Exploring Prehistoric Mounds on the Rix Mills-High Hill Divide: The Archaeology of the Wilds and Vicinity, Southeastern Muskingum County, Ohio. Jeff Carskadden, Jeff Brown and Gary Felumlee. Published by The Muskingum Valley Archaeological Survey, Zanesville, Ohio, in cooperation with The International Center for the Preservation of Wild Animals, 1995; 102 pp., 49 photographs, 10 maps, 4 tables, references; $20.00 (paper).

For more than 200 years, interest in the mounds and earthworks of the Ohio Valley has been focused on the more spectacular and often monumental constructions found along the main valley trench and its major tributaries, especially the central Scioto Valley. Carskadden and his colleagues offer some useful points of comparison and contrast in this consideration of a poorly known hinterland region. The work focuses on the prehistory of an upland divide along the central Muskingum Valley in the unglaciated Appalachian Plateau of east-central Ohio. The data presented here offer an opportunity to compare hinterland trajectories of Woodland period cultural change with those documented in the main valleys, and to explore relationships between main valley and hinterland regions.

The Rix Mills-High Hill divide is a moderately steep and narrow ridge rising some 600 feet above and running parallel to the central Muskingum River for about 13 miles in eastern Muskingum County. The study focuses on a 97 square mile area (Union, Rich Hill and Meigs Townships) encompassing the divide and the upper reaches of three creeks (Salt, Wills and Meigs Creeks) that eventually drain into the central Muskingum River some 6 to 12 miles west of the divide.

Part I, "The Divide and its Early Occupants," provides an overview of the environmental setting and prehistory of the divide. The local environment was rich in nuts and deer, but poor in aquatic and chert resources. Paleoindian and Archaic occupations are briefly described before turning to a more in-depth discussion of the Woodland and Late Prehistoric period occupations. The prevalence of Early Archaic and especially Late Archaic bifaces illustrated, if reflective of real patterns of prehistoric land use on the divide, ought to be of interest to those exploring models of Archaic period settlement and subsistence.

Woodland period habitations on the divide are treated in more detail, including quantitative estimates of site densities through the Early and Middle Woodland periods. Contrary to some models of Woodland period land use which predict an abandonment of upland settings during the Middle Woodland, the data presented here indicate that site densities along the divide actually increase at a modest rate into the Middle Woodland period. The divide apparently witnessed a population nucleation during the early Late Woodland, with the establishment of a small village surrounded by an earthen ramp art and exterior ditch. After ca. AD 650, there is little or no evidence of human habitation on the divide, with the exception of a single, small Late Prehistoric occupation. The ebb and flow of human occupation documented here should stimulate the development of more refined models of prehistoric land use and demography in the Ohio Valley area.

Part II, "Exploring and Recording Mounds on the Divide", provides an historical overview of archaeological explorations on the divide. Historians of Ohio archaeology will be interested to learn that Warren K. Moorehead, who went on to become the first Curator of Archaeology at the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society, had his first experience with mound exploration as a young man visiting relatives on the divide in 1882. The other accounts presented here of early explorations, private collections and more recent investigations are of particular value because of the relative lack of professional interest in the region, and the loss of many mounds and habitation sites to surface mining.

Part III, "A Checklist of Mounds Along the Divide", provides brief site-by-site summaries of the history and current condition of each of the known mounds and earthworks on the divide.

The publication itself meets high technical standards. The book is printed with paper cover in 8 ½ x 11" format on glossy paper with sewn bindings. The maps and tables follow a clear consistent format throughout. The 49 black and white photographs are reproduced at high resolution, if a bit low in contrast on occasion, and most of the artifacts pictured are accompanied by metric scales. The book is available through "The Wilds", 14000 International Road, Cumberland, Ohio 43732. Cost is $20.00 per copy plus $3.00 postage and handling. Ohio residents please add 6.5% sales tax. Proceeds from the book benefit The International Center for the Preservation of Wild Animals (the Wilds), a 9000 acre wild animal preserve and research center in Muskingum County, Ohio.

