Review by Choice Review
The Ohio Hopewell people constructed some of the most impressive mounds and rectangular and circular earthworks in North America, dating between 1-500 CE. Much has been written about the elaborate, amazing array of mortuary remains, but this volume, a welcome departure from the focus on Hopewell material culture and ritual goods, stresses how and why the Hopewell people modified their landscape into expansive ritual earthworks. Lynott (d. 2014; formerly, National Park Service) provides a 200-year history of research on Hopewell that now includes geophysical surveys and geoarchaeological techniques to look into the mounds and walls, both above and beneath the surface of this dramatic cultural landscape. The author explores 22 major Hopewell sites to discuss how earthworks were built, the landforms they were constructed on, their diversity, their dating, the engineering that ensured stable walls, and their probable use for ceremonies and other social activities essential to this complex culture. As the author notes, many questions remain, especially where people lived--little is known of their settlement strategies--and whether these earthwork systems were vacant ceremonial centers much of the year, used only at regular intervals of the ceremonial calendar. Well illustrated with photos and drawings. A must for those interested in Hopewell and for scholