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116-411: Oneota is considered a major component of Upper Mississippian culture . It is characterized by globular, shell-tempered pottery that is often coarse in fibre. Pieces often had a spherical body, short necks and/or a flat lip. Sometimes the vessels had strap handles. Decoration includes wavy and zigzag lines, often in parallel. Most decoration was done on the top half of the vessel. One site occupied by

232-442: A cemetery . Both extended burials and bundle burials are present. Other burials are found directly under houses. Grave goods are present with some burials. It is common to see the deceased buried alongside material remains such as pottery, weapons, tools, or other utilitarian objects, as well as organic materials such as clams and mussels. The most common artifacts included with burials are shell spoons and pottery vessels; at

348-541: A 500% increase in mercury discharges between 2007 and 2013. For several decades beginning in the 1950s, the Ohio River was polluted with hundreds of thousands of pounds of PFOA , a fluoride-based chemical used in making teflon , among other things, by the DuPont chemical company from an outflow pipe at its Parkersburg, West Virginia , facility. The Ohio was listed among America's Most Endangered Rivers of 2023 on

464-776: A French architect and surveyor whose survey was the first mapping of the Ohio River, led an expedition of French troops from Fort Niagara down the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers as far as the mouth of the Great Miami River near Big Bone Lick and possibly the Falls of the Ohio (present-day Louisville ). Chaussegros de Lery mapped the Great Lakes in 1725, and engineered the Niagara fortifications in 1726. I am indebted for

580-515: A ceremony. Generally unstemmed pipes were for recreational use and stemmed pipes such as calumets were used for ceremonies. Many items of personal adornment have been recovered such as stone, bone and copper ornaments or pendants; bone plume holders and hair tubes made of bird bone. Some of these may have been worn on a daily basis but also may have been a part of a costume for a ceremony. In early Historic times, sometimes Jesuit rings have been found, indicating profession of Catholic faith as

696-496: A large number of excavated skeletal remains were buried in random locations alongside general waste from the site, which could indicate high levels of interpersonal violence at Lake Koshkonong. In excavations of human remains done in the central Illinois River Valley, which was an area of cultural interaction between the Upper and Middle Mississippian, many skeletons were partially decomposed before burial. While this physical evidence

812-543: A list of diagnostic traits he felt represented the Upper Mississippian cultures in Wisconsin . The origin of the Upper Mississippian cultures is a matter of debate among archaeologists. They may have been local Late Woodland populations who were influenced by the large-scale chiefdom entities; or they may have originated in one of these more advanced societies and set out to “colonize” the marginal areas to

928-592: A point south of the Ohio River and north of the Falls: "Place where one found the ivory of Elephant in 1729" ( French : endroit ou on à trouvé des os d'Elephant en 1729 ). De Lery's men found teeth weighing ten pounds (4.5 kg) with a diameter of five to seven inches (130 to 180 mm), tusks 11 feet (3.4 m) long and 6–7 inches (150–180 mm) in diameter, and thigh bones 5 feet (1.5 m) long. The bones were collected and shipped to Paris, where they were identified as mastodon remains; they are on display at

1044-424: A potentially large supply of food at the time they made their annual spawning run. Specialized roasting pit features have been excavated at some sites which appear to be ethnographically documented by the early French explorers and described as “macopin roasting pits”. The tubers of American Lotus ( Nelumbo lutea ) and white water lily ( Nymphaea tuberosa ) have been recovered from roasting pits at some sites. At

1160-550: A practice which they shared in common with the Middle Mississippians. In contrast, the Late Woodland pottery was grit-tempered up until European contact. The Langford Tradition pottery is actually grit-tempered, but is still designated as Upper Mississippian because of the stylistic similarities with Fisher Ware. Other than the pottery, the Upper Mississippian way of life was essentially similar to that of

1276-498: A primary emphasis on agriculture but hunting, gathering and fishing were also of importance. Compared to Late Woodland, the Upper Mississippian pattern tends to be more focused on efficient procurement of large-scale resources as opposed to utilizing every resource available. Therefore, efforts were focused on maize - beans - squash agriculture and hunting of large animals such as deer, elk and bison which provide significant amounts of meat to support larger populations. Evidence from

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1392-554: A result of French missionary activities. Works of art have been found at Upper Mississippian sites and it is probable that most of them were not looked upon simply for enjoyment or cultural appreciation, but for objects used by medicine men and/or to be used in ceremonies. These include mask gorgets with artistic motifs, engraved pebbles, and animal or bird figurines made of bone, shell or copper. A common artifact found in Late Prehistoric or Protohistoric components

1508-564: A sandstone abrader. Bone and antler projectile points and harpoons are additional hunting and fishing implements commonly found at Upper Mississippian as well as Late Woodland sites. The Upper Mississippians occasionally went to war, and their main weapon was the bow-and-arrow tipped with a triangular projectile point. In the Protohistoric and early Historic periods additional artifacts such as gunflints and iron tomahawks provide evidence of conflict. A wide variety of stone knives

1624-632: A site generally implies a spiritual or ceremonial context. Ohio River The Ohio River is a 981-mile-long (1,579 km) river in the United States . It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States , flowing in a southwesterly direction from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinois . It is the third largest river by discharge volume in

1740-678: A southern route to his home in Augusta County, Virginia , in May 1745. John Howard was extradited to France to stand trial. His ship was intercepted by the English and, as a free man, he reported his adventures after landing in London; however, his account has been lost. Salling's detailed account of Virginia's adjacent lands was used in Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson's 1751 map. In 1749,

1856-910: A whole is ranked as the most polluted river in the United States, based on 2009 and 2010 data. The more industrial and regional West Virginia/Pennsylvania tributary, the Monongahela River , ranked 17th for water pollution , behind 16 other American rivers. The Ohio again ranked as the most polluted in 2013, and has been the most polluted river since at least 2001, according to the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO). The Commission found that 92% of toxic discharges were nitrates , including farm runoff and waste water from industrial processes such as steel production. The Commission also noted mercury pollution as an ongoing concern, citing

1972-492: A wide array of dental issues like abscesses, caries, and linear enamel hypoplasia. Linear enamel hypoplasia is when teeth fail to form correctly in children due to malnutrition and poor health, which also indicates that childhood malnutrition was present. These categories are combined because in Upper Mississippian culture (and Prehistoric Native American culture in general) the boundaries between them are blurred. The bone and antler cylinders are thought to be game pieces. At

2088-595: Is 1,310 miles (2,110 km) long and carries the largest volume of water of any tributary of the Mississippi. The Indians and early European explorers and settlers of the region often considered the Allegheny to be part of the Ohio. The forks (the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers at what is now Pittsburgh) were considered a strategic military location by colonial French and British, and later independent American military authorities. The Ohio River

2204-406: Is a serpent figurine made of copper; in early Historic times these may be made from imported European copper. In general, the prehistoric Native American religious system was based on animism and polytheism . Objects were thought to have magical qualities; using them in ceremonies would help to appease or get the support of deities or totem animals; and putting them in graves may assist

2320-553: Is credited with being the first European to travel and explore western Pennsylvania and the upper Ohio Valley. Viele made contact with Native American nations as far west as the Wabash River , in present-day Indiana. He and his company left Albany , traveling southbound and crossing portions of present-day New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. They apparently followed the west branch of the Susquehanna River into

2436-552: Is evidence of interpersonal violence from marks on the human remains at Lake Koshkonong. At the Crescent Bay Hunt Club site, a site in the Lake Koshkonong locality, 36% of the skeletons buried there show evidence of perimortem injuries. Some of these injuries include cranial fractures and embedded projectiles. While the inhabitants of Lake Koshkonong typically buried their dead in multigenerational graves,

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2552-552: Is formed by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers at what is now Point State Park in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . From there, it flows northwest through Allegheny and Beaver counties, before making an abrupt turn to the south-southwest at the West Virginia –Ohio–Pennsylvania triple-state line (near East Liverpool, Ohio ; Chester, West Virginia ; and Ohioville, Pennsylvania ). From there, it forms

2668-561: Is known as the Prairie Peninsula region of the American Midwest; including the states of Iowa , Missouri , Illinois , northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan . This was prime habitat for the bison , which comprised a major food source as well as raw material for bone tools. Archaeologists believe that the range of the bison did not extend across the Mississippi into Illinois until about A.D. 1600. Sites in

2784-502: Is the cemetery associated with Morton Village, called Norris Farms 36. A total of 264 people are buried there, and many of the bodies exhibit evidence of violent deaths. Injuries include decapitation, scalping, projectile wounds, and blunt force trauma. Indications of traumatic injuries are roughly distributed equally among men and women, suggesting that gender did not determine who would participate in warfare. Some children buried at Norris Farms 36 also suffered from violent injuries. Many of

2900-459: Is the most beautiful river on earth. Its current gentle, waters clear, and bosom smooth and unbroken by rocks and rapids, a single instance only excepted." After the French and Indian War , Britain's trans-Appalachian Indian Reserve was divided by the river into colonial lands to the south and Native American lands to the north. In the late 18th century, the river became the southern boundary of

3016-517: Is typically interpreted as a sign of interpersonal violence, it is likely that this was a specific mortuary practice. The recovery and interment of decomposing remains is believed to be rooted in Upper Mississippian mortuary ideology, which involved the movement of human remains over long distances long after they had died. These practices likely played a role in preserving collective social memory and allowed for further engagement in surrounding landscape. The Upper Mississippian subsistence pattern had

3132-617: The 1763 Treaty of Paris . The 1768 Treaty of Fort Stanwix with several tribes opened Kentucky to colonial settlement and established the Ohio River as a southern boundary for American Indian territory. In 1774 the Quebec Act restored the land east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River to Quebec , in effect making the Ohio the southern boundary of Canada . This appeased French Canadians in Quebec but angered

3248-467: The American Civil War . One antebellum slave trader reported that they kept slaves chained two-by-two while navigating the Ohio, only when they reached the Mississippi could the slaves be unchained for a time, because "there was slavery on both sides of the boat." The expression "sold down the river" originated as a lament of Upper South slaves, especially from Kentucky, who were shipped via

3364-777: The American Midwest . They were in existence from approximately A.D. 1000 until the Protohistoric and early Historic periods (approximately A.D. 1700). Archaeologists generally consider "Upper Mississippian" to be an attenuated version of " Middle Mississippian " cultures represented at Cahokia and other sites exhibiting more complex social and political structures, perhaps at a chiefdom level of development. The Middle Mississippians were capable of forming large cities and were thus heavily dependent on agriculture to support large populations. This civilization had its origins about A.D. 1000 or slightly earlier, and

3480-648: The Batts and Fallam expedition of 1671, and the Needham and Arthur expedition of 1673–74. In early autumn 1692, loyal English-speaking Dutchman Arnout Viele and a party of eleven companions from Esopus —Europeans, Shawnee , and a few loyal Delaware guides—were sent by the governor of New York to trade with the Shawnee and bring them into the English sphere of influence. Viele understood several Native American languages, which made him valuable as an interpreter. He

