Who were the Hopewell?
Who Were the Hopewell? The Hopewell culture flourished in Ohio and other parts of eastern North America during the Middle Woodland Period, possibly as early as 100 B.C. We do not know what these people might have called themselves.
Where is the Hopewell culture National Historical Park?
The Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, encompassing mounds for which the culture is named, is in the Paint Creek Valley just a few miles from Chillicothe, Ohio.
Why is the Hopewell culture called a type site?
The site exemplified all the significant features of the culture, so it became the "type site" and its name was applied to the entire culture. Hopewell settlements were small villages or hamlets of a few rectangular homes made of posts with wattle and daub walls and thatched roofs.
What happened to the Hopewell tribe?
By A.D. 400, the Hopewell culture and its earthwork building were all but over. What caused this is unknown, but there was a major shift in the succeeding Late Woodland period settlements and subsistence. People lived in larger villages often surrounded by walls or ditches.
What was the Hopewell tribe known for?
The Hopewell Indians are best known for the earth mounds they built. Like the Indians of the Adena culture who came before them, they built large mounds in which they buried the bodies of important people. They also created earthworks in geometric shapes such as circles, rectangles, and octagons.
When did the Hopewell tribe start?
About 100 B.C.About 100 B.C., the Hopewell culture began to flourish in what is now Illinois, Ohio, and other parts of the Midwest. Hopewell groups shared four traits. First, they built groups of mounds and embankments, some of which were hundreds of acres in size. Second, they had elaborate graves inside some mounds.
What happened Hopewell Indians?
Around 500 CE, the Hopewell exchange ceased, mound building stopped, and art forms were no longer produced. War is a possible cause, as villages dating to the Late Woodland period shifted to larger communities; they built defensive fortifications of palisade walls and ditches.
What happened to the Hopewell people?
The rapid decline of the Hopewell culture about 1,500 years ago might be explained by falling debris from a near-Earth comet that created a devastating explosion over North America, laying waste to forests and Native American villages alike.
What is the meaning of Hopewell?
Hopewell Origin and Meaning It is derived from Hopwell, from the Old English elements hop, meaning "valley," and well, "stream." Hopewell could easily be adapted into a first name, with Hope or Wells as nickname possibilities.
What did the Hopewell call themselves?
Hopewell wasn't a tribal name and no one knows what they called themselves. The Hopewell mounds were bigger than those of the Adena cultures and their burials involved more ceremony. Hopewell burials included putting ochre and other pigments on the body.
What is the Hopewell religion?
Religion was dominated by shamanic practices that included tobacco smoking. Stone smoking pipes and other carvings evince a strong affinity to the animal world, particularly in the depictions of monstrous human and animal combinations.
What did the Hopewell culture eat?
Hopewell villages lay along rivers and streams. The inhabitants raised corn (maize) and possibly beans and squash but still relied upon hunting and fishing and the gathering of wild nuts, fruits, seeds, and roots.
Who were the descendants of mound builders?
Some of the modern tribes who are descendants of the Moundbuilders include the Cherokee, Creek, Fox, Osage, Seminole, and Shawnee. Moundbuilder culture can be divided into three periods. The first is the Adena.
How many Hopewell mounds are there?
An earthen wall extended for over two miles, surrounding an immense sacred space that included 29 burial mounds. Astounding quantities of finely crafted art made of exotic materials were buried here as part of elaborate mortuary ceremonies. The 300-acre Hopewell Mound Group is the type site for the Hopewell culture.
How old is Hopewell?
City Point, the oldest part of Hopewell, was founded in 1613 by Sir Thomas Dale. City Point's location on a bluff overlooking the James and Appomattox Rivers has been an important factor in Hopewell's history for almost four centuries.
What crops did the Hopewell grow?
The Hopewell relied on farming as well as hunting, fishing, and gathering for food. They grew a variety of crops including squash and corn.
How old is Hopewell?
City Point, the oldest part of Hopewell, was founded in 1613 by Sir Thomas Dale. City Point's location on a bluff overlooking the James and Appomattox Rivers has been an important factor in Hopewell's history for almost four centuries.
Where were the Hopewell Indians located?
Hopewell culture, notable ancient Indian culture of the east-central area of North America. It flourished from about 200 bce to 500 ce chiefly in what is now southern Ohio, with related groups in Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and New York.
What is the Hopewell religion?
