This article is based on material submitted as a dissertation to the University of Wales, Trinity St. David's in 2013 for an MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology.
In the 19th century, the Smithsonian Institution identified more than 100,000 mounds and earthwork sites across the United States. The largest concentration of these was found in Ohio, along the banks of major rivers such as the Licking and Scioto. By July 2004, the Ohio Historic Preservation Office had documented 34,972 prehistoric sites. The number of Ohio mounds and earthwork sites has led to considerable interest as to who built them, for what purpose, and why so much time and effort was invested in their construction.
Many of the Ohio mounds and earthworks can be attributed to one Native American culture -the Hopewell culture of the Middle Woodland Period. Mordecai Hopewell was the name of a Confederate veteran who owned the farm where a large and representative group of mounds and earthworks were found and this became the type site for the Hopewell culture. "Hopewell" is not then the name of a specific Native American group, but an archaeological definition based on similarities in artifacts and architecture. The time span of the Hopewell culture fell between the Adena culture of the Early Woodland Period (800 BCE - 100 BCE) and the Late Woodland Period (400 CE – 900 CE). To place the Hopewell period within a global context, the peak of the Hopewell period was the first century CE. Elsewhere in the world, the Acropolis was being built in Greece, the Temple of Edfu in Egypt, the Great Wall of China and, in Rome, buildings such as the Colosseum and the Pantheon. On the North American continent, the Hopewell period heralded a time of rapid earthwork and mound construction.
One advantage of having such a large number of Ohio Hopewell culture sites is that it is possible to identify two distinct and relatively consistent features which occur among them. The first is the number of artifacts which have been found at the sites themselves. The Hopewell Culture National Historic Park in Chillicothe, Ohio, contains just five sets of earthworks but over 148,000 artifacts have been discovered there. These include a wide range of ornately carved ornaments from non-local raw materials such as mica, copper, pipestone, silver, marine shells and obsidian. In other world cultures, such reflective materials were used to represent shamanic activity. This leads to opinion that the Ohio sites were used for religious or ceremonial purposes. A specific example is the Wray Figurine (top of this article), discovered in 1881, at the site of the Newark Earthworks. This carved figurine depicts a shaman dressed in a bear cloak with a human head resting on its lap. Bradley Lepper, Curator of Archaeology at the Ohio Historical Museum where the figurine resides, suggests an interpretation of a shaman transforming from human to bear spirit, as the paw on the side of the head allows the shaman to lower the mask to complete the transformation.
An example of a group of buried artifacts was excavated at the Mound City and Tremper earthwork sites. A bundle of 200 effigy pipes were found, each ritualistically 'killed' or destroyed. The effigy pipes feature 29 species of animals and birds and were likely carved by a small group of artists. The creatures on the pipes face the smoker suggesting that animal communion was an important theme in the Hopewell culture. The idea of ritualistic "killing" and then burying large numbers of artifacts is also a feature of artifacts found at other Ohio earthwork sites. One origin for this ritualistic form of burial may lie in the idea of reciprocity, an element of some other Native American cultures. Whenever something is taken, something must replace it, whether at the individual or community level.
The second distinguishing feature of the Ohio earthworks and mounds is their size and complexity. For example, Newark Earthworks, the largest earthwork site is located close to Columbus, Ohio. It covers an area of over four square miles and consists of a variety of accurately constructed circles, squares, lines and mounds. The 18th century survey of the Newark Earthworks, published in Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi by Ephraim Squier and Edwin Davis in 1848, and shown below, shows the complexity of the Newark site. As an indication of size, the circle linked by a pathway to an octagon highlighted in the top left hand side of the map is large enough to house the current Moundbuilders Golf and Country Club.
The circle-linked-to-an-octagon at the Mound builders Golf and Country Club is also an indication of the precise geometry used in Hopewell earthwork construction. This particular configuration was mathematically constructed using a uniform measurement of 1054 feet. 1054 feet is the diameter of the circle as well as the side of the squares around which the octagon was formed. The same measurement of 1054 feet is repeated within the Newark Earthworks site itself and in at least 23 other nearby Ohio earthwork sites.
This example of dimensional transfer parallels those found at prehistoric sites in other parts of the world - for example, at the Mayan site, Uaxactun, in the Yucatan peninsula.
Since the early 19th century, there has been archaeological excavations of the Ohio earthworks and mounds. A more recent development in the purpose of the Ohio earthwork sites is now being explored through the field of archaeoastronomy. The focus of archaeoastronomy is to consider the role that astronomical phenomena have played in human societies. Nicholas Campion asserts that every human society relates its fears and wishes in some way to the sky and to the organizing principle behind it, the cosmos.
Since 1982, archaeoastronomers Ray Hively and Robert Horn have undertaken research on the Newark Earthworks and High Bank Earthworks in Ohio. Their initial research set out to investigate whether the unique geometrical measurement of a circle-linked-to-an-octagon present at both sites, was oriented to the location of lunar rising and setting on the horizon. In other words, were the earthworks designed to mark times of lunar standstills?
Maximum lunar standstills occur every 18.6 years. This 18.6 year period or 'nodal cycle' corresponds to the precession of the moon's orbit due to the effects of the sun's gravity. At lunar standstills (which last for around three weeks) the moon rises and sets on the horizon outside the extremes of the sun. These times may have been observed by prehistoric inhabitants. Roughly every 9.3 years, there is also a minimum lunar standstill where the moon experiences its minimum range of southern and northerly rising and setting positions on the horizon, but this is more difficult to detect visibly. Using seven different vantage horizon points on the Newark octagon and circle, Hively and Horn have strived to find a possible line-up between the Newark Moundbuilders circle and octagon configuration with maximum and minimum lunar standstill points.
Although they have brought considerable statistical rigour to their analysis of lunar standstills, so far the outcome of Hively and Horn's work remains inconclusive. While they have demonstrated that it is statistically unlikely that the earthworks line up with lunar standstills by chance, it is not possible to state that the Hopewell actually built it for that purpose. This presents an important and tantalizing issue in assessing any past culture for their links to the sky; just because something lines up with an astronomical phenomenon, does this necessarily constitute proof that it was the intention of the original builders?
The building of earthwork sites and mounds and the ritualistic burial of artifacts at the Ohio earthwork sites leads to the subject of religion. Mircea Eliade maintains that the distinction between the sacred and the profane is one that has always been there. In traditional societies, religious and cosmological images can be combined into a 'system of the world', and sacred space makes possible communication and passage from one cosmic region to other – from heaven to earth and from earth to the underworld. A noticeable feature of the Ohio landscape is flat open expanses of land with small rolling hills. Earthwork sites appear to mirror this topography. The attempt to build constructions which mirror local scenery is again addressed by Eliade who suggests that mountains are the nearest thing to sky and can indicate the meeting place of heaven and earth. He puts forward the essence of metaphor which allows for the mapping from one familiar domain onto another unfamiliar domain.
This article set out to address 3 questions – who built the Ohio earthworks and mounds, for what purpose and why so much time and effort was invested in their construction. The first two questions have been answered - the Hopewell culture built the earthwork sites and the large number of artifacts and geometrically constructed earthworks left behind offers archaeological evidence that the earthworks and mounds were used primarily for ceremony and shamanistic purposes.
The final question as to why so much time and effort was invested in earthwork construction during this particular short 500 year period (100 BCE – 400CE) still remains unanswered. Archaeoastronomers Hively and Horn's research in potentially linking the earthworks to the sky is a significant step forward, but the modification of the Ohio landscape on such a scale and its potential link to the cosmos will require further investigation.
Author: Janet Markham
Originally from Great Britain, Janet emigrated to Canada after obtaining a B. Sc. Hons mathematics degree from Southampton University. In 2013, she was awarded an MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology from the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David. Her article on our website, The Sacred Landscape of Ancient Ohio, is based on her dissertation. Having taught classes since 1990, she is one of the original members of the Canadian Association for Astrological Education (CAAE), serving as President from 2004 to 2010, and holds a Diploma CAAE. Janet is primarily involved in promoting astrology and aromatherapy within Canada and continues to be involved with Astrology Toronto and CAAE, as well as organising international astrological speakers to speak in Canada.
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Makala hii inategemea nyenzo zilizowasilishwa kama dissertation kwa Chuo Kikuu cha Wales, Trinity St. David's katika 2013 kwa MA katika Astrology na Astrology ya Utamaduni. Katika karne ya 19, Taasisi ya Smithsonian iligundua zaidi ya milima 100,000 na maeneo ya kazi ya udongo kote Marekani. Mkusanyiko mkubwa zaidi wa hizi ulipatikana katika Ohio, kando ya kingo za mito mikubwa kama vile Licking na Scioto. Kufikia Julai 2004, Ofisi ya Uhifadhi wa Kihistoria ya Ohio ilikuwa imerekodi maeneo 34,972 ya kabla ya historia. Idadi ya milima ya Ohio na maeneo ya kazi ya udongo imesababisha maslahi makubwa kuhusu ni nani aliyeijenga, kwa kusudi gani, na kwa nini wakati na jitihada nyingi ziliwekezwa katika ujenzi wake. Mengi ya vilima vya Ohio na kazi za udongo zinaweza kuhusishwa na utamaduni mmoja wa Wenyeji wa Amerika - utamaduni wa Hopewell wa Kipindi cha Kati cha Woodland. Mordecai Hopewell alikuwa mkongwe wa Confederate ambaye alikuwa mmiliki wa shamba ambapo kundi kubwa na mwakilishi wa mounds na ardhi kazi zilipatikana na hii ikawa aina ya tovuti kwa ajili ya utamaduni Hopewell. "Hopewell" sio jina la kikundi maalum cha Wenyeji wa Amerika, lakini ufafanuzi wa akiolojia kulingana na kufanana katika vitu vya kale na usanifu. Utamaduni wa Hopewell ulianza wakati wa kipindi cha Adena (800 KK - 100 KK) na kipindi cha mwisho cha Woodland (400 KK - 900 KK). Ili kuweka kipindi cha Hopewell katika muktadha wa ulimwengu, kilele cha kipindi cha Hopewell kilikuwa karne ya kwanza KK. Katika sehemu nyingine za ulimwengu, Akropolis ilijengwa katika Ugiriki, Hekalu la Edfu katika Misri, Ukuta Mkubwa wa China, na, katika Roma, majengo kama vile Colosseum na Pantheon. Katika bara la Amerika Kaskazini, kipindi cha Hopewell kilitangaza wakati wa kazi ya haraka ya udongo na ujenzi wa vilima. Moja ya faida ya kuwa na idadi kubwa ya Ohio Hopewell maeneo ya utamaduni ni kwamba inawezekana kutambua mbili tofauti na kwa kiasi fulani thabiti sifa ambayo kutokea kati yao. Ya kwanza ni idadi ya vitu vya kale vilivyopatikana katika maeneo hayo yenyewe. Hifadhi ya Kihistoria ya Kitaifa ya Utamaduni wa Hopewell huko Chillicothe, Ohio, Marekani, ina seti tano tu za kazi za udongo lakini zaidi ya vitu vya kale 148,000 vimegunduliwa huko. Hizi ni pamoja na mbalimbali ya mapambo ornamentally kuchongwa kutoka malighafi zisizo za ndani kama vile mica, shaba, pipestone, fedha, makombora ya baharini na obsidian. Katika tamaduni nyingine za ulimwengu, vifaa hivyo vinavyoonyesha mambo vilitumiwa kuwakilisha utendaji wa mashamani. Hilo huongoza kwenye maoni kwamba maeneo ya Ohio yalitumiwa kwa makusudi ya kidini au ya sherehe. Mfano wa mfano ni Wray Figurine, ambayo iligunduliwa mnamo 1881 katika eneo la Newark Earthworks. Sanamu hii iliyochongwa inaonyesha shamani aliyevalia kanzu ya dubu akiwa na kichwa cha mwanadamu kiwemo kifuani mwake. Bradley Lepper, Mkurugenzi wa Archaeology katika Ohio Historical Museum, ambapo sanamu hiyo inapatikana, anapendekeza tafsiri ya shaman kubadilisha kutoka binadamu kuwa roho ya dubu, kama paws upande wa kichwa inaruhusu shaman kushuka kinyago kukamilisha mabadiliko. Mfano wa kikundi cha vitu vya kale vilivyozikwa ulichimbuliwa katika maeneo ya kazi ya udongo ya Mound City na Tremper. Mkusanyiko wa mabomba 200 ya sanamu ulipatikana, kila moja 'ikiuawa' au kuharibiwa kwa desturi. Vipande hivyo vya matope vinaonyesha wanyama na ndege wa aina 29 na huenda vilichongwa na kikundi kidogo cha wasanii. Viumbe kwenye mabomba hukabiliwa na mvutaji sigareti wakidokeza kwamba ushirika wa wanyama ulikuwa mandhari muhimu katika utamaduni wa Hopewell. Wazo la "kuua" na kisha kuzikia idadi kubwa ya vitu vya kale pia ni sifa ya vitu