Hopewell

Native American Indians

Dr. Ken Tankersley from U. of Cincinnati found house sites for Hopewell that were as big as modern ranch houses. They will learn more during future excavations. There are some drawings of Hopewell Houses that show them to be rather large, oval or rectangular houses constructed from a series of posts set into the ground and bent over creating arches and then covered with layers of tree bark from elm, basswood, or tulip poplar trees. Sleeping platforms run along both sides and perhaps another set of bunk beds run the length above the  platforms. Contrary to popular thinking, most Native American Indians used some types of beds, and even shelves inside their houses.

Recent evidence found argues for cultural continuity at the site, meaning the Hopewell who lived at Shawnee Lookout up to 2,000 years ago are showing direct links to the Shawnee people who were living on the site less than 300 years ago.

They also built “charnel” houses or burial houses -- some at least appear to be square with rounded corners. The

side walls are formed by a double row of posts, while a single row of posts forms the ends. An entrance is located in the center of each end.  This is another example of a Native American Indian historical dwelling.

Dr. Kathryn Jakes from the University of Ohio has studied textiles that were recovered from Charnel houses. They were very fine like gauze or muslin.  The experts looking at the tiny remaining samples in the lab  are amazed at the twining technology that was done by hand.  She is an expert in Native American Indian culture especially Woodland cultures of the Ohio Valley.

Living quarters, though just beginning to be more fully studied, consisted  of small villages with larger settlements located near and around major mound complexes.  It is possible that some smaller villages were occupied seasonally. Some dwellings have been found to consist of saplings stuck into the ground in a wigwam style perhaps in sets of arches and covered with cattail mats and or bark. Post molds from sites in Ohio and Illinois  indicated oval as well as rectangular longhouses with rounded corners. There were larger Woodland Indian houses that ranged from 25 feet long to nearly 50 feet long. Some could have been communal houses used for ceremonies, trading, and council meetings. These are Native American Indians. The Hopewell name is a term archaeologists use to identify this set of traditions in general.

Certain concentrations of their burial mounds and ceremonial earthworks, usually located where two or more rivers join, are speculated to be centers of a vast trade network that utilized river transportation (dugout canoes) to access exotic materials for grave offerings. Hopewellian mounds have yielded artifacts made from obsidian and grizzly bear teeth from Yellowstone Park in Wyoming, marine conch shells from the Gulf of Mexico, copper nuggets from Isle Royale near Canada, and mica sheets from the Blue Ridge Mountains. In turn, materials native to the Ohio River Valley-flint, freshwater pearls, and pipestone- have been found in ancient archeological sites

in other parts of the United States.

Archeologists believe the Hopewellian culture was hierarchical, with elaborate mound burial reserved for priests, chiefs, and other important people. The vastness of some earthworks suggests the existence of valued “experts” who taught skilled crafts and directed construction of the burial mounds. As evidence of this, a recent analysis showed  that Hopewellian mounds located as far as 14 miles apart were perfectly aligned. The Hopewell relied on small game, fish, and some agriculture for  their sustenance. Archeologists believe that these Indians began selecting wild plants for favored traits. For example, they collected the largest seeds from certain wild plants and planted them. They would then use the plants grown from these large, cultivated seeds. The Hopewell were so successful at feeding themselves that their population grew substantially Archeologists estimate that one Hopewell settlement along the Illinois River supported 50 people per square mile, a population denser than the one that currently occupies this area.

List of Unique Features that are part of the Hopewell Culture

Earthworks- often massive and complex  carefully laid out over acres and acres of land in places such as Newark, Chillicothe, Shawnee Lookout. many of the sites combine the use of square and circular earthworks in various ways

Copper -Extensive use of Copper made into tools, jewelry and ceremonial items including breastplates- imported from north of Lake Superior

Pipes- many were found together and made from steatite and pipestone

Textiles- finely twined (woven) textiles used for clothing, burials and other uses made from dogbane (hemp) and swamp milkweed

Mica - Glasslike mineral used to carve mirrors and intricate figures. They imported the material from North Carolina

Obsidian - volcanic glass imported from out west in Yellowstone and Utah’s Bear Gultch made into unique blades

Steatite- imported material used to carve effigy pipes, and other ritual objects - material came from down south

Pottery - some decorated with cord -markings, while many pieces are flat bottomed or stand on four legs and decorated with ‘stamped’ designs.

Freshwater Pearls- from mussels collected in the Ohio River and Mississippi Rivers used on clothing and strung with copper ornaments

Galena -   (lead sulfate) from  Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The shiny crystals would likely have been attractive talismans or charms. Ground to a fine powder and mixed with grease, galena made a silvery white paint.

