Description: D. Wyrick's 1860 map of the Newark Earthworks. Built by the prehistoric Hopewell Culture between 100 B.C. and A.D. 500, this architectural wonder of ancient America was part cathedral, part cemetery, and part astronomical observatory. The entire Newark Earthworks originally encompassed more than four square miles. Over the years, the growth of the city of Newark destroyed many of the Newark Earthworks, but three major segments survived because of the efforts of interested local citizens. In 2006, Governor Bob Taft formally declared the Newark Earthworks to be Ohio's state prehistoric monument, honoring the early American Indian builders of this site. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02913
Subjects: Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1-400); American Indians--Archaeology; Earthworks (Archaeology); Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; Ohio state symbols
Places: Newark (Ohio); Licking County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of a large group of men and women gathered at Fort Ancient, ca. 1890-1900. The group is believed to be the International Congress of Americanists, made up of delegates from the leading states of Europe, and nearly all of the Countries of the Americas, held their biennial meeting in New York City, beginning October 22, 1902. It was the expressed and almost universal desire of the delegates to this congress that they have an opportunity of visiting Fort Ancient, and negotiations between the Secretary of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, and Mr. M. H. Saville, the general secretary of the congress and Assistant Curator of the American Museum of Natural History of New York, resulted in the accomplishment of the wish of the members of the congress. By the action of the Trustees of the Ohio Society, the AMERICANISTS were made the guests of the Society at Fort Ancient, on Thursday, October 30, 1902. The train conveying the foreign party reached Columbus in the early morning of the date in question, and they were met and greeted by the following trustees and officers of the State Society: Gen. R. Brinkerhoff, G. F. Bareis, A. R. McIntire, M. D. Follett, H. A. Thompson, J. P. MacLean, C. L. Martzolff, B. F. Prince, C. P. Griffin, N. B C. Love, E. O. Randall, W. C. Mills and E. F. Wood. … After a substantial lunch had been partaken of, an address of welcome was made to the guests by General Brinkerhoff, on the part of the Society, and remarks explanatory of the Fort were made by Professors J. P. MacLean and W. C. Mills. The entire grounds were then inspected, many of the party putting in much of their time in looking for relics … The following is a list of the guests present at the Fort Ancient visit: Edward H. Thompson, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. David Boyle, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Juan B. Ambrosetti, Buenos Ayres, Argentine Republic. M. Gonzalez de la'Rosa, Paris, France. Arthur Farwell, Boston, Mass. Arthur M. J. Hirsh, Munich, Germany. Waldemar Borgoras, St. Petersburg, Russia. Alfred M. Tozzer, Peabody Museum, Cambridge. Francisco Belmar, State of Oaxaca, Mexico. Henri Pittier de Fabrega, Costa Rica. Leon Lejeal, College of France, Paris. Alfredo Gonzalez, Mexico. Chevalier L. C. van Panhuys, The Hague, Netherlands. Prof. Eduard Seler, Berlin, Germany. Juan F. Ferraz, Costa Rica. Mary Endora Lyon, Salem, Mass. Mrs. Jessie Crellin Pepper, Newark, New Jersey. Mrs. Annie Lyon Saville, New York City. Mrs. Grace Hyde Trine, Oscawana-on-Hudson, N. Y.” Among the folks in the picture are several of the most important archaeologists around at the time, including: Frederic Ward Putnam, the “Father” of American Archaeology, who studied Serpent Mound and is responsible for its preservation. Warren King Moorehead, the Ohio History Connection’s first Curator of Archaeology, did a lot of work at the Fort Ancient Earthworks and is largely responsible for its preservation William C. Mills, the Ohio History Connection’s fourth Curator of Archaeology and later the Director Gerard Fowke, worked with Moorehead and is the author of the Archaeological History of Ohio, published by the Ohio History Connection The Fort Ancient Earthworks are a series of earthen embankments that extend for more than three and one half miles around a high bluff along the Little Miami River in southwestern Ohio. Although it is called a "fort," it probably never served as a defensive work. Ditches are located inside the walls rather than outside as might be expected in a fortification. There are more than 60 gateways in the walls, making it difficult to defend the site against enemies. The Hopewell culture (100 B.C. to 