National Park Service

 

Date of this Version

10-1997

Citation

Hopewell Archeology: The Newsletter of Hopewell Archeology in the Ohio River Valley Volume 2, Number 2, October 1997

Abstract

1. Current Research at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park By Bret J. Ruby, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, Ohio

Archeological research is an essential activity at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. An active program of field research provides the information necessary to protect and preserve Hopewellian archeological resources. The program also addresses a series of long-standing questions regarding the cultural history and adaptive strategies of Hopewellian populations in the central Scioto region.

Presented below are preliminary notices of recent field projects conducted by park personnel with the assistance of the National Park Service's Midwest Archeological Center, Lincoln, Nebraska. These recent efforts are focused on three Hopewellian centers in Ross County. Two of these centers, the Mound City Group and the Hopeton Earthworks, are administered by the National Park Service as units of Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. The third center, the Spruce Hill Works, is privately owned and is being considered for possible inclusion in the park.

2. Meeting Calendar 1997 Southeastern Archaeological Conference

Radisson Hotel and Conference Center, November 5-8, 1997. Contact Rebecca Saunders, Museum of Natural Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA; phone 504-388- 6562, fax 504-388-3075.

55th Annual Plains Anthropological Conference

3. New Publications

Two new publications of interest to Hopewellian scholars are now available:

A View from the Core: A Synthesis of Ohio Hopewell Archaeology, edited by Paul J. Pacheco, Ohio Archaeological Council, Columbus. Copies may be obtained through Eastern National, a non-profit cooperating association that supports scientific and educational programs at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park and other eastern National Parks. Eastern National, 16062 State Route 104, Chillicothe, OH 45601; 614-774-1125. $32.95 plus shipping and handling.

Ohio Hopewell Community Organization, edited by William S. Dancey and Paul J. Pacheco, Kent State University Press, Kent. The volume is available at bookstores or from the Kent State University Press, P.O. Box 5190, Kent, OH 44242; 1-800-247-6553. $45 cloth.

4. Notes and News

The Bellinger Site and the Goodall Tradition

In 1941, George Quimby defined the Goodall Focus and brought attention to Hopewellian sites in northwest Indiana and southwest Michigan. The Goodall focus was defined on the basis of ten sites, all with mounds, which produced pottery similar to that found in the Illinois River Valley. The Goodall Focus has been generally regarded as a regional variant of Havana Hopewell.

Mark R. Schurr has recently published a paper titled "The Bellinger Site (12SJ6) and the Origin of the Goodall Focus." The paper appeared in Archaeology of Eastern North America (1997), Volume 25, pages 125-142. The paper describes field investigations by the Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, at the Bellinger site. The field investigations included geophysical survey using a Geoscan FM36 gradiometer and an RM15 resistance meter. The study also included excavations of a mound and a habitation area associated with the mound. The paper describes the field investigations and artifacts that were collected. Schurr offers interpretations about the sequence of mound construction, the nature and affiliation of ceramics from the site, and the nature of Middle Woodland occupation in the Kankakee Valley.

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