vya kale vilivyopatikana katika maeneo mengine ya kazi ya udongo ya Ohio. Huenda chanzo kimoja cha namna hii ya mazishi ya kidesturi kilikuwa wazo la ushirikiano, jambo ambalo linapatikana katika tamaduni nyingine za Wenyeji wa Asili wa Amerika. Wakati wowote kitu kinachotwaliwa, kitu lazima kiibadilishe, iwe katika ngazi ya mtu binafsi au ya jamii. Jambo la pili linalotofautisha miundo ya Ohio ya udongo na vilima ni ukubwa na utata wao. Kwa mfano, Newark Earthworks, eneo kubwa zaidi la kazi ya udongo liko karibu na Columbus, Ohio. Inafunika eneo la zaidi ya maili nne za mraba na inajumuisha aina mbalimbali za duru zilizojengwa kwa usahihi, mraba, mistari na vilima. "Kuchunguza kwa karne ya 18 ya Newark Earthworks, iliyochapishwa katika ""Makumbusho ya Kale ya Mississippi"" na Ephraim Squier na Edwin Davis mnamo 1848, na iliyoonyeshwa hapa chini, inaonyesha utata wa tovuti ya Newark." Kwa mfano, mduara uliounganishwa na njia ya octagon iliyoonyeshwa upande wa juu wa kushoto wa ramani ni kubwa ya kutosha kuwa na Moundbuilders Golf na Country Club. Mzunguko-kuunganishwa-kwa-an-octagon katika Mound wajenzi Golf na Country Club pia ni dalili ya jiometri sahihi kutumika katika Hopewell ujenzi earthwork. Mfano huu wa kipekee ulijengwa kwa kutumia hesabu ya mita 1054. "1044 ft ni kipenyo cha mduara na pia upande wa mraba ambao ""octagon"" iliundwa." Urefu huo wa mita 1054 unarudiwa ndani ya tovuti ya Newark Earthworks yenyewe na katika angalau maeneo mengine 23 ya karibu ya Ohio. Mfano huu wa uhamisho wa vipimo unafanana na ule uliopatikana katika maeneo ya kale katika sehemu nyingine za ulimwengu - kwa mfano, katika eneo la Wamaya, Uaxactun, katika peninsula ya Yucatan. Tangu karne ya 19 na kuendelea, kuna kuchimbuliwa kwa vitu vya kale katika eneo la Ohio. Maendeleo ya hivi karibuni zaidi katika kusudi la maeneo ya kazi ya udongo ya Ohio sasa yanachunguzwa kupitia uwanja wa archaeoastronomy. Archaeoastronomy inazingatia jukumu ambalo matukio ya nyota yamekuwa yakicheza katika jamii za kibinadamu. "Nicholas Campion anasema kwamba ""kila jamii ya kibinadamu inahusianisha hofu na matakwa yake kwa njia fulani na anga na kanuni ya kuandaa nyuma yake, ulimwengu.""" Tangu 1982, wataalamu wa elimu ya nyota Ray Hively na Robert Horn wamefanya utafiti juu ya Newark Earthworks na High Bank Earthworks huko Ohio. Utafiti wao wa awali ulianza kuchunguza ikiwa kipimo cha kipekee cha kijiometri cha mduara uliounganishwa na octogonal iliyopo katika maeneo yote mawili, ililenga eneo la kupanda na kuingia kwa mwezi kwenye upeo wa macho. Kwa maneno mengine, je, kazi za udongo zilitengenezwa ili kuashiria nyakati za mwezi kusimama? Kipindi cha mwezi kinapatikana kila baada ya miaka 18.6. Kipindi hiki cha miaka 18.6 au'mzunguko wa nodal' kinalingana na precession ya mzunguko wa mwezi kutokana na athari za mvuto wa jua. Wakati wa mwezi (unaodumu kwa karibu wiki tatu) mwezi huinuka na kuzama kwenye upeo wa macho nje ya pande za mbali za jua. Huenda nyakati hizo zilitazamwa na wakazi wa kale. Kila baada ya miaka 9.3, mwezi unakuwa na kipindi cha kusimamishwa kwa muda mfupi, ambapo mwezi hupata nafasi zake za kusini na kaskazini za kupanda na kushuka kwenye upeo wa macho, lakini hii ni ngumu zaidi kugundua. Kwa kutumia pointi saba tofauti za upeo wa macho kwenye mviringo wa Newark, Hively na Horn wamejaribu kupata mstari unaowezekana kati ya mviringo wa Newark Moundbuilders na muundo wa mviringo na pointi za juu na chini za kusimamishwa kwa mwezi. Ingawa wameleta usahihi mkubwa wa takwimu kwa uchambuzi wao wa kusimama kwa mwezi, hadi sasa matokeo ya kazi ya Hively na Horn bado hayajafikia mwisho. Ingawa wameonyesha kwamba ni uwezekano mdogo kwa takwimu kwamba kazi za ardhi zinasimama kwa nafasi