500 A. D.) of prehistoric American Indian people constructed the earthworks. Later native residents built a village and a cemetery within the walls of the already ancient South Fort. Archaeologists mistakenly assumed that these villagers had built the earthen walls. It was called the Fort Ancient culture (1000 A.D. to 1650 A.D.) after the name of the site. This mistake has caused confusion for later students of Ohio archaeology. Recent excavations at Fort Ancient have discovered the remains of Hopewell culture houses and ceremonial features both inside and outside of the enclosure walls. It is not known whether the houses located inside the enclosure were occupied before or after the enclosure was built. It also has yet to be determined whether the houses were the dwellings of more or less full time residents, or the temporary shelters of visitors. The Fort Ancient Earthworks is an Ohio Historical Society site open to visitation. It is located seven miles southeast of Lebanon, in Warren County, Ohio. In addition to the earthworks, the site features a museum with interpretive exhibits about Ohio's ancient past. The Fort Ancient Earthworks site also is a National Historic Landmark. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04693
Subjects: Fort Ancient (Ohio); Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650); Earthworks (Archaeology); Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400); State parks & reserves; Mounds--Ohio--Warren County; Portrait photography
Places: Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: Panoramic photograph showing five individuals standing at Serpent Mound, a monumental effigy mound in northern Adams County, Ohio. This earthwork depicts a serpent uncoiling along a prominent ridgetop; from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail, the effigy is 1,348 feet long. When it was originally described in 1848, the body of the serpent was five feet high and 30 feet wide. Until recently, archaeologists assumed that Serpent Mound was built by the Adena culture (800 B.C. to 100 A.D.) since two Adena burial mounds are located nearby. Yet excavations conducted in 1991 recovered charcoal that returned radiocarbon dates suggesting that the Fort Ancient people built the mound between about 1025 A.D. and 1215 A.D. Many American Indians of the Eastern Woodlands believed the Great Serpent was a powerful spirit of the Underworld, and it is believed that Serpent Mound may be a representation of these beliefs. The head of Serpent Mound is aligned with the setting sun on the summer solstice and the coils may be aligned to the summer and winter solstice and equinox sunrises. These alignments support the idea that Serpent Mound had a ceremonial purpose for its creators. Frederic Putnam saved Serpent Mound from destruction. On his urging, funds were raised for Harvard University to purchase the site. Later, the ownership was transferred to the Ohio Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection). Serpent Mound is now recognized as a National Historic Landmark. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: OVS7483
Subjects: Great Serpent Mound (Ohio); Earthworks (Archaeology); Mounds--Ohio--Adams County;
Places: Adams County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of a platform pipe recovered from Mound No. 27 during the excavation of the Hopewell Mound Group in Ross County, Ohio. The Hopewell Mound Group, the type site for the Hopewell Culture, is located along the North Fork of Paint Creek in Union Township, Ross County, Ohio. When first surveyed in the mid-1800s the mound and earthwork complex, once referred to as the Clark Works, contained at least 38 mounds of various sizes within a 111-acre, somewhat “D”-shaped walled enclosure. An attached segmented square enclosed an additional 18 acres. The most notable mound in the group is referred to as Mound 25, a three-part conjoined mound that once measured 35 feet high by 500 feet long and 180 feet wide at the base. It was this mound more than any other that was the source of many of the iconic artifacts that defined the Hopewell Culture (100 BC-AD 400). The Hopewell Mound Group was extensively investigated in the early 1890s by Warren Moorehead to collect material for the 1892 World’s Columbian Exposition. This material is now housed in the Chicago Field Museum. In the 1920s Henry Shetrone of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection) also did extensive field work there, assembling an impressive collection of materials for the museum. Today the Hopewell Mound Group and several other related Ross County earthwork complexes are overseen by the National Park Service as the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. The Hopewell Mound Group is one of seven Ohio Hopewell Ceremonial Earthwork sites presently under consideration by the United States Department of the Interior for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV17_B03F03_E07_05