3596-656: The Fisher and Zimmerman sites, square to rectangular semi-subterranean wall-trench houses were found, similar to houses at the Middle Mississippian site of Aztalan. Forms of structures may have also changed over time. It was thought that the square houses found at the Zimmerman site may date to an earlier time period when growing seasons were more reliable and a settled agricultural life way led to construction of more substantial structures. Later structures at

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3712-639: The French National Natural History Museum . Charles III Le Moyne , second Baron de Longueuil (later the governor of Montreal and interim governor of New France ), commanded Fort Niagara from 1726 to 1733. He led an expedition of 442 men, including Native Americans, from Montreal to war against the Chickasaw who occupied territory on the lower part of the Mississippi River in the area claimed as La Louisiane . According to Gaston Pierre de Lévis , Duke de Mirepoix,

3828-714: The Kanawha River , they entered the Ohio River 444 miles (715 km) above the falls. The Virginia pioneers traced the northern boundary of Kentucky for five hundred miles (800 km), reaching the Mississippi River on June 7. They descended just below the mouth of the Arkansas River , where they were ambushed by a large company of Native Americans, Blacks and Frenchmen on July 2, 1742; one or two of Howard's men were killed. The rest were brought to New Orleans and imprisoned as spies. After two years in prison, Salling escaped on October 25, 1744, and returned on

3944-645: The Lenape and Iroquois , considered the Ohio and Allegheny rivers as the same, as is suggested by a New York State road sign on Interstate 86 that refers to the Allegheny River also as Ohi:yo' . Similarly, the Geographic Names Information System lists O-hee-yo and O-hi-o as variant names for the Allegheny. An earlier Miami-Illinois language name was also applied to the Ohio River, Mosopeleacipi ("river of

4060-628: The Midwestern Great Lakes states from the Upper South states, which were historically border states in the Civil War. The Ohio River is a left (east) and the largest tributary by volume of the Mississippi River in the United States . At the confluence , the Ohio is considerably bigger than the Mississippi, measured by long-term mean discharge. The Ohio River at Cairo is 281,500 cu ft/s (7,960 m /s); and

4176-550: The Mississippi River at the city of Cairo, Illinois . Where the Ohio joins the Mississippi is the lowest elevation in the state of Illinois, at 315 feet (96 m). The Mississippi River flows to the Gulf of Mexico on the Atlantic Ocean . Among rivers wholly or mostly in the United States, the Ohio is the second largest by discharge volume and the tenth longest and has the eighth largest drainage basin. It serves to separate

4292-546: The Mosopelea " tribe). Shortened in the Shawnee language to pelewa thiipi , spelewathiipi or peleewa thiipiiki , the name evolved through variant forms such as "Polesipi", "Peleson", "Pele Sipi" and "Pere Sipi", and eventually stabilized to the variant spellings "Pelisipi", "Pelisippi" and "Pellissippi". Originally applied just to the Ohio River, the "Pelisipi" name later was variously applied back and forth between

4408-529: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 's Ohio River Forecast Center. The water depth predictions are relative to each local flood plain based upon predicted rainfall in the Ohio River basin in five reports as follows: The water levels for the Ohio River from Smithland Lock and Dam to Cairo, Illinois, are predicted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 's Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center. The largest tributaries of

4524-673: The Northwest Territory . The river is sometimes considered as the western extension of the Mason–Dixon line that divided Pennsylvania from Maryland , and thus part of the border between free and slave territory, and between the Northern and Southern United States or Upper South . Where the river was narrow, it was crossed by thousands of slaves escaping to the North for freedom; many were helped by free blacks and whites of

4640-703: The Ohio Company was established in Virginia Colony to settle and trade in the Ohio River region. Exploration of the territory and trade with the Indians in the region near the Forks brought white colonists from both Pennsylvania and Virginia across the mountains, and both colonies claimed the territory. The movement across the Allegheny Mountains of Anglo-American settlers and the claims of

4756-473: The Potomac River to the Ohio River. The Wheeling Suspension Bridge was built over the river at Wheeling from 1847 to 1849, making the trip west easier. For a brief time, until 1851, it was the world's largest suspension bridge. The bridge survived the American Civil War , after having been improved in 1859. It was renovated again in 1872, and remains in use as the oldest vehicular suspension bridge in

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4872-523: The Schwerdt and Elam sites on the Kalamazoo River in southwestern Michigan , sturgeon bone and American Lotus tubers were found together in the same roasting pits; indicating a specialized seasonal encampment. The archaeological record often lacks evidence of daily activities because so much of the material culture is made of wood , fiber , plants and textiles that rarely survive for

4988-532: The Underground Railroad resistance movement. The Ohio River is a climatic transition area, as its water runs along the periphery of the humid subtropical and humid continental climate areas. It is inhabited by fauna and flora of both climates. Today, the Ohio River is one of the most polluted rivers in the United States. In winter, it regularly freezes over at Pittsburgh but rarely farther south towards Cincinnati and Louisville . Further down

5104-512: The keelboats used for commerce in the early days of American settlement. The Ohio River boatmen inspired performer Dan Emmett , who in 1843 wrote the song " The Boatman's Dance ". Trading boats and ships traveled south on the Mississippi to New Orleans , and sometimes beyond to the Gulf of Mexico and other ports in the Americas and Europe. This provided a much-needed export route for goods from

5220-475: The southeastern U.S. It is the source of drinking water for five million people. The river became a primary transportation route for pioneers during the westward expansion of the early U.S. The lower Ohio River just below Louisville was obstructed by rapids known as the Falls of the Ohio where the elevation falls 26 feet (7.9 m) in 2 miles (3.2 km) restricting larger commercial navigation, although in

