hopewell culture
national historical park preserves six
archaeological sites around chillicothe
ohio
these sites were created by the people
of the hopewell culture
which thrived across eastern north
america from 1800
to 1500 years ago these people we call
the hopewell
were not a tribe or nation but a
cultural group comprised of many
they left no written records and there
is little to no
surviving oral tradition what we know
about them
we learned from studying the earthworks
artwork
and other traces they left behind
through these traces we have learned
that the people of the hopewell culture
were deeply connected to the natural
world especially the vast forests which
surrounded and nourished them
come join the american conservation
experience
as we explore the hopewell world at
hopewell culture national historical
park
two thousand years ago when hopewell
earthworks were being built
much of the ohio river valley was
covered with a mosaic of vast old growth
forest
with some trees reaching up to 80 feet
tall
along with open prairie and areas
managed by humans
hardwood trees like hickories walnuts
and oaks
provided nutritious food for the
ancestors of modern american indians
living there at the time
these people lived in family groups with
a maximum of three dwellings
they lived during the middle woodland
period a time in which societies were
both
hunter-gatherers and agricultural corn
had not been introduced to the area by
this time
but these people cultivated plants
domesticated in eastern north america
such as sunflower and squash
these indigenous people did not live
passively in a pristine wilderness
but managed and shaped the world around
them they manipulated wild nut groves to
enhance harvests and reduce competition
from squirrels
and other foraging wildlife indigenous
peoples at that time may have set fires
to create patches of productive grazing
habitat for game
like what their descendants used to
attract deer and elk
people of the hopewell culture primarily
hunted white-tailed deer
wild turkey and raccoon in the forest
for food
hunters in the middle of woodland period
did not use the bow and arrow
instead they use the atlatl which acts
as a simple
lever to launch large darts it's sort of
like a plastic tennis ball thrower
but with spears
people in the hopewell culture also
created clearings in the forest
to construct their famous massive
precise earthworks
creating clearings of this size with
only stone tools was a monumental
achievement in and of itself
it must have been extremely striking to
pass through miles of force to come
across these monumental structures
from their perspective an area cleared
of trees was the exception
not the rule
buried beneath many of these mounds were
elaborate pieces of artwork
clay copper mica obsidian
shirt crystal seashells
and other materials were crafted into
striking
beautiful pieces of art which mimic the
natural world
here we see headdresses and carvings
designed to emulate deer antlers
pipes were carved to resemble forest
animals such as bobcats squirrels
owls and otters
these pieces of art were buried in
mounds sometimes with ashes or bodies
and sometimes only with other pieces of
art
this implies that these artworks were
similarly revered
possibly on a similar level to the
honored dead buried in these mountains
these artworks are also of interest to
ecologists
because they offer a glimpse into the
past providing clues
of what ohio's forests looked like
thousands of years ago
and how they have changed since then
ohio's forests are considerably
different in comparison to those from
1800 years ago
the descendants of the hopewell culture
eventually stopped constructing
earthworks for reasons
archaeologists are still trying to
discern
in the mid 15th century american indians
abandoned most of the ohio interior
concentrating into large settlements
along the ohio river
this was caused by a mixture of
inter-tribal warfare
and climatic disturbance during the
little ice age
which predates more recent anthropogenic
climate change
during the beaver wars of the 17th
century the iroquois had forced
out virtually all native groups who
remained in ohio
by the time non-native colonists arrived
the lack of indigenous management
allowed forests to grow back
often with forests overgrowing
earthworks giving the impression
of an uninhabited wilderness
non-native settlers did not arrive in
ohio in large numbers until the 1790s
at this time some possible descendants
of the people of the hopewell culture
including the shawnee miami delaware and
ottawa
still lived in this area the appearance
of ohio as an unpeopled wilderness
was used as a justification for the
forced removal of native americans from
ohio to oklahoma
in the early 19th century
in the 19th century the settlement of
ohio led to significant deforestation
as settlers unsustainably harvested
lumber
and cleared forests for farm fields
the u.s forest service estimates that by
ohio's forest cover went from 95 percent
to only 10 percent
unregulated hunting led to the
extirpation of species like the
white-tailed deer
eastern elk cougar and bobcat
in the 20th century abandonment of
marginal farmland has led to a recovery
in forest
and the u.s forest service estimates
that ohio
is now 30 percent forested
with forests and recovery many wildlife
species have returned
such as white-tailed deer and black bear
bobcats are currently re-establishing
themselves in ohio
with some cited here at hopewell culture
national historical park
hopewell culture national historical
park preserves an ancient cultural
landscape
where both natural features and the
handy work of humans and mesh
in the same storied landscape visiting
this
park helps connect us to the ancient
past
and the fascinating culture which shaped
this cultural landscape
you