Subjects: Earthworks (Archaeology); American Indians in Ohio; Excavations (Archaeology)--Ohio; Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); Artifacts
Places: Ross County (Ohio)
 

Description: A young girl wearing a dress, knee socks and a coonskin cap reads an engraved marker at Serpent Mound, a monumental effigy mound in northern Adams County, Ohio. The image was submitted by the girl's mother, photographer Joyce A. Foster of Portsmouth, Ohio, in the Amateur category of the Spirit of Ohio Bicentennial Photo Contest. In August 1976, the Ohio American Revolution Bicentennial Advisory Committee (OARBAC) began the Spirit of Ohio Bicentennial Photo Contest as part of a larger effort in Ohio to celebrate the 1976 American Bicentennial. The contest was meant to document "the spirit and character of the people and places which represent Ohio during [the] bicentennial year," and to create a permanent photographic archive of the year's festivity for use by future researchers. Both professional and amateur photographers submitted over 500 photographs for consideration, all taken within the state between January 1 and December 31, 1976. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA2734AV_B02F63_02_01
Subjects: American Revolution Bicentennial (1976); Great Serpent Mound (Ohio); Earthworks (Archaeology); Children; Clothing and dress
Places: Adams County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph taken during the excavation of the Hopewell Mound Group in Ross County, Ohio. Reverse reads, "View from east of main gateway." The Hopewell Mound Group, the type site for the Hopewell Culture, is located along the North Fork of Paint Creek in Union Township, Ross County, Ohio. When first surveyed in the mid-1800s the mound and earthwork complex, once referred to as the Clark Works, contained at least 38 mounds of various sizes within a 111-acre, somewhat “D”-shaped walled enclosure. An attached segmented square enclosed an additional 18 acres. The most notable mound in the group is referred to as Mound 25, a three-part conjoined mound that once measured 35 feet high by 500 feet long and 180 feet wide at the base. It was this mound more than any other that was the source of many of the iconic artifacts that defined the Hopewell Culture (100 BC-AD 400). The Hopewell Mound Group was extensively investigated in the early 1890s by Warren Moorehead to collect material for the 1892 World’s Columbian Exposition. This material is now housed in the Chicago Field Museum. In the 1920s Henry Shetrone of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection) also did extensive field work there, assembling an impressive collection of materials for the museum. Today the Hopewell Mound Group and several other related Ross County earthwork complexes are overseen by the National Park Service as the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. The Hopewell Mound Group is one of seven Ohio Hopewell Ceremonial Earthwork sites presently under consideration by the United States Department of the Interior for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV17_B03F01_E03_05
Subjects: Earthworks (Archaeology); American Indians in Ohio; Excavations (Archaeology)--Ohio; Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400)
Places: Ross County (Ohio)
 

Description: This is a picture of several earthworks at Fort Ancient near Lebanon, Ohio. Fort Ancient is a collection of American Indian earthworks, built by the Hopewell peoples, along the eastern shore of the Little Miami River. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B14F07_029_001
Subjects: Warren County (Ohio); Fort Ancient (Ohio); Earthworks (Archaeology); Mounds -- Ohio -- Warren County; Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1–400)