5336-505: The "canalization" of the river in 1929, the Ohio has not been a natural free-flowing river; today, it is divided into 21 discrete pools or reservoirs by 20 locks and dams for navigation and power generation. The name "Ohio" comes from the Seneca , Ohi:yo' , lit.  "Good River". In his Notes on the State of Virginia published in 1781–82, Thomas Jefferson stated: "The Ohio

5452-578: The 18th and early 19th century its three deepest channels could be traversed by a wide variety of craft then in use. In 1830, the Louisville and Portland Canal (now the McAlpine Locks and Dam ) bypassed the rapids, allowing even larger commercial and modern navigation from the Forks of the Ohio at Pittsburgh to the Port of New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi on the Gulf of Mexico. Since

5568-553: The Fisher Mound Group and Gentleman Farm site . Another notable exception was Aztalan which had three platform mounds. However, a resurgence of mound building occurred towards the end of the 17th century, for example at the Oneota site of Blood Run . These mounds are linked to a cultural revitalization movement in response to European contact. Some Upper Mississippian sites consist of a village area in conjunction with

5684-457: The Fisher Mound Group, the spoons and vessel interiors had a greasy feel, and small amounts of bone were present; implying that the pots contained food when they were buried. A large number of burials were excavated at the Anker Site which included exceptionally rich grave goods, implying they were wealthy or of higher status. Another site that has been well documented by archaeologists

5800-538: The Fisher site, these game pieces are found in conjunction with a stone tablet which apparently taken together forms a “game set”. It is possible that this was a gambling game, since early Native American tribes were observed to engage in gambling activities. Bone rasps (musical instrument) have been recovered and may have been used for making music for enjoyment or as part of a ceremony . Smoking pipes were also used for both recreational smoking and for use in

5916-524: The Late Woodland cultures. They may have been slightly more dependent on maize agriculture, but hunting and gathering were still part of their subsistence base. The triangular projectile points called “Madison Points” are a trait the Upper Mississippians share with the Late Woodland. These artifacts were used for warfare , hunting and fishing , and are almost always present in large numbers at any site after A.D. 1000, usually dominating

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6032-464: The Mississippi River at Thebes, Illinois , which is upstream of the confluence, is 208,200 cu ft/s (5,897 m /s). The Ohio River flow is greater than that of the Mississippi River, so hydrologically the Ohio River is the main stream of the river system. The Ohio River is a naturally shallow river that was artificially deepened by a series of dams . The natural depth of the river varied from about 3 to 20 feet (1 to 6 m). The dams raise

6148-747: The Morton Village site in western Illinois demonstrates a combination of Upper Mississippian and Middle Mississippian agricultural and subsistence practices. At sites where flotation techniques were used to recover small-scale plant remanis, the Eastern Agricultural Complex (EAC) of cultivated seeds such as goosefoot ( Chenopodium berlandieri ), little barley ( Hordeum pusillum ), knotweed ( Polygonum ) and sumpweed ( Iva annua ) are often present. These seeds were first in use during Middle Woodland times and their use persisted until early Historic times. Gathering of wild plants

6264-699: The Natural Bridge), crossing Greenbrier River and landing at the New River . At New River, the Virginia explorers built a large bull boat frame and covered it with five buffalo skins. The first Englishmen to explore the region then followed the New River for 250 miles (400 km), until it became too dangerous to navigate. At a large waterfall, they traveled overland to the Coal River . Following

6380-759: The Ohio River and the Clinch River in Virginia and Tennessee . In his original draft of the Land Ordinance of 1784 , Thomas Jefferson proposed a new state called "Pelisipia", to the south of the Ohio River, which would have included parts of present-day Eastern Kentucky , Virginia and West Virginia . The river had great significance in the history of the Native Americans , as numerous prehistoric and historic civilizations formed along its valley. For thousands of years, Native Americans used

6496-514: The Ohio River opened about the same time. Although such boats cruised on the Ohio River in an oval pattern up and down, the state of Kentucky soon protested. Other states had to limit their cruises to going forward, then reversing and going backward on the Indiana shore only. Both Illinois and Indiana have long since changed their laws to allow riverboat casinos to be permanently docked, with Illinois changing in 1999 and Indiana in 2002. The Silver Bridge at Point Pleasant, West Virginia , collapsed into

6612-406: The Ohio River was called the " River Jordan " by slaves crossing it to escape to freedom in the North via the Underground Railroad . More escaping slaves, estimated in the thousands, made their perilous journey north to freedom across the Ohio River than anywhere else across the north-south frontier. Harriet Beecher Stowe 's Uncle Tom's Cabin , the bestselling novel that fueled abolitionist work,

6728-461: The Ohio River's rapids and tributaries in that area. However, the 1783 Treaty of Paris gave the entire Ohio Valley to the United States , and numerous white settlers entered the region. The economic connection of the Ohio Country to the East was significantly increased in 1818 when the National Road being built westward from Cumberland, Maryland , reached Wheeling, Virginia , (now West Virginia ), providing an easier overland connection from

6844-401: The Ohio and Mississippi to cotton and sugar plantations in the Deep South . Changes in crops cultivated in the Upper South resulted in slaves available to be sold to the South, where the expansion of cotton plantations was doing very well. Invention of the cotton gin made cultivation of short-staple cotton profitable throughout the Black Belt of this region. Before and during the Civil War,

