertz found some interesting items. These were small carvings of animal teeth made from a type of coal called cannel coal. Later, fewer of these were found. Some copper was also found at Feurt Mound. Experts believe this copper was traded from other places. Some shells and beads found were similar to those at a nearby site called Tremper Mound. Professor Moorehead visited and opened the mounds in 1896.
Where is the Site?
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site is located about three miles (5 km) north of U.S. Route 23. It's on the west side of the road, near the Clay Township overpass. This is in Scioto County, in southern Ohio.
