Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
Encyclopedia
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, formerly known as Mound City Group National Monument, is a United States
national historical park
with earthworks
and burial mounds
from the Hopewell culture
, indigenous peoples
who flourished from about 200 BC to AD 500. The park is composed of five separate sites in Ross County, Ohio
. The park includes archaeological
resources of the Hopewell culture. It is administered by the United States Department of the Interior
's National Park Service
.
In January 2008 the Department of the Interior included Hopewell Culture National Historical Park as part of the "Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks", one of 14 sites on its "tentative list" from which the United States
makes nominations for the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
peoples who inhabited a large portion of eastern North America. The culture is characterized by its construction of enclosures made of earthen walls, often built in geometric patterns, and mounds of various shapes. Visible remnants of Hopewell culture are concentrated in the Scioto River
valley near present-day Chillicothe, Ohio
.
The most striking Hopewell sites contain earthworks
in the form of squares, circles, and other geometric shapes. Many of these sites were built to a monumental scale, with earthen walls up to 12 feet (3.7 m) high outlining geometric figures more than 1000 feet (304.8 m) across. Conical and loaf-shaped earthen mounds up to 30 feet (9.1 m) high are often found in association with the geometric earthworks. The people who built them had a detailed knowledge of the local soils, and they combined different types to provide the most stability to the works. It required the organized labor of thousands of manhours, as people carried the earth in handwoven baskets.
Mound City, located on Ohio Highway 104 approximately four miles north of Chillicothe along the Scioto River
, is a group of 23 earthen mounds constructed by the Hopewell culture. Each mound within the group covered the remains of a charnel house
. After the Hopewell people cremated
the dead, they burned the charnel house. They constructed a mound over the remains. They also placed artifacts, such as copper
figures, mica
, arrowheads, shells, and pipes in the mounds.
European Americans first mapped the site in the 1840s. Much of it was destroyed during World War I
when the United States Army
constructed a military training base, the Camp Sherman
, on the site. After the war, they razed the camp. The Ohio Historical Society
conducted an archeological excavation of the site from 1920–1922, followed by reconstruction of the mounds. In 1923, the Department of Interior
declared the Mound City Group a National Monument
, to be administered by the Federal government.
In 1992, Mound City Group was renamed and expanded as Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. Its definition included remnants of four other nearby earthwork and mound systems. Two Ross County sites are within a few miles of Mound City and open to the public. Seip Earthworks is located 17 miles (27.4 km) west of Chillicothe on U.S. Route 50
; it is administered by the Ohio Historical Society
. Hopewell Mound Group is the site of the 1891 excavation on the land of Capt. Mordecai Hopewell (for whom the culture is named). Although High Bank Works and Hopeton Earthworks
are included in the national park and maintained by the National Park Service
, they are not open to visitors.
The Ohio Historical Society also maintains a number of mound systems and elaborate earthworks in the southern Ohio area, including the National Historic Landmark
s of Fort Ancient
, Newark Earthworks
, and Serpent Mound
. Fifteen mound complexes earlier identified in the county have been lost to agriculture or urban development.
The national park contains nationally significant archaeological resources, including large earthwork and mound complexes. These provide insight into the sophisticated and complex social, ceremonial, political, and economic life of the Hopewell people.
The park visitor's center features museum exhibits with artifacts excavated by the Mound City Group, an orientation film, book sales area, and self-guided and guided tours.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
national historical park
National Historical Park
National Historic Sites are protected areas of national historic significance in the United States. A National Historic Site usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject...
with earthworks
Earthworks (archaeology)
In archaeology, earthwork is a general term to describe artificial changes in land level. Earthworks are often known colloquially as 'lumps and bumps'. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features or they can show features beneath the surface...
and burial mounds
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
from the Hopewell culture
Hopewell culture
The Hopewell tradition is the term used to describe common aspects of the Native American culture that flourished along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern United States from 200 BCE to 500 CE. The Hopewell tradition was not a single culture or society, but a widely dispersed set of related...
, indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
who flourished from about 200 BC to AD 500. The park is composed of five separate sites in Ross County, Ohio
Ross County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 73,345 people, 27,136 households, and 19,185 families residing in the county. The population density was 106 people per square mile . There were 29,461 housing units at an average density of 43 per square mile...
. The park includes archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
resources of the Hopewell culture. It is administered by the United States Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
's National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
.
In January 2008 the Department of the Interior included Hopewell Culture National Historical Park as part of the "Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks", one of 14 sites on its "tentative list" from which the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
makes nominations for the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
History
From about 200 BC to AD 500, the Ohio River Valley was a central area of the prehistoric Hopewell culture. The term Hopewell (taken from an early farmer who owned the land where one of the mound complexes was located) culture is applied to a broad network of beliefs and practices among different Native AmericanIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
peoples who inhabited a large portion of eastern North America. The culture is characterized by its construction of enclosures made of earthen walls, often built in geometric patterns, and mounds of various shapes. Visible remnants of Hopewell culture are concentrated in the Scioto River
Scioto River
The Scioto River is a river in central and southern Ohio more than 231 miles in length. It rises in Auglaize County in west central Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets the Ohio River at Portsmouth...
valley near present-day Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States.Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio and is located in southern Ohio along the Scioto River. The name comes from the Shawnee name Chalahgawtha, meaning "principal town", as it was a major settlement of...
.
