Ancient Human Bones Were Discovered At This Indiana Construction Site In May
In May of 2021, construction workers working the site of the future Bartholomew County judicial building in Colombus, Indiana, found something startling: human remains. Human bones were found during excavation and, naturally, a discovery like this prompts an investigation. What was discovered was anything but uninteresting: the bones found were at least 2,000 years old, and likely belong to a small group of Native persons buried there long ago. These ancient remains found in Indiana open the door for us to take a closer look at the people they’re thought to belong to.
Workers onsite at the future county building certainly weren't expecting to find anything like this, but there they were: buried six feet below the surface were human bones intermixed with animal bones as well as some interesting artifacts.
The bones were turned over to archaeologists at the University of Indiana, who found that they were more than 2,000 years old and belonged to people known as the Adena.
The Adena people are considered to be the first to utilize burial mounds, though they reserved the mounds for distinguished burials like those of shamans and chiefs. It is thought that this man and children were likely common folk, based on the lack of adornments surrounding the gravesite.
The Adena people lived from around 800 BCE to 100 CE, which is known as the Early Woodland Period.
It is not known what they called themselves; the name "Adena" was given to them by archaeologists who have no way of knowing what the true peoples' name was.
The Adena aren't thought to have been one large tribe; rather, they were likely a network of interconnected villages and communities.
They carved stone effigies and statues, and created interesting, small stone tablets, often decorated with symbols and drawings. Sometimes, traces of ancient paint are found on Adena pottery and tablets, and it's always an interesting treat to find!
In the case of the man and two children found buried together in Bartholomew County, it's mostly a mystery.
It's known that they were of the Adena people, but other than that, we don't know anything about these folks - including how they died. We can only speculate on the story there, but it's amazing to know that sometimes, ancient history lives on in our own backyards.
Or, sometimes, it lives on beneath our future government properties.
What do you think? Aren’t these ancient remains found in Indiana just downright fascinating? Do you know anything about the Adena people? Tell us in the comments section!
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Tori Jane is a storm chaser, writer, photographer, and the village idiot - in that order. When she's not out and about dancing with the meanest storms on planet Earth for funsies she can be found wandering, shooting landscapes, writing, editing photos, and otherwise up to no good. Legend has it that she can also be occasionally spotted typing up short bios in the third person, but those rumors are unsubstantiated.