na kusimama kwa mwezi, haiwezekani kusema kwamba Hopewell kwa kweli ilijenga kwa kusudi hilo. Hii inatoa suala muhimu na la kuvutia katika kutathmini utamaduni wowote wa zamani kwa uhusiano wao na anga; kwa sababu tu kitu kinalingana na jambo la nyota, je, hii lazima iwe ushahidi kwamba ilikuwa nia ya wajenzi wa awali? Ujenzi wa maeneo ya kazi ya udongo na vilima na mazishi ya kidesturi ya vitu vya kale katika maeneo ya kazi ya udongo ya Ohio huongoza kwenye mada ya dini. Mircea Eliade anasisitiza kwamba tofauti kati ya takatifu na isiyo takatifu imekuwapo sikuzote. Katika jamii za jadi, picha za kidini na za ulimwengu zinaweza kuunganishwa katika'mfumo wa ulimwengu', na nafasi takatifu inafanya iwezekane mawasiliano na kupita kutoka eneo moja la ulimwengu hadi jingine - kutoka mbinguni hadi duniani na kutoka duniani hadi ulimwengu wa chini. Sehemu ya kuvutia ya mandhari ya Ohio ni nyanda tambarare zilizo wazi zenye vilima vidogo. Maeneo ya kazi ya udongo yaonekana kutafakari mandhari hiyo. Ili kujaribu kujenga majengo ambayo yanaonyesha mandhari ya eneo hilo, Eliade anataja tena kwamba milima ni kitu cha karibu zaidi na anga na inaweza kuonyesha mahali pa mkutano wa mbinguni na dunia. Yeye huweka mbele kiini cha mfano ambao inaruhusu ramani kutoka uwanja mmoja unaojulikana kwenye uwanja mwingine usiojulikana. Makala hii ilianza kushughulikia maswali matatu: ni nani aliyejenga majengo ya Ohio, kwa kusudi gani, na kwa nini wakati na jitihada nyingi ziliwekwa katika ujenzi wao? Maelezo ya kwanza ya swali la kwanza yanaonyesha kwamba utamaduni wa Hopewell ulijenga maeneo ya kazi ya udongo na idadi kubwa ya vitu vya kale na kazi za udongo zilizojengwa kwa jiometri zilizobaki hutoa ushahidi wa kiakiolojia kwamba kazi za udongo na milima zilitumiwa hasa kwa madhumuni ya shamanic. Swali la mwisho kuhusu kwa nini wakati na juhudi nyingi ziliwekezwa katika ujenzi wa ardhi wakati huu mfupi wa miaka 500 (mwaka 100 KK - 400 KK) bado halijapata jibu. Utafiti wa Archaeoastronomer Hively na Horn katika uwezekano wa kuunganisha kazi za ardhi na anga ni hatua muhimu mbele, lakini mabadiliko ya mandhari ya Ohio kwa kiwango kama hicho na uhusiano wake wa uwezekano na ulimwengu itahitaji uchunguzi zaidi. Mwandishi: Janet Markham Mwanzoni kutoka Uingereza, Janet alihamia Canada baada ya kupata B. Sc. Hons shahada ya hisabati kutoka Chuo Kikuu cha Southampton. Mwaka 2013 alipata shahada ya uzamili katika elimu ya nyota na astrolojia kutoka Chuo Kikuu cha Wales, Trinity Saint David. Makala yake kwenye tovuti yetu, The Sacred Landscape of Ancient Ohio, inategemea dissertation yake. Alifundisha masomo tangu 1990, yeye ni mmoja wa wanachama wa awali wa Chama cha Canada kwa ajili ya Astrological Elimu (CAAE), akitumikia kama Rais kutoka 2004 hadi 2010, na ana Diploma CAE. Janet anajihusisha hasa na kukuza astrolojia na aromatherapy ndani ya Canada na anaendelea kushirikiana na Astrology Toronto na CAA, pamoja na kuandaa wasemaji wa kimataifa wa astrolojia kuzungumza nchini Canada. Aveni, Anthony "Uhakiki wa masomo katika Hopewell Astronomy". "Kutoka kwa ""The Fort Ancient Earthworks"" ya Robert Connolly na Bradley Lepper, 243, 257." Columbus, Ohio, Marekani, 2004 Aveni, Anthony, Kati ya Mistari, Austin: Chuo Kikuu cha Texas Press, 2000. "Aveny, Anthony, ""Watu na anga,"" New York: Thames na Hudson, 2008." Brown, James, "The Shamanic Element in Hopewellian Period Ritual" (Kitu cha Shaman katika Desturi ya Kipindi cha Hopewellian). In Creating Hopewell, iliyoandikwa na Douglas Charles na Jane Buikstra, 475-488. Florida, University Press, 2006. Byers, Martin "The Earthwork/Habitation Dichotomy" (Utaratibu wa Kutengeneza Ardhi na Makao). 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