Sharks Teeth - Traded from people who obviously lived by the ocean

Unlike many Native Woodland Cultures, the Hopewell never cultivated maize or corn on a large scale. It did not play a large part in their diet They lived in a period of drought.  To aid in the agricultural production of the plants they did grow, according to Dr. Ken Tankersley of the U. of Cincinnati, the women of the Hopewell Culture created a complex set of earthworks involving terracing hillsides for planting, and a series of locks and canals to facilitate the flow of water or a form of irrigation.

The Shawnee figured into this culture and about three hundred years ago seemed to have occupied some of the same sites that the Fort Ancient People occupied and that of the Hopewell.  It would have been due to the robust build of the women, that the archaeologists suggest that they, not the men, did the work of building these sophisticated structures.  ( Excavation and Survey September 2009  Shawnee Lookout, Cincinnati, Ohio)

Earthworks -  Hopewell people were creative, insightful, hardworking, organized and had to know how to calculate mathematics in order to design mounds and earthworks that were massive, lined up perfectly, although they were sometimes miles apart.  They used circles, squares, and other geometric figures in the outline of their sites.

The Hopewell needed to calculate how much earth it would take to build a particular design.They also needed to know how to calculate the dimensions of locks, canals, irrigation channels, terraces,and burial mounds.  There is a lot of detailed critical thinking and planning that is going on in the leaders and “architects” of the complex structures.

There is also a lot of calculations that go into distances that they would need to travel, so they have enough food to get them to their destination.  Math and geometry played a huge role in the everyday lives of these people nearly 2000 years ago.

Dress - The dress of the people reflected their beliefs, trading practices and even wealth. They made twined or woven textiles with such delicate techniques. The few samples that have turned up in excavations reveal a unique complex form of twining small diameter cordage into fine fabrics without any known loom. Most samples that survived have come from burial areas, but the means to produce these technologically advanced materials was definitely part of their culture.

Ornaments were worn head to foot. Women’s hair were pinned back with dowels of wood or bone in a bun or knot and a long sort of ponytail. When nursing, women wore their hair braided and tied up in a shorter ponytail that was held together by a mesh or net-like bag. Typical male hairstyle seems to have been shaved on the sides with the top with their hair pulled back into a bun in the back. As for male dress, a warrior wore a loincloth of dyed material of plant fibers such as dogbane, nettle or milkweed (Dr. K.Jakes Ohio State U.) with patterns created from dyed fibers used in the weaving.  He carried a long spear, used an atlatl, wore various necklaces of bone, shell ,and stone beads including bear claws, shark teeth ,and other exotic items.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The closest that these ancient north Americans came to an iron age is revealed in their use of copper as breast plates and helmets in warfare. Members of both sexes wore earspools (yo-yo shaped earrings) of copper as well as bracelets and necklaces. Mica was cut and shaped into various ornaments for headdresses in the form of animals, birds of prey talons, geometric figures, human hand, and bear claw. Mica would be integrated into clothing and on garments that would sparkle and reflect light, somewhat like sequins. Not much more is known about dress, due to the fact that textiles deteriorate rapidly in the archaeological record.  More information is forthcoming from the U. of Cincinnati from an excavation at Shawnee Lookout in 2009 where samples Hopewell textiles have been recovered. The dress of the people reflected their beliefs, trading practices and even wealth. Ornaments were worn head to foot. Women’s hair were pinned back with dowels of wood or bone in a bun or knot and a long sort of ponytail. When nursing, women wore their hair braided and tied up in a shorter ponytail that was held together by a mesh or net-like bag. Typical male hairstyle was a sort of mohawk on top with their hair pulled back into a bun in the back. As for male dress, a warrior wore a loincloth of dyed material with patterns on it (resembling a diaper; for lack of better description). He carried a long spear, an atl-atl, wearing various necklaces of bone, shell and stone beads including bear claws, shark tooth and other exotic items. The closest that these ancient north Americans came to an iron age is revealed in their use of copper as breast plates and helmets in warfare. Members of both sexes wore earspools (yo-yo shaped earrings) of copper as well as bracelets and necklaces. Mica was cut and shaped into various ornaments for headdresses in the form of animals, birds of prey talons, geometric figures, human hand, and bear claw. Mica would be integrated into clothing and on garments that would sparkle and reflect light, somewhat like sequins. Not much more is known about dress, due to the fact that textiles deteriorate rapidly in the archaeological record.