Places: Lebanon (Ohio); Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph showing a cast of a pottery figurine recovered from Altar 1 of Mound 4 of the Turner Mound Group. The figure is posed standing with its arms at its sides. The Turner Group of Earthworks was located on the Little Miami River in Anderson Township, Hamilton County, Ohio. By analysis of artifacts recovered there, it was dated to the Hopewell Period of about 100 BC - AD 400. The Turner Group was singular in design and uncomplicated in layout compared to many of the Hopewell geometric earthwork sites in the Scioto Valley. Turner primarily consisted of a raised 500’ circle connected to an expansive oval-shaped embankment called the Great Enclosure. A detached oval embankment called the Long Enclosure was located just to the south. There were 18 burial mounds associated with the Turner Group, mostly within the Great Enclosure. These were investigated by Putnam, Metz and others between 1882 and 1902. Workers unearthed a total of 91 burials and cremations with several burials interred in stone-lined graves. Grave offerings included objects of copper, mica and other exotic materials typical of the Hopewell culture. However, like the site itself, many Turner artifacts were atypical in terms of both theme and style when compared to Scioto Valley Hopewell objects. This includes a unique group of small terracotta human figurines in different poses and garb that were thought to depict the site’s original inhabitants. Most spectacular was a ring of 30 large, vented fire pits or furnaces found under Mound 3. Some suggest that their purpose was to smelt metallic ore, others to create ceremonial pyrotechnic effects. Unfortunately the Turner Group became a gravel quarry after World War II, leaving many such questions unanswered. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV17_B05F04_E04_03_01
Subjects: Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); Mounds--Ohio River Valley; Earthworks (Archaeology); Excavations (Archaeology)--Ohio; Artifacts
Places: Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the Miami Valley from Fort Ancient, Warren County, Ohio, ca. 1886-1888. This photograph is part of a collection compiled by Henry Howe while researching the 1889 edition of "Historical Collections of Ohio." The Fort Ancient Earthworks are a series of earthen embankments that extend for more than three and one half miles around a high bluff along the Little Miami River in southwestern Ohio. Although it is called a "fort," it probably never served as a defensive work. Ditches are located inside the walls rather than outside as might be expected in a fortification. There are more than 60 gateways in the walls, making it difficult to defend the site against enemies. The Hopewell culture (100 B.C. to 500 A. D.) of prehistoric American Indian people constructed the earthworks. Later native residents built a village and a cemetery within the walls of the already ancient South Fort. Archaeologists mistakenly assumed that these villagers had built the earthen walls. It was called the Fort Ancient culture (1000 A.D. to 1650 A.D.) after the name of the site. This mistake has caused confusion for later students of Ohio archaeology. Recent excavations at Fort Ancient have discovered the remains of Hopewell culture houses and ceremonial features both inside and outside of the enclosure walls. It is not known whether the houses located inside the enclosure were occupied before or after the enclosure was built. It also has yet to be determined whether the houses were the dwellings of more or less full time residents, or the temporary shelters of visitors. The Fort Ancient Earthworks is an Ohio Historical Society site open to visitation. It is located seven miles southeast of Lebanon, in Warren County, Ohio. In addition to the earthworks, the site features a museum with interpretive exhibits about Ohio's ancient past. The Fort Ancient Earthworks site also is a National Historic Landmark. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00506
Subjects: Fort Ancient (Ohio); Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650); Earthworks (Archaeology); State parks & reserves; Mounds--Ohio--Warren County
Places: Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of pipes recovered from Offering 1 of Mound No. 17 during the excavation of the Hopewell Mound Group in Ross County, Ohio. The Hopewell Mound Group, the type site for the Hopewell Culture, is located along the North Fork of Paint Creek in Union Township, Ross County, Ohio. When first surveyed in the mid-1800s the mound and earthwork complex, once referred to as the Clark Works, contained at least 38 mounds of various sizes within a 111-acre, somewhat “D”-shaped walled enclosure. An attached segmented square enclosed an additional 18 acres. The most notable mound in the group is referred to as Mound 25, a three-part conjoined mound that once measured 35 feet high by 500 feet long and 180 feet wide at the base. It was this mound more than any other that was the source of many of the iconic artifacts that defined the Hopewell Culture (100 BC-AD 400). The Hopewell Mound Group was extensively investigated in the early 1890s by Warren Moorehead to collect material for the 1892 World’s Columbian Exposition. This material is now housed in the Chicago Field Museum. In the 1920s Henry Shetrone of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection) also did extensive field work there, assembling an impressive collection of materials for the museum. Today the Hopewell Mound Group and several other related Ross County earthwork complexes are overseen by the National Park Service as the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. The Hopewell Mound Group is one of seven Ohio Hopewell Ceremonial Earthwork sites presently under consideration by the United States Department of the Interior for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV17_B03F03_E07_06
