Hopewell Culture National Historical Park 2006

Archeologists from the Midwest Archeological Center are currently involved with a data recovery project at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, site 33RO1059, which is located adjacent to the Hopewell Site, a large Hopewell earthwork complex that is the type-site for the Hopewell culture (100 BC-AD 400). The site is being impacted from stream bank erosion and archeologists are excavating a portion of the site in an effort to prevent the loss of archeological resources and information. Students from Nebraska, Virginia, Ohio, and Illinois, are also participating in this project as part of University of Nebraska’s Department of Anthropology and Geography archeological field school.

Previous investigations at 33RO1059 included geophysical survey, surface collection, and evaluative testing based on results from the geophysical survey. The archeological materials that were found led to the conclusion that the site may have been occupied when the nearby earthwork complex was in use and thus may contain important information about Hopewell settlement patterns adjacent to earthworks.

The 2006 investigations are focusing on four 20-x-20-meter block areas identified through geophysical survey as having good potential to contain additional archeological resources. The plow zone within each block is being removed and the area then resurveyed using the same geophysical technique previously applied. This strategy is providing archeologists a unique opportunity to compare geophysical data from the same area both with and without the upper plow zone soils. Once the survey is completed, any exposed features will be excavated. The project will conclude July 14, 2006.