Religion was dominated by shamanic practices that included tobacco smoking. Stone smoking pipes and other carvings evince a strong affinity to the animal world, particularly in the depictions of monstrous human and animal combinations.
What weapons did the Hopewell tribe use?
The Hopewell used tools such as knives and projectile points made of high quality flint and obsidian and hooks and awls made of bone. Their pottery was thinner and more refined than that of earlier cultures, and included new shapes such as bowls and jars.
Where did the Hopewell culture originate?
It flourished from about 200 bce to 500 ce chiefly in what is now southern Ohio, with related groups in Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and New York.
What is Hopewell jewelry?
An outstanding feature of Hopewell…. jewelry: North American. The Hopewell finds include bobbin-shaped copper earrings and engraved sheets of silver, dated between 200 bce and 400 ce, together with ornaments that were sewn into clothing or inserted in headdresses. From the Mississippian Period there are pieces of embossed copper sheet ...
Where did the name "Mound Builders" come from?
The name is derived from the Hopewell farm in Ross county, Ohio, where the first site—centring on a group of burial mounds with extensive enclosures of banked earth—was explored. The term Mound Builders, once applied to this culture, is now considered a misnomer.
What is the purpose of earthworks?
The earthworks sometimes suggest defensive purposes, but more often they served as burial mounds or apparently formed the bases of temples or other structures. Their best pottery was well made, with decoration applied by incised or stamped lines, often in naturalistic outlines.
Where did Hopewell spread?
Similarly, the Havana Hopewell tradition was thought to have spread up the Illinois River and into southwestern Michigan, spawning Goodall Hopewell. (Dancey 114) The name "Hopewell" was applied by Warren K. Moorehead after his explorations in 1891 and 1892 of the Hopewell Mound Group in Ross County, Ohio.
What is the Hopewell tradition?
The Hopewell tradition (also called the Hopewell culture) describes the common aspects of an ancient pre-Columbian Native American civilization that flourished in settlements along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern Eastern Woodlands from 100 BCE to 500 CE, in the Middle Woodland period . The Hopewell tradition was not a single culture or society, but a widely dispersed set of populations connected by a common network of trade routes. This is known as the Hopewell exchange system.
What is the Havana Hopewell culture?
Havana Hopewell culture. The Havana Hopewell culture was a Hopewellian people in the Illinois and Mississippi river valleys in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri.
What are the best surviving features of the Hopewell tradition?
Today, the best-surviving features of the Hopewell tradition era are earthwork mounds. Researchers have speculated about their purposes and debate continues. Great geometric earthworks are one of the most impressive Native American monuments throughout American prehistory, and were built by cultures following the Hopewell. Eastern Woodlands mounds typically have various geometric shapes and rise to impressive heights. Some of the gigantic sculpted earthworks, described as effigy mounds, were constructed in the shape of animals, birds, or writhing serpents. Due to considerable evidence and surveys, plus the good condition of the largest surviving mounds, more information can be obtained.
What did Hopewell society do?
Hopewell societies cremated most of their deceased and reserved burial for only the most important people. In some sites, hunters apparently were given a higher status in the community: their graves were more elaborate and contained more status goods.
How were the Hopewell settlements linked?
The Hopewell settlements were linked by extensive and complex trading routes ; these operated also as communication networks, and were a means to bring people together for important ceremonies.
Where is Hopewell in Kansas City?
Kansas City Hopewell. At the western edge of the Hopewell interaction sphere is the Kansas City Hopewell. The Renner Village archeological site in Riverside, Missouri, is one of several sites near the junction of Line Creek and the Missouri River. The site contains Hopewell and succeeding Middle Mississippian remains.
Who were the Mound Builders?
We have no way of knowing who made up these ancient cultures. What archeologists have done is classify their history into periods of time which had similarities, such as the way the built communal areas, buried their dead, and ways they created pottery. Whether these ancient cultures are related to contemporary Native cultures can not be determined. Perhaps in time, DNA tests will be able to further identify the Ancient cultures.
What are the Adena culture mounds?
Adena Culture mounds were primarily conical-shaped mounds used exclusively for burial purposes . The Hopewell Culture also had burial mounds, but more often these burial mounds were located either inside or nearby massive scaled earthworks such as those that can be seen in Newark and Chillicothe.
What did Hopewell culture know about astronomy?
Certain aspects of their geometry seem to indicate that the Hopewell Culture was keenly aware of long-range astronomical events. For example, throughout the year, the location of the moonrise changes.
Where is the effigy hand?