The most striking Hopewell sites contain earthworks
Earthworks (archaeology)
In archaeology, earthwork is a general term to describe artificial changes in land level. Earthworks are often known colloquially as 'lumps and bumps'. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features or they can show features beneath the surface...
in the form of squares, circles, and other geometric shapes. Many of these sites were built to a monumental scale, with earthen walls up to 12 feet (3.7 m) high outlining geometric figures more than 1000 feet (304.8 m) across. Conical and loaf-shaped earthen mounds up to 30 feet (9.1 m) high are often found in association with the geometric earthworks. The people who built them had a detailed knowledge of the local soils, and they combined different types to provide the most stability to the works. It required the organized labor of thousands of manhours, as people carried the earth in handwoven baskets.
Scioto River
The Scioto River is a river in central and southern Ohio more than 231 miles in length. It rises in Auglaize County in west central Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets the Ohio River at Portsmouth...
, is a group of 23 earthen mounds constructed by the Hopewell culture. Each mound within the group covered the remains of a charnel house
Charnel house
A charnel house is a vault or building where human skeletal remains are stored. They are often built near churches for depositing bones that are unearthed while digging graves...
. After the Hopewell people cremated
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
the dead, they burned the charnel house. They constructed a mound over the remains. They also placed artifacts, such as copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
figures, mica
Mica
The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition...
, arrowheads, shells, and pipes in the mounds.
European Americans first mapped the site in the 1840s. Much of it was destroyed during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
when the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
constructed a military training base, the Camp Sherman
Camp Sherman, Ohio
Camp Sherman is an Ohio Army National Guard training site near Chillicothe, Ohio. It was established in 1917 after the U.S. entered World War I and today serves as a training site for National Guard soldiers. In 2009 the remaining National Guard facility was renamed Camp Sherman Joint Training...
, on the site. After the war, they razed the camp. The Ohio Historical Society
Ohio Historical Society
The Ohio Historical Society is a non-profit organization incorporated in 1885 as The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society "to promote a knowledge of archaeology and history, especially in Ohio"...
conducted an archeological excavation of the site from 1920–1922, followed by reconstruction of the mounds. In 1923, the Department of Interior
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
declared the Mound City Group a National Monument
U.S. National Monument
A National Monument in the United States is a protected area that is similar to a National Park except that the President of the United States can quickly declare an area of the United States to be a National Monument without the approval of Congress. National monuments receive less funding and...
, to be administered by the Federal government.
In 1992, Mound City Group was renamed and expanded as Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. Its definition included remnants of four other nearby earthwork and mound systems. Two Ross County sites are within a few miles of Mound City and open to the public. Seip Earthworks is located 17 miles (27.4 km) west of Chillicothe on U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50 is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching just over from Ocean City, Maryland on the Atlantic Ocean to West Sacramento, California. Until 1972, when it was replaced by Interstate Highways west of the Sacramento area, it extended to San Francisco, near...
; it is administered by the Ohio Historical Society
Ohio Historical Society
The Ohio Historical Society is a non-profit organization incorporated in 1885 as The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society "to promote a knowledge of archaeology and history, especially in Ohio"...
. Hopewell Mound Group is the site of the 1891 excavation on the land of Capt. Mordecai Hopewell (for whom the culture is named). Although High Bank Works and Hopeton Earthworks
Hopeton Earthworks
The Hopeton Earthworks are Hopewell culture mounds and earthworks located about a mile east of the Mound City group on a terrace of the Scioto River. The walls have been damaged by cultivation. They are contained in a detached portion of Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. The Hopeton...
are included in the national park and maintained by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, they are not open to visitors.
The Ohio Historical Society also maintains a number of mound systems and elaborate earthworks in the southern Ohio area, including the National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
s of Fort Ancient
Fort Ancient
Fort Ancient is a name for a Native American culture that flourished from 1000-1750 CE among a people who predominantly inhabited land along the Ohio River in areas of modern-day Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, Southeastern Indiana and Western West Virginia. They were a maize based agricultural...
, Newark Earthworks
Newark Earthworks
The Newark Earthworks in Newark and Heath, Ohio, consists of three sections of preserved earthworks: the Great Circle Earthworks, the Octagon Earthworks, and the Wright Earthworks. This complex contained the largest earthen enclosures in the world, being about 3,000 acres in extent. Today, the...
, and Serpent Mound
Serpent Mound
The Great Serpent Mound is a -long, three-foot-high prehistoric effigy mound located on a plateau of the Serpent Mound crater along Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio. Maintained within a park by the Ohio Historical Society, it has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the United...
. Fifteen mound complexes earlier identified in the county have been lost to agriculture or urban development.
The national park contains nationally significant archaeological resources, including large earthwork and mound complexes. These provide insight into the sophisticated and complex social, ceremonial, political, and economic life of the Hopewell people.
The park visitor's center features museum exhibits with artifacts excavated by the Mound City Group, an orientation film, book sales area, and self-guided and guided tours.
Further reading
- Squire, Ephraim G. and Davis, Edwin H., Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi ValleyAncient Monuments of the Mississippi ValleyAncient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley by Americans Ephraim George Squier and Edwin Hamilton Davis is a landmark in American scientific research, the study of the prehistoric Mound builders of North America, and the early development of archaeology...
, Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998. (reprint of 1848 book) - Woodward, Susan L. and McDonald, Jerry N., Indian Mounds of the Middle Ohio Valley, Blacksburg, VA: McDonald & Woodward Publishing, 1986.