Subjects: Earthworks (Archaeology); American Indians in Ohio; Excavations (Archaeology)--Ohio; Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); Artifacts
Places: Ross County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of copper rods recovered from Mound No. 25, Burials #6 and #7, during the excavation of the Hopewell Mound Group in Ross County, Ohio. The Hopewell Mound Group, the type site for the Hopewell Culture, is located along the North Fork of Paint Creek in Union Township, Ross County, Ohio. When first surveyed in the mid-1800s the mound and earthwork complex, once referred to as the Clark Works, contained at least 38 mounds of various sizes within a 111-acre, somewhat “D”-shaped walled enclosure. An attached segmented square enclosed an additional 18 acres. The most notable mound in the group is referred to as Mound 25, a three-part conjoined mound that once measured 35 feet high by 500 feet long and 180 feet wide at the base. It was this mound more than any other that was the source of many of the iconic artifacts that defined the Hopewell Culture (100 BC-AD 400). The Hopewell Mound Group was extensively investigated in the early 1890s by Warren Moorehead to collect material for the 1892 World’s Columbian Exposition. This material is now housed in the Chicago Field Museum. In the 1920s Henry Shetrone of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection) also did extensive field work there, assembling an impressive collection of materials for the museum. Today the Hopewell Mound Group and several other related Ross County earthwork complexes are overseen by the National Park Service as the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. The Hopewell Mound Group is one of seven Ohio Hopewell Ceremonial Earthwork sites presently under consideration by the United States Department of the Interior for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV17_B03F03_E04_05
Subjects: Earthworks (Archaeology); American Indians in Ohio; Excavations (Archaeology)--Ohio; Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); Artifacts
Places: Ross County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph showing a cast of a pottery figurine recovered from the Turner Mound Group. The figure is posed kneeling, with its hands on its knees. The Turner Group of Earthworks was located on the Little Miami River in Anderson Township, Hamilton County, Ohio. By analysis of artifacts recovered there, it was dated to the Hopewell Period of about 100 BC - AD 400. The Turner Group was singular in design and uncomplicated in layout compared to many of the Hopewell geometric earthwork sites in the Scioto Valley. Turner primarily consisted of a raised 500’ circle connected to an expansive oval-shaped embankment called the Great Enclosure. A detached oval embankment called the Long Enclosure was located just to the south. There were 18 burial mounds associated with the Turner Group, mostly within the Great Enclosure. These were investigated by Putnam, Metz and others between 1882 and 1902. Workers unearthed a total of 91 burials and cremations with several burials interred in stone-lined graves. Grave offerings included objects of copper, mica and other exotic materials typical of the Hopewell culture. However, like the site itself, many Turner artifacts were atypical in terms of both theme and style when compared to Scioto Valley Hopewell objects. This includes a unique group of small terracotta human figurines in different poses and garb that were thought to depict the site’s original inhabitants. Most spectacular was a ring of 30 large, vented fire pits or furnaces found under Mound 3. Some suggest that their purpose was to smelt metallic ore, others to create ceremonial pyrotechnic effects. Unfortunately the Turner Group became a gravel quarry after World War II, leaving many such questions unanswered. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV17_B05F04_E04_01_01
Subjects: Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); Mounds--Ohio River Valley; Earthworks (Archaeology); Excavations (Archaeology)--Ohio; Artifacts
Places: Hamilton County (Ohio)