During the period between 200 B.C. and 500 A.D., the Native American Hopewell Culture flourished in the Southeastern region of Ohio, especially in the Ohio Valley, Scioto Valley, and Miami Valley. Among other Midwest States, Ohio may have been the epicenter of the Hopewell culture.
Tribes that were part of the Hopewell culture were great architects and artists. In fact, they created some of the finest craftwork of the Americas — from pendants, to pottery, to necklaces. If you have visited museums that feature the Hopewell culture, you’d see that they were expert carvers of statues and pipes. And most especially, they were great builders of monumental earth mounds and other sacred geometric earthwork.
Inside a 13-acre rectangular enclosure, the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Chillicothe, Ohio preserves the remaining 23 earthen mounds constructed by the Hopewell culture. According to archaeologists, these mounds may have taken the builders decades or even centuries to finish.
This is how the site looks like from above, via Google Earth.
Presently called as Mound City, it is being labeled as the only place on Earth where you can see these many ceremonial mounds so close to each other. The mound site was used for social, religious, and burial purposes. Except for one which is elliptical, all the mounds are shaped as a dome. The largest of the mounds, Mound #7, is 17.5 feet high and 90 feet in diameter.
The tallest Mound #7 was built with care, as later discovered that it has different layers of materials. At the very bottom was a layer of clay, then it was capped with various layers of sand. Three more layers of clay were added at one (1) foot intervals. At the very top, 20-inch thick of gravel layer completed the mound.
The unusual and the only elliptical Mound #3 was built in between circular mounds. It’s size is about 140 feet long.
In the mounds, fine-art artifacts such as copper figures, animal effigies, pipes, bowls, and jars were found. It is astounding to know that these items were made of exotic materials. You see these rich collections inside the visitor center’s museum.
The Hopewell Culture started to decline around 400 A.D. and collapsed eventually. Archaeologists could only hypothesize the reason of their disappearance: (1) societal transition to more isolated communities, (2) technological advancements in hunting and war. They maybe gone, but their legacy still exists today through the preservation done by the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park.
Where to find it?
16062 OH-104, Chillicothe, Ohio 45601
Click here for Google direction.
Is it kid-friendly?
The site is kid-friendly. In fact, I would recommend that you bring your kids and teach them this important prehistoric Hopewell culture.
How much time do you need?
To see all the 23 mounds, you need an hour or so. This includes taking photos and learning the stories of the each mound.
