On January 23, 1995, Bret J. Ruby started a new phase in his life when he began his duties as Park Archeologist at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. Bret was hired as part of the National Park Service's Cultural Resources Professionalization Initiative. This initiative is designed to improve cultural resource management in the parks by increasing the number of professionals assigned to park staffs.

In addition to advising park managers about cultural resource management issues, Bret will conduct research in Ross County, Ohio. He comes to the job with considerable experience in Hopewell archeology. As Prehistory Research Fellow and Associate Instructor at the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology at Indiana University, Bret conducted research on Hopewell in southern Indiana. His research included the study of the Mann site, Posey County, Indiana. The Mann site is the largest Hopewell site in Indiana, and one of the few documented geometric earthwork sites dating to the Middle Woodland substage outside of southern Ohio.		Bret J. Ruby
Bret grew up in Akron, and started his archeological career in Ohio as a student at Kent State University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1987. His interest in archeology was fueled by interaction with Olaf Prufer and Mark Seeman. He conducted his first field research in a field school directed by Seeman at the Kramer Village site in Ross County, Ohio. Bret's early interest in Hopewell archeology is documented in his undergraduate thesis, which looked at Hopewell research in an historical perspective. Bret carried his interest in Hopewell studies to Bloomington, Indiana where he focused his research on the Crab Orchard and Mann phase occupations of the lower Wabash and Ohio River valleys. He received a Master of Arts degree in Anthropology at Indiana University in 1991. Bret is currently working on his dissertation at Indiana University, which will describe his research on the late Hopewellian Mann phase in southern Indiana. His dissertation research included two seasons of surface survey funded by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. A third season was devoted to test excavations at a small habitation site, funded by the Indiana Historical Society and the Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology. His research has attempted to integrate material culture studies and settlement patterns studies through a cultural ecological perspective. He plans to correlate site type variability with local ecological factors through Geographic Information Systems applications. His research will also compare settlement variability in the Mann phase with the earlier Crab Orchard tradition, and the later Emergent Mississippian (Yankeetown phase) occupation. In his new position with the National Park Service, Bret will be active in park research and public education programs. His research will be aimed at developing a better understanding of the rich cultural heritage in Ross County. His professional skills and experience will be a valuable asset to Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, and the community of Chillicothe.