The Hopewell Mound Group: Its People and Their Legacy. Presented by the Ohio Historical Society, 1995. CD-ROM. $49.99.

This offering from the Ohio Historical Society represents the first attempt to exploit emerging CD-ROM and multimedia technologies in the study of Hopewell archaeology.

The main menu is organized around three parts. The first part is "The Hopewell Culture in Ohio", an original research paper interspersed with links to illustrative photos, maps and diagrams. The second part is the "Photo Album", which collects a series of images into topically organized thumbnail views linked to full screen views of each of the images. The third section is the "Research Catalog", presenting the full text, figures and plates from four classic works in Hopewell archaeology: Squier and Davis's (1848) "Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley"; Charles Willoughby's (1916) "The Art of the Great Earthwork Builders of Ohio"; Henry C. Shetrone's (1926) "Exploration of the Hopewell Group of Prehistoric Earthworks"; and Warren K. Moorehead's (1922) "The Hopewell Mound Group of Ohio".

Casual users will probably spend most of their time in the Photo Album. Here they will find dozens of color images of artifacts derived from Warren K. Moorehead's 1891-92 exploration for the World's Columbian Exposition (now curated at the Field Museum, Chicago), and Henry C. Shetrone's 1922-25 explorations for the Ohio Historical Society (now curated at the Ohio Historical Center, Columbus). The objects selected successfully portray the remarkable range of media and forms that set the Hopewell site collections apart from all others. The images presented here are certain to foster an appreciation of the outstanding level of technical mastery and artistic expression attained by Hopewell artisans. Many of these objects have not been previously illustrated. The resolution of the images is adequate, however a few appeared a bit dark on the system used for this review. Images and text throughout the application may be sent to a printer.

Users who delve into "The Hopewell Culture in Ohio" will find an original research paper that considers the cultural context of the objects featured in the Photo Album. The essay is accessible, comprehensive and up-to-date in its interpretations. Icons scattered throughout the text provide links to images which may be viewed alongside the text or in full screen mode. The CD-ROM format lets users explore and interact with the material in a unique and nonlinear fashion that many will find more engaging than traditional publications. The ability to jump between topics, images and text according to individual interest fosters a sense of personal exploration and discovery that is lacking in more traditional presentations.

Scholars will be most interested in the Research Catalog. Here, collected in a single volume, are the four most important primary sources relating to the Hopewell site. The collection provides ready and affordable access to four works that were previously beyond the reach of most private scholarly libraries.

No technical problems were encountered with either the installation or operation of the application on the modest 486/66 platform used for this review (minimum system requirements are listed below). Technical support is available by phone or e-mail. Navigation proved to be simple and intuitive.

Some users may be disappointed that this offering does not include the audio and video clips, animations and opportunities for interactivity that abound in some other CD-ROMs marketed as "edutainment". The emphasis here is clearly more on education than entertainment. Scholars may wish that a search tool had been included in the application. In all though, this work is a unique and welcome offering that will appeal to and benefit both popular and scholarly audiences.

The CD-ROM is available from the Sales Office, Ohio Historical Society, 1982 Velma Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43211-2497, or call 614-297- 2414. The cost of the CD-ROM is $49.95. Ohio residents add 5.75% sales tax. Add $5.00 shipping and handling. Payment may be made by check or money order payable to the Ohio Historical Society, or by VISA, MasterCard, Discover or American Express with account number, expiration date and signature.

Minimum system requirements: 386SX 16 MHz or better (486 or better recommended). Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later. MSCDEX version 2.2 or later. MS-DOS 3.1 or later. 4 MB RAM (8 MB recommended). MPC-compatible CD-ROM drive (150 KB/s sustained transfer rate). SVGA graphics card (640x480 with 256 colors- 65,000 colors recommended) with compatible monitor. 5 MB free disk space.