The distinctive effigy hand (shown at Above) was recovered from Mound #25 at the Hopewell Mound Group near Chillicothe. Mound #25 was the largest of all Hopewell burial mounds (34 feet tall and 500 feet long).
What purpose did the earthworks serve?
It does however, shed additional light on what many thought to be a primitive culture, showing it is now precisely the opposite. The remaining earthworks today are more than just piles of dirt, but a reminder that their creators were highly ordered and precise.
How were earthen walls used?
Some earthworks seemed to be connected as unique gathering places where members of the culture would come together at specific times during the year. In analyzing the orientation of these sites, it has recently become apparent that they are even more complex than originally thought.
Where was the Hopewell culture located?
Although there is evidence to suggest that the Hopewell Culture ranged as far away as upper New York to the east, Minnesota to the west, and down both sides of the Mississippi River to the south, it seems their cultural center was primarily in central-southern Ohio.
The Hopewell are the Nephites
I will share some information about how the Nephite Culture of the Book of Mormon from 600 BC to 400 AD, has so many amazing similarities to the Hopewell Culture in the United States, that I believe they are one in the same cultures.
DOES THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE BOOK OF MORMON MATTER?
When Christ appeared to the Nephites as the resurrected Savior, He blessed them, He taught them He prayed with them and for them. He also quoted to them the words of Isaiah. He reminded them that they had been given THIS LAND for their inheritance and were warned that they would not be allowed to remain on THIS LAND if they did not remain faithful.
Find More Information
Follow our complete Nephite Timeline blog here. In text and maps you will travel from Jerusalem to Cumorah as the Nephites did.
Overview
The Hopewell tradition (also called the Hopewell culture) describes the common aspects of an ancient pre-Columbian Native American civilization that flourished in settlements along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern Eastern Woodlands from 100 BCE to 500 CE, in the Middle Woodland period. The Hopewell tradition was not a single culture or society, but a widely dispersed set of popul…
Origins
Although the origins of the Hopewell are still under discussion, the Hopewell culture can also be considered a cultural climax.
Hopewell populations originated in western New York and moved south into Ohio, where they built upon the local Adena mortuary tradition. Or, Hopewell was said to have originated in western Illinois and spread by diffusion ... to southern Ohio. Similarly, the Havana Hopewell tradition was …
Although the origins of the Hopewell are still under discussion, the Hopewell culture can also be considered a cultural climax.
Hopewell populations originated in western New York and moved south into Ohio, where they built upon the local Adena mortuary tradition. Or, Hopewell was said to have originated in western Illinois and spread by diffusion ... to southern Ohio. Similarly, the Havana Hopewell tradition was …
Politics and hierarchy
The Hopewell inherited from their Adena forebears an incipient social stratification. This increased social stability and reinforced sedentism, social stratification, specialized use of resources, and probably population growth. Hopewell societies cremated most of their deceased and reserved burial for only the most important people. In some sites, hunters apparently were given a higher status in the community: their graves were more elaborate and contained more status goods.
Mounds
Today, the best-surviving features of the Hopewell tradition era are earthwork mounds. Researchers have speculated about their purposes and debate continues. Great geometric earthworks are one of the most impressive Native American monuments throughout American prehistory, and were built by cultures following the Hopewell. Eastern Woodlands mounds typically have va…
Artwork
The Hopewell created some of the finest craftwork and artwork of the Americas. Most of their works had some religious significance, and their graves were filled with necklaces, ornate carvings made from bone or wood, decorated ceremonial pottery, ear plugs, and pendants. Some graves were lined with woven mats, mica (a mineral consisting of thin glassy sheets), or stones. The Hopewell produced artwork in a greater variety and with more exotic materials than their pr…
Local expressions of Hopewellian traditions
In addition to the noted Ohio Hopewell, a number of other Middle Woodland period cultures are known to have been involved in the Hopewell tradition and participated in the Hopewell exchange network.
The Armstrong culture was a Hopewell group in the Big Sandy River Valley of northeastern Kentucky and western West Virginia from 1 to 500 CE. They are t…
Cultural decline
Around 500 CE, the Hopewell exchange ceased, mound building stopped, and art forms were no longer produced. War is a possible cause, as villages dating to the Late Woodland period shifted to larger communities; they built defensive fortifications of palisade walls and ditches. Colder climatic conditions could have driven game animals north or west, as weather would have a detrimental …
See also
• List of Hopewell sites
• Adena culture