Ohio History Journal

THE HOPEWELL CULTURE

 

by RAYMOND S. BABY

Curator of Archaeology,

Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society

 

This prehistoric culture named by William C. Mills from the

Hopewell mound group in Ross County, closely followed Adena in

time; and like the Adena people, the Hopewell people lived along

the principal streams emptying into the Ohio River Valley. Sites

and centers of occupation of the Hopewell people are located, in

the main, along or in the valleys of the Scioto, Little and Great

Miamis, and Muskingum rivers and their tributaries. Most of the

sites are over the entire southern part of the state; there are, how-

ever, three known sites in the north and northeastern sections.

Outside of Ohio, occupation centers and sites of this group are

found in New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois,

Wisconsin, and as far west as Kansas. Remains of related Hope-

wellian people, or "cousins," also are found in the southeastern

United States.

The Hopewell people, commonly referred to as the "Mound-

builders," constructed large and impressive geometric earthworks

and hilltop enclosures. Geometric earthworks in the form of circles,

squares, rectangles, and octagons are situated on the flat river

bottoms and enclose from a few acres to over several hundred acres

of land. The walls of the earthworks, often broken by openings,

vary from two or three feet to ten or more feet in height, and up

to twenty feet in width at the base. At the typical Hopewellian site

geometric forms are found arranged in combinations, that is, circles

and squares connected by short or long parallel walls. Located

within and often scattered around the enclosures are small subconical

to large ovate-shaped burial mounds.

The Turner Group, just northeast of Cincinnati, and the Newark,

Seip, Mound City, Marietta, and Hopewell earthworks are a few

of the important sites of this kind in the Ohio area.

Earth and stone walls following the natural contours of the edge

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The Hopewell Culture                 183

 

of nearly level, steep-sided hills and promontories characterize the

hilltop enclosures. The largest of its kind is Fort Ancient, located

in Warren County on a bluff overlooking the Little Miami Valley

about seven miles east of Lebanon, Ohio. The walls of this en-

closure, which vary in height from a few feet on the southwest side

up to twenty-three feet on the north, are about three and one-half

miles in length and enclose about one hundred acres. The walls

are broken by some seventy openings. Within the enclosed area

are a number of other features such as burial mounds of earth

and stone, stone pavements, and crescent-shaped earthworks. Ex-

tending from two mounds just outside of the east gateway were two

parallel walls which were more than a quarter of a mile long. At

their termini they joined, encircling a small mound.

Fort Miami, Spruce Hill, and Fort Hill, all in Ohio, are other

examples of hilltop enclosures similar to Fort Ancient.

These extensive enclosures were sites of occupancy. Village debris,

artifacts, pottery in the mounds, post-hole patterns of structural

features, and refuse pits within and around the enclosures and be-

neath mounds give ample evidence that the Hopewell people lived

at the site of the enclosures. Certain sections were set aside for

social, ceremonial, and burial purposes. The latter is evident by the

presence of burial mounds erected over sacred structures or over

"fenced" areas, in which elaborate burial practices took place. There

are indications that a few of the geometric sites were large com-

munity burial centers.

Most of the dead were cremated, while more important persons

were interred in the flesh in log tombs. Cremations were made on

small square or rectangular crematory basins of puddled clay after

the remains had been dismembered and partially denuded of flesh.

Interment of the cremated remains was then made on the floor or on

low, clay, bark-covered platforms enclosed by logs or stone. Strips

of bark formed the roof of this small pen, or cist.

Interments extended in the flesh were similarly made in rec-

tangular log tombs, one to three logs high covered with poles and

bark. The graves were often lined with sheets of mica or other

materials. Burial offerings and personal effects such as copper

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184    Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly

 

breastplates, bracelets, ear spools, freshwater pearls, and cut and

decorated animal jaws and teeth usually accompanied the remains.

While the everyday life of the Hopewell people cannot be given,

their material life is illustrated by the variety of tools and ornaments

associated with burials. These artifacts manifest a high degree of

artistic skill rarely expressed by any other group of prehistoric

peoples in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. Materials came from

other parts of the country: copper from the Lake Superior region;

obsidian and bear teeth from the Rocky Mountain district; marine

shells from the Gulf of Mexico; and mica from the Carolinas. The

Hopewell people probably secured these items by trading with

other groups.

Beads were the most common objects of ornamentation. They

were usually cut from freshwater and sea shells or made from fresh-

water pearls. Hundreds of beads were sewn in designs on blankets

which were placed over the dead. Pearls were often added to other

objects to render them more beautiful. Grizzly bear claws and

canine teeth were used as necklaces. The latter were perforated and

often set with pearls. Drilled perforations on one side and incised

designs with a pearl inserted on the other surface suggest that some

of them were attached to garments rather than being worn as

necklaces.

Another form of ornamentation was mica. Thin sheets were cut

in a variety of geometric forms and in human, animal, and bird

figures. These were sewn to clothing and headdresses, adding to

the beauty. Shark, barracuda, and other animal teeth were used

as pendants.

Copper was common and extensively used by the Hopewell

people. Nuggets of copper ore were beaten cold into sheets, narrow

strips, and thin bars, from which ear ornaments, breastplates, head-

dresses, bracelets, axes, and other tools and ornaments were manu-

factured. Among the more popular copper ornaments were the

"ear spools." These resemble in size and shape a modern toy of today,

the Yo-Yo. Occasionally one side of the spool was faced with a foil

of silver or meteoric iron. Bast fiber cordage found between the

discs suggests that they were suspended from the ears.

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The Hopewell Culture                 185

 

Spears and knives probably associated with their ceremonies

were tipped with points and blades fashioned from obsidian lava

glass. Some of these spearpoints were large, measuring up to

eighteen inches in length. Utilitarian tools and weapons such as

side and corner notched projectile points, flake and hafted scrapers,

drills, and knife blades were chipped from multicolored Flint

Ridge flint.

Pottery vessels made by the Hopewell people were in the form

of jars and bowls with rounded or flattened bottoms. The clay

was tempered with grit, although there was some use of limestone

and sand. Ceremonial vessels with four conical-shaped legs were

well made and were highly decorated by incised, stamped, and im-

pressed designs. The rims were incised with crosshatched lines

bordered by a row of hemi-conical punctate impressions. The body

was decorated, with stamped areas set off from the plain smooth

area by incised lines. Utilitarian wares were plain or decorated by

simple, allover cord-wrapped paddle impressions.

Tobacco pipes of a platform type were carved from Ohio pipe-

stone in the form of birds and animals and reflect the height of

artistic attainment by the Hopewell people. The images depict

many characteristic features of subjects portrayed, and display an

intimate knowledge of them by the prehistoric sculptors. Among the

outstanding examples are the squirrels shown in an upright posi-

tion, the tail resting on the back with its tip curved outward. The

duck hawks are shown with their notched beaks and powerful

talons, as well as the detailed feather markings on their heads and

wings. Anatomical details such as the parotid glands and bony

crests of toads are depicted with fidelity.

The Hopewell people were sedentary in nature, having per-

manent villages in and around the enclosures. While there is little

evidence of agriculture, it is likely that they raised corn, beans, and

squash. Hunting, fishing, and gathering were also a part of their

economy. Mounds, earthworks, and elaborate burial customs imply

a large, highly developed society. Considerable use of marine shell,

obsidian, copper, and mica is indicative of contact with other re-

gions and peoples.

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