Hopewell Settlement Patterns, Subsistence, and Symbolic Landscapes

A groundbreaking compilation of research on the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, this volume advances the integration of symbolic and materialist approaches to Middle Woodland studies. It reveals that the placement of earthen enclosures in Ohio was deliberately conditioned by a sense of relationships between earthworks, with both the enclosures and the intervening spaces forming a complementary whole. The study employs a multifaceted approach, combining long-term research, archival analysis, and critical dialogues among contributors to challenge entrenched terminology and advance interpretive frameworks. Notably, it demonstrates that archaeological interpretation is inherently subjective, reflecting more about the interpreter's culture than the ancient inhabitants' landscape perception.

Byers, A. M., & Wymer, D. (Eds.). (2010). Hopewell Settlement Patterns, Subsistence, and Symbolic Landscapes. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.10574843