6960-426: The Oneota aspect. The Langford tradition is seen as contemporaneous with Fisher and Huber and is considered Upper Mississippian due to its similarity to Fisher material culture (especially pottery). The Fort Ancient Aspect in the Ohio River Valley is sometimes considered an Upper Mississippian entity. The major diagnostic trait of the Upper Mississippian cultures is their use of shell to temper their pottery,

7076-520: The Oneota people for a period was the Aztalan site off of the Crawfish river in Wisconsin. Analytically, the culture has been broken down into various stages or horizons. Generally accepted are the following: In addition, the Oneota culture has been divided geographically based on stylistic and socio-economic differences. Some of these traditions are Orr, Langford, and Fisher-Huber. The Oneota diet included corn , beans , squash , wild rice , nuts , fish , deer , and bison , varying according to

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7192-605: The Prairie Peninsula are generally located in major river valleys like the Illinois or Mississippi. These areas were ideally suited for the inhabitants to access resources in several different ecosystems; the prairie (bison, elk); river bottoms ( nuts , berries , wild turkey ), oak savannas (deer, elk, bear , wild berries) and the river itself with associated marshes and wetlands ( fish , water lily tubers , mussels , turtles , waterfowl ). Other sites characterized as Upper Mississippian or Oneota are found farther north, in present day Minnesota and Wisconsin. These include

7308-436: The Tremaine Site Complex also demonstrated poor dental health, and 26% of the remains analyzed displayed signs of a bone condition called porotic hyperstosis . This condition is usually the result of anemia , which is often caused by deficiencies in iron . Archaeologists Ryan Tubbs and Jodie O'Gorman believe that the prevalence of porotic hyperstosis at the Tremaine Site Complex is likely the result of parasitic infections , as

7424-417: The Tremaine Site Complex in Wisconsin and the Grand Meadow Chert Quarry and sites in the Blue Earth River Region in Minnesota. Settlement patterns and diets varied significantly across these sites. Several types of houses have been noted at Upper Mississippian sites. At the Huber sites of Oak Forest and Anker, large oval structures measuring from 25–55 feet long and 10–15 feet wide were excavated. At

7540-429: The U.S. Louisville was founded in 1778 as a military encampment on Corn Island (now submerged) by General George Rogers Clark at the only major natural navigational barrier on the river, the Falls of the Ohio . The Falls were a series of rapids where the river dropped 26 feet (7.9 m) in a stretch of about 2 miles (3.2 km). In this area, the river flowed over hard, fossil-rich beds of limestone . The outpost

7656-429: The United States and the largest tributary by volume of the north-south flowing Mississippi River, which divides the eastern from western United States. It is also the sixth oldest river on the North American continent. The river flows through or along the border of six states , and its drainage basin includes parts of 14 states. Through its largest tributary, the Tennessee River , the basin includes several states of

7772-547: The Upper Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes Region prior to A.D. 1000. In some areas, the Late Woodland population persisted until European contact, and even occasionally coexisted in the same time and place with the Upper Mississippians. Most of the Upper Mississippian entities are grouped together under the Oneota aspect . The Grand River, Lake Winnebago, Koshkonong, Green Bay (aka Mero Complex), Orr and Utz are Foci grouped under Oneota. Fisher and Huber are placed by James A. Brown in an "unnamed tradition" (or focus) within

7888-434: The Upper Mississippi area. This may have been why the culture “reverted” back to a smaller scale society with lesser dependence on agriculture for subsistence, and more emphasis on hunting and gathering. There is significant evidence that the Middle Mississippians and Upper Mississippians had frequent contact with each other. In particular, the Anker site near Chicago, Illinois , yielded grave goods with clear ties to

8004-588: The Upper Mississippian pottery wares feature handles which facilitate picking up and moving the vessels. The health of people living in Upper Mississippian sites varied significantly based on location and diet. Excavation and analysis of human remains from the Tremaine Site Complex in Wisconsin found that malnutrition was not a regular problem at the site. However, the same study found that the complex's inhabitants showed signs of childhood growth disruption and had deficiencies in fiber , calcium , folate , and Vitamin A , suggesting dietary issues. Human remains from

8120-460: The Virginia mountains to the Mississippi River. The elder Howard had a promised reward of 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) of land for a successful expedition from the Virginia Royal Governor's Council to reinforce British claims in the west. Howard offered equal shares of the 10,000 acres to the four other members of his expedition. The party of five left John Peter Salling's house in August County on March 16, 1742, and traveled west to Cedar Creek (near

8236-567: The archaeologist. However items made of bone, stone, shell, antler and copper usually survive and offer valuable glimpses into daily life. At any given Upper Mississippian site, on a daily basis the Native American inhabitants undertook a variety of tasks and activities. Evidence of hunting activities is found in the chipped stone projectile points. They were hafted to arrow shafts and used as bows-and-arrows.(Fenner 1963) They could also be used as spear points to harvest fish. Arrow shafts were made of small branches that were straightened using

8352-586: The area near modern-day Pittsburgh led to conflict with the French, who had forts in the Ohio River Valley . This conflict was called the French and Indian War , and would merge into the global Anglo-French struggle, the Seven Years' War . In 1763, following its defeat in the war, France ceded its area east of the Mississippi River to Britain and its area west of the Mississippi River to Spain in

8468-401: The border between West Virginia and Ohio, upstream of Wheeling, West Virginia . The river follows a roughly southwest and then west-northwest course until Cincinnati, before bending to a west-southwest course for most of the remainder of its length. The course forms the northern borders of West Virginia and Kentucky ; and the southern borders of Ohio , Indiana and Illinois , until it joins

