High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Prehistory of West Virginia spans ancient times until the arrival of Europeans in early 17th century. Hunters ventured into West Virginia`s mountain valleys making temporary camp villages since the Archaic period in the Americas. Many ancient human-made earthen mounds from various mound builder cultures survive, especially in the areas of Moundsville, South Charleston, and Romney. The artifacts uncovered in these give evidence of a village society having a tribal trade system culture that practiced limited cold worked copper. As of 2009, over 12,500 archaeological sites have been documented in Virginia.