Evidence of Jaredites

According to archaeologists, there is abundant evidence of native people who lived in central North America during the "Early Woodland" period of 800 BC to 100 AD. These people are called Adena, which is the name Thomas Worthington had given a mound on his property in the early 1800s near Chillicothe, Illinois. As explained at the Fort Ancient Museum, the Adena group frequently build concial earthen mounds over graves of deceased relatives and circular earthworks, possibly used as public gathering areas.

The Adena people's time period closely matches what we know of the Jaredites in the Book of Mormon.

The following sign is from the Fort Ancient Archaeological Park, Ohio

"This Adena Mound is the second largest conical mound in Ohio. These large conical mounds are believed to be Adena while the many small or effigy mounds are Hopewell, a later culture."

Enon Historial Society, National Historic Site, Enon, Ohio

The Adena people built circular enclosures up to 500 feet in diameter with ditches just inside the earth walls. They established a group of earthworks adjacent to several cone-shaped mounds along the Hocking River in Athens County, Ohio. From Fort Ancient Archaeological Park, Lebanon, Ohio

This is one type of tomb found beneath both Hopewell and Adena Mounds. Ohio had some of the most spectacular mounds and earthworks in North America.

Cleveland Natural History Museum, University Circle, Cleveland, Ohio. Photo Credits Jonathan Neville

Adena canoes were typically made from tulip poplar, a tree known for its straight, unbranching trunk. The trunk interior was removed using fire. The Adena were responsible for building the mounds at Mounds State Park, Indiana.

Some archaeologists believe the Great Mound may have been used as a ceremonial area because of the celestial and astonomical alignments. From its center can be aligned to the surrounding mounds.

Mounds State Park, Indiana

As shown in this map from Mounds State Park, Indiana, evidence of the Adena culture concentrates in what is now Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and New York. This coincides with what we believe about the location of the final battles of the Jaredites in western New York.