8584-531: The building of subterranean houses; in preparation for a burial; or to dig the pit features which are usually abundant at all Upper Mississippian sites: storage pits, refuse pits or roasting pits. Daily meal preparation and serving is one of the most basic of household functions and takes place multiple times a day. Usually this is well represented in the archaeological record in the form of cooking pots, serving instruments and animal bone. Where flotation techniques are used, additional information may be obtained in

8700-559: The children buried at Norris Farms 36 were interred with carefully arranged avian remains. Both hands and birds are important symbols associated with Middle Mississippian culture. At the Aztalan and adjacent, Lake Koshkonong sites, there is also evidence of interpersonal violence. In an excavation of human remains from both formal and informal burials at the site, 1402 disarticulated bones were uncovered, which would amount to anywhere from 84 and 92 people buried there. A significant number of

8816-600: The colonists of the Thirteen Colonies . Lord Dunmore's War south of the Ohio river also contributed to cession of land north to Quebec to prevent colonial expansion onto Native American territory. During the Revolutionary War . in 1776 the British military engineer John Montrésor created a map of the river showing the strategic location of Fort Pitt , including specific navigational information about

8932-409: The deceased into the afterlife . Sometimes the bones of certain totem animals such as heron , bald eagle , crane , otter , or beaver were included in the grave, possibly as part of “ medicine bundles ”. Dogs were often sacrificed in order to entreat the gods prior to undertaking a difficult task or during an emergency. Dog meat was also eaten during ceremonies, so dog bone recovered from

9048-412: The expedition used the Ohio River as a corridor to the Mississippi. Among the officers who accompanied this party were Major de Lignery; Lieutenants, de Vassan, Aubert de Gaspe, Du Vivier, de Verrier, Le Gardeur de St. Pierre, Chevalier de Villiers, de Portneuf, de Sabrevious; Father Vernet, chaplain; Cadets, Joncaire de Closonne , Le Gai de Joncaire, Drouet de Richarville the younger, Chaussegros de Lery

9164-519: The first reported eyewitness accounts of Shannoah , a Shawnee town, was by le Moyne III in July 1739. On their journey down the Ohio River toward the Mississippi, they met with local chiefs in a village on the Scioto River . John Howard, a pioneer from Virginia, led a party of five— John Peter Salling (a Pennsylvania German), Josiah Howard (John's son), Charles Sinclair, and John Poteet (Vizt)—from

9280-471: The form of small seeds and even wood charcoal from the hearths and roasting pits. Shell spoons used for serving implements have been found at several Upper Mississippian sites. The cooking pots used for food cooking and storage often have encrusted food residue resulting from accidentally burning the contents. It's been noted that shell tempering adds some efficiency to the pottery vessel by allowing for thinner walls which result in lighter weights. Most of

9396-596: The fur trade from the Iroquois nations to the northeast, they migrated west of the Mississippi River in the 17th century to the territory now defined as Missouri , Arkansas , and Oklahoma . Several accounts exist of the discovery and traversal of the Ohio River by Europeans in the latter half of the 17th century: Virginian colonist Abraham Wood 's trans-Appalachian expeditions between 1654 and 1664; Frenchman Robert de La Salle 's putative Ohio expedition of 1669; and two expeditions of Virginians sponsored by Colonel Wood:

9512-458: The graves are associated with ceramic artifacts, most of which are Upper Mississippian in style. However, some ceramics, particularly those interred with children, are distinctly Middle Mississippian. One interpretation of this evidence is that children played an important role in bridging the gap between cultures at Morton Village. Further evidence of this role include the fact that human hands were found interred with an infant. Additionally, many of

9628-531: The heels of contamination from a high-profile train derailment , and following years as one of the most polluted watersheds in the United States. The Ohio River is extensively industrialized and populated. Regular barge traffic carries cargoes of oil, steel and other industrial goods produced in the region. Major cities located along the northern and southern banks of the river include Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; Louisville, Kentucky ; Evansville, Indiana ; and Cincinnati, Ohio . The combined Allegheny-Ohio river

9744-405: The human remains from that site all demonstrated very high levels of iron. In excavations of remains at the Aztalan and adjacent, Lake Koshkonong sites, there also is evidence of several health issues. The inhabitants of Aztalan were likely overly dependent on maize, the staple food for Mississippian peoples. This resulted in poor dental health as evidenced by the skeletal remains. In addition,

9860-473: The increasing size of steamships and barges on the river meant that the outdated locks could serve only the smallest vessels until well after the Civil War when improvements were made. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers improvements were expanded again in the 1960s, forming the present-day McAlpine Locks and Dam . During the nineteenth century, emigrants from Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky traveled by

9976-439: The individuals buried at informal burials showed evidence of perimortem trauma such as cut marks, chop marks, fractures, and scalping. Some scholars speculate that these injuries are due to internal conflict or mortuary practices. Aztalan was also a heavily-fortified site, which is also considered evidence of violent conflict. At Lake Koshkonong, the settlements there exhibit no evidence of complex fortifications. However, there

10092-546: The inhabitants of Aztalan experienced a wide variety of health issues such as porotic hyperostosis, periosteal reaction, arthritis, as well as unspecified lesions. Like the inhabitants of Aztalan, inhabitants of Lake Koshkonong had a diet that was heavily dependent upon maize. However, their diet appears to have been more diversified than Aztalan, as the Lake Koshkonong diet included higher proportions of foods like acorns and wild rice. The inhabitants of Lake Koshkonong consumed low levels of meat and fish protein. They experienced

