Description: Photograph of several hikers on the Fort Ancient trail, ca. 1930-1960. 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: AL04694
Subjects: Fort Ancient (Ohio); Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650); Earthworks (Archaeology); Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); State parks & reserves; Mounds--Ohio--Warren County
Places: Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photographic reproduction of a postcard showing an aerial view of the village of Fort Ancient in Warren County, Ohio, taken at some date before the flood of 1913. 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: AL04695
Subjects: Fort Ancient (Ohio); Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650); Earthworks (Archaeology); Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); State parks & reserves; Mounds--Ohio--Warren County
Places: Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph showing a group of visitors gathered on the Fort Ancient overlook, 1935. 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: AL04696
Subjects: Fort Ancient (Ohio); Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650); Earthworks (Archaeology); Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); State parks & reserves; Mounds--Ohio--Warren County
Places: Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows a group of people picnicking at Fort Ancient, ca. 1930-1950. The children are playing with a set of Tinker Toys Fort Ancient, built 2,000 years ago by prehistoric American Indians, is an earthworks with 18,000 feet of earthen walls enclosing 100 acres. It is located in Warren County, Ohio, and maintained as a state memorial by the Ohio Historical Society. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04697
Subjects: Fort Ancient (Ohio); Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650); Earthworks (Archaeology); Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); State parks & reserves; Mounds--Ohio--Warren County
Places: Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows Civilian Conservation Corps workers at Fort Ancient in 1934. 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: AL04698
Subjects: Fort Ancient (Ohio); Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650); Earthworks (Archaeology); Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); State parks & reserves; Mounds--Ohio--Warren County; Civilian Conservation Corps (U.S.)
Places: Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of the refreshment stand at Fort Ancient, ca. 1928-1935. 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: AL04699
Subjects: Fort Ancient (Ohio); Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650); Earthworks (Archaeology); Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); State parks & reserves; Mounds--Ohio--Warren County
Places: Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: Hoe is an unmodified deer scapula that would have been attached to a wooden handle. The bone is pale yellow in color. Item was found at the Anderson Village Site in Washington Township, Warren County, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07367
Subjects: Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650); American Indian history and society; Tools
Places: Washington Township (Ohio); Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: Hoe was made by drilling a hole through a shell to accommodate a wooden handle. The exterior of the shell is pale yellow and the interior is white. Item was found at the Anderson Village Site in Washington Township, Warren County, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07368
Subjects: Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; American Indian history and society; Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650); Tools
Places: Washington Township (Ohio); Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: Mottled red and gray granite discoidal, also called a chunky stone, is a small, round disk with rounded edges. Both faces are concave. Participants rolled the discoidal on its rim over a specially-prepared area, then threw spears or shot arrows at it, with the winner being the person whose projectile came closest to the discoidal when it stopped. Item was found at the Anderson Village Site in Washington Township, Warren County, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07369
Subjects: Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; American Indian history and society; Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650)
Places: Washington Township (Ohio); Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: Anderson incised ceramic pot is small with a rounded base, rounded shoulders and a vertical rim. There are two strap handles attached at opposite sides of the rim. The neck is decorated with a haphazard incised two-line guilloche design. Around the shoulders is a single line of circular punctates (indentations). There are additional punctates on the lip and on each of the strap handles. The pot is shell tempered. It appears that the surface was cordmarked, but the impressions were greatly smoothed. The color varies from brown to dark gray. Item was found at the Anderson Village Site in Washington Township, Warren County, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07380
Subjects: Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; American Indian history and society; Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650); Pottery
Places: Washington Township (Ohio); Warren County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the scaffolding where people can climb to view the Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio. The serpent mound stretches a quarter of a mile and is the largest serpent effigy know today. The bottom of the mound is clay and rock and the soil covering the rock is four to five feet high. The mound was built on a unique cryptoexplosive structure, causing it to become misshapen over the years. Serpent Mound is located east of Cincinnati, Ohio. It is on top of a ridge that overlooks Ohio Brush Creek. It is a part of Serpent Mound State Park and accessible to the public. It is believed that the area around the mound was inhabited from 3000 BP to 1300 BP. Although the functions of the Serpent Mound is a mystery, it is probably a religious symbol. The serpent has been a symbol of many things, among them, eternity, incarnation of a deity and evil. Excavations of the mound have found pottery fragments, ashes, burnt stone and some animal bones. There is evidence the Adena Indians occupied the area. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B10F09_012_001
Subjects: Adams County (Ohio); Serpent Mound State Memorial (Ohio); Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650)
Places: Adams County (Ohio)
 

Description: Small animal bone, possibly from a turkey, has been cut and sharpened to a point at one end to form an awl. Item is partially hollowed out. The bone is very pale brown in color. Item was found in Montgomery County, Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07397
Subjects: Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; American Indian history and society; Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650); Tools; Bones
Places: Montgomery County (Ohio)