![]() Once there were tens of thousands, but Hopewell mounds now only number in the hundreds due to encroaching development, both farmlands and towns. The Hopewell built earthworks in clusters of 10-20 mounds or more in same area. The name Hopewell came from mounds excavated in 1891-92 by Warren Moorehead at the property of Mordecai Hopewell in Ross County, Ohio. They produced beautiful artwork and made stone pipes in shapes of effigy animals, smoking tobacco and perhaps other substances. From these regions they obtained mica, copper, shell, and soapstone. They extended the trade network from the Crystal River Indian Mounds in Florida to the northern shores of Lake Ontario, the Gulf Coast, and from the Mississippi River far to the east, but did not have much influence on the East Coast. Hopewell were masters of land survey and geometry, continuing the Adena custom of earthworks and mound-pyramids but vastly enlarging it. Descendants of the Adena, Hopewell culture epicenter was Ohio starting at 100 BCE and lasting until 500 CE. ![]() A few copper axes were found, but metal was generally hammered into jewelry such as bracelets, rings, and pendants. The Adena had stone tools and axes, bone and antler tools, spoons and other implements. Walls were made of paired posts tilted outward, joined to other wood pieces to form a cone shaped roof covered with bark. Kiser 2006Īdena people lived in small settlements of one to two structures houses typically built in a circle ranging from 15 to 45 feet diameter. Grave Creek Mound, Adena Culture in Moundsville, West VirginiaĦ2 feet tall, 240 feet diameter Wikimedia Commons, T. These pyramids were smooth on top and capped with clay, beginning as mortuary buildings which were ceremonially burned, then layers of burials placed on top followed by a new mortuary structure, and the process kept repeating. Some Adena mounds-actually pyramids-were very tall and conical in shape, the highest being 65 feet tall at Miamisburg, Ohio. They developed agricultural practices, pottery, and artistic works although still living semi-nomadic lives and relying on hunting and gathering. The Adena were notable for an extensive trading network which supplied them with copper from the Great Lakes to shells from the Gulf Coast. This evolved from prior practice of burying dead in piles of shells alongside rivers, including pet dogs, then moving to burials in large mounds of earth along with funerary objects such as jewelry, art, and ceramics. Existing for about 900-1000 years, the Adena began mound building in central and southern Ohio regions. Massive earthwork enclosures built by these peoples are the largest collection on the planet, yet their construction still a mystery. The extent of their trade network spans the eastern half of the United States, rivaling that of the Roman Empire. At the same time as the height of Roman Empire (100-476 CE), there were thriving civilizations in North America. We do not know the names these indigenous peoples called themselves Adena and Hopewell were given to them later based on local settlements in their regions. The Adena and Hopewell civilizations lasting from 800 BCE to 500 CE were the first to build large cities and impressive earthworks in areas spanning the current states of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia. Contrary to popular colonial myth, the continent was widely settled far in advance of the Pilgrim’s arrival in 1620, and the southeastern cultures were particularly advanced hundreds of years earlier. It’s the day after Thanksgiving and offers a different perspective on the indigenous peoples living across the northern continent. Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks – World Heritage Ohio Honoring Native American Heritage Day - Indigenous Mound-Pyramid Builders the Adena and Hopewell Cultures Today, Novemis Native American Heritage Day in the United States.
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