10208-658: The largest inhabited island in the Ohio River, belongs to West Virginia, although it is closer to the Ohio shore than to the West Virginia shore. Kentucky sued the state of Indiana in the early 1980s because of their construction of the never-completed Marble Hill Nuclear Power Plant in Indiana, which would have discharged its waste water into the river. This would have adversely affected Kentucky's water supplies. The U.S. Supreme Court held that Kentucky's jurisdiction (and, implicitly, that of West Virginia) extended only to

10324-523: The low-water mark of 1793 (important because the river has been extensively dammed for navigation so that the present river bank is north of the old low-water mark). Similarly, in the 1990s, Kentucky challenged Illinois's right to collect taxes on a riverboat casino docked in Metropolis , citing its own control of the entire river. A private casino riverboat that docked in Evansville, Indiana , on

10440-511: The manufacture of clothing and reed mats . The manufacture of stone tools was an essential activity in a Prehistoric society. In the archaeological record, it results in a number of waste flakes and unused “cores”. Antler flakers and socketed antler “punches” which were used the knapping process are commonly recovered at Upper Mississippian sites. Hoes made out of elk or bison scapula were used during agricultural activities, or just for any digging function. They may have been used in

10556-738: The mountains, traversing the Tioga River and reaching a tributary of the Allegheny River before floating down to the Shawnee towns along the Ohio River. Viele and his expedition spent most of 1693 exploring the Ohio River and its tributaries in northern Kentucky with their Shawnee hosts. Gerit Luykasse, two of Viele's Dutch traders, and two Shawnee reappeared in Albany in February 1694 "to fetch powder for Arnout [Viele] and his Company"; their party had been gone for fifteen months, but Viele

10672-546: The mouth of the Ohio, settlers would travel north on the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Missouri . There, some continued on up the Missouri River , some up the Mississippi, and some farther west over land routes. In the early 19th century, river pirates such as Samuel Mason , operating out of Cave-In-Rock, Illinois , waylaid travelers on their way down the river. They killed travelers, stealing their goods and scuttling their boats. The folktales about Mike Fink recall

10788-420: The north. Aztalan is a site that represents an incursion of Middle Mississippians into Wisconsin; however, it is apparent that the Aztalan material culture is quite distinct from Upper Mississippian, so it does not necessarily follow that one evolved out of the other. There is evidence that from A.D. 1200-1500 there was a climatic cooling trend which appears to have made the growing system much less reliable in

10904-524: The region and locale. Relationships with Middle Mississippian were present but are not yet clearly understood. Whether Oneota developed in situ out of Late Woodland cultures, was invasive, was the result of influence from (proto-)Middle Mississippian peoples, or was some mix of these, is not clear. Upper Mississippian culture The Upper Mississippian cultures were located in the Upper Mississippi basin and Great Lakes region of

11020-493: The river and settled along its northern bank. Known as butternuts , they formed the dominant culture in the southern portions of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois with a society that was primarily Southern in culture. Largely devoted to agricultural pursuits, they shipped much of their produce along the river to ports such as Cincinnati. Because the Ohio River flowed westward, it became a convenient means of westward movement by pioneers traveling from western Pennsylvania. After reaching

11136-741: The river as a major transportation and trading route. In the five centuries before European colonization, the Mississippian culture built numerous regional chiefdoms and major earthwork mounds in the Ohio Valley like the Angel Mounds near Evansville, Indiana as well as in the Mississippi Valley and the Southeast. The historic Osage , Omaha , Ponca , and Kaw peoples lived in the Ohio Valley. Under pressure over

11252-526: The river in places like Paducah and Owensboro , Kentucky, closer to its confluence with the Mississippi, the Ohio is ice-free year-round. The name "Ohio" comes from the Seneca language (an Iroquoian language ), Ohi:yo' (roughly pronounced oh-hee-yoh, with the vowel in "hee" held longer ), a proper name derived from ohiːyoːh ("good river"), therefore literally translating to "Good River". "Great river" and "large creek" have also been given as translations. Native Americans , including

11368-624: The river on December 15, 1967. The collapse killed 46 people who had been crossing when the bridge failed. The bridge had been built in 1929, and by 1967 was carrying too heavy a load for its design. The bridge was rebuilt about one mile downstream and in service as the Silver Memorial Bridge in 1969. In the early 1980s, the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area was established at Clarksville, Indiana . The Ohio River as

11484-483: The river. The colonial charter for Virginia defined its territory as extending to the north shore of the Ohio, so that the riverbed was "owned" by Virginia. Where the river serves as a boundary between states today, Congress designated the entire river to belong to the states on the east and south, i.e., West Virginia and Kentucky at the time of admission to the Union, that were divided from Virginia. Thus Wheeling Island ,

11600-444: The same time as the Middle Mississippians, around A.D. 1000. They attained larger populations and heavier emphasis on agriculture than the previous Late Woodland cultures but still relied to a large extent on hunting and gathering and lacked the chiefdom-level form of society and the large centralized cities. The Late Woodland peoples with their emphasis on small villages and hunting and gathering adaptation had previously occupied

11716-560: The site were much more ephemeral, and may represent temporary wigwams at a time period when growing seasons were less reliable and the hunting of bison contributed more to subsistence. The temporary structures facilitated movement as the bison herds were followed as part of a seasonal round. Most Upper Mississippian sites have large numbers of pit features which functioned as storage pits , refuse pits, roasting pits and hearths . The storage pits were thought to be constructed to help preserve food for extended periods of time; possibly through

11832-437: The skin from the body; beamers to de-hair the hide; scrapers to further process; drills and awls to punch holes if needed; and bone needles if sewing is required. Woodworking tools included adzes and axes to cut the large branches or the tree itself; scrapers and knives to shape the wood into the desired shape; and drills if holes or indentations are needed. Sewing activities utilizing bone needles took place in

11948-593: The south including a mask gorget with a “weeping eye” motif which was also found on an artifact from the Nodena site in Arkansas, and is considered to be associated with the Southern Ceremonial Complex . It is unclear whether this represents trade or an actual movement of people from the Middle Mississippian heartland to the Great Lakes. The Upper Mississippian sites are mostly located on what

12064-591: The stone tool assemblages. It may be that this reflects increased levels of conflict during this period. Other artifacts that are diagnostic of the Upper Mississippian cultures specifically are double-pointed biface knives , long thin ovate blades, uniface humpbacked end scrapers , expanding base drills , sandstone abraders (aka "arrow shaft straighteners"), elk or bison scapula hoes , deer metatarsal beamers, pot sherd discs that seem to have been used as spindle whorls , and antler or bone cylinders that appear to be game pieces. In 1945 WC McKern provided

12180-516: The topographical details of the course of this River to M. de Lery, Engineer, who surveyed it with the compass at the time that he descended it with a detachment of French troops in 1729. A map of the Ohio River valley, drawn by Bellin from observations by de Lery, is in Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix 's History of New France . The 1744 Bellin map, "Map of Louisiana" ( French : Carte de La Louisiane ), has an inscription at

12296-466: The water level and have turned the river largely into a series of reservoirs , eliminating shallow stretches and allowing for commercial navigation. From its origin to Cincinnati, the average depth is approximately 15 feet (5 m). The largest immediate drop in water level is below the McAlpine Locks and Dam at the Falls of the Ohio at Louisville, Kentucky , where flood stage is reached when

12412-443: The water reaches 23 feet (7 m) on the lower gauge. However, the river's deepest point is 168 feet (51 m) on the western side of Louisville, Kentucky. From Louisville, the river loses depth very gradually until its confluence with the Mississippi at Cairo, Illinois , where it has an approximate depth of 19 feet (6 m). Water levels for the Ohio River from Smithland Lock and Dam upstream to Pittsburgh are predicted daily by

12528-476: The west since the trek east over the Appalachian Mountains was long and arduous. The need for access to the port of New Orleans by settlers in the Ohio Valley is one of the factors that led to the United States' Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Because the river is the southern border of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, it was part of the border between free states and slave states in the years before

12644-587: The winter, if the site is a permanent village. As the contents of these pits soured, they were converted to refuse pits. These pits often contain abundant information for archaeological analysis; pot sherds, lithic flakes and tools , animal bone, plant remains and occasionally even human remains. While the people associated with the Upper Mississippian sphere were not prolific mound builders (in contrast with Middle Mississippian cultures), they would often bury their dead under existing mounds built by other cultures or natural mound-like formations. Examples include

12760-574: The younger, de Gannes, Chev. Benoist, de Morville, de Selles, and seventeen others. The rank and file consisted of three sergeants, six corporals, six lance corporals, twenty-four soldiers, forty-five habitants , one hundred and eighty-six Iroquois from the Sault, forty-one from the Lake of Two Mountains , thirty-two Algonquin and Nipissing , fifty Abenaqui from St. Francois and Bécancour, Quebec; Father La Bretonnier, Jesuit; Queret, missionary. One of

12876-521: Was at its peak in the 12th and 13th centuries A.D. when the population at Cahokia was estimated to be 40,000 and the city itself covered an area of 3,480 acres (in contrast, Upper Mississippian sites are usually well under 10 acres). Although the Middle Mississippian declined after its peak, there were still advanced chiefdom-level societies present at the time of the DeSoto expedition in the 1530s and 1540s. The Upper Mississippians had their origins about

12992-603: Was away for about two years. He and his companions returned from the Pennsylvania wilderness in August 1694, accompanied by diplomats from "seven Nations of Indians" who sought trade with the English (or peace with the powerful Iroquois nations of New York and Pennsylvania), and hundreds of Shawnee who intended to relocate in the Minisink country on the upper Delaware River . In 1729, Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry ,

13108-478: Was moved that same year to the south shore where Fort-on-Shore was constructed. It proved insufficient within 3 years, and the mighty Fort Nelson was constructed upriver. The town of Louisville was chartered in 1780, in honor of King Louis XVI of France. The first locks on the river – the Louisville and Portland Canal – were built between 1825 and 1830 to circumnavigate the falls. Fears that Louisville's transshipment industry would collapse proved ill-founded: but

13224-576: Was still an important economic activity and at Upper Mississippian sites sampled by flotation, the remains of plants such as nutshell ( hickory nut , black walnut , hazelnut and acorn ), wild rice , plum , wild grape , sumac , hawthorn and other wild seeds are commonly found. Additionally, fish, freshwater mussels , and other aquatic resources were important in many Upper Mississippian sites. There are some sites showing evidence of focused seasonal resource exploitation of food sources such as sturgeon and water lily tubers. Sturgeon represented

13340-486: Was the best known of the anti-slavery novels that portrayed such escapes across the Ohio. The times have been expressed by 20th-century novelists as well, such as the Nobel Prize -winning Toni Morrison , whose novel Beloved was adapted as a film of the same name. She also composed the libretto for the opera Margaret Garner (2005), based on the life and trial of an enslaved woman who escaped with her family across

13456-401: Was used in the butchering of meat ; preparation of hides ; cutting fibers or ropes ; processing of plant foods; or any other domestic activity requiring a sharp cutting implement. Sometimes knives made from scapula bone are also present in the archaeological record; which may be broken hoes that have been repurposed as knives. Hide-working required its own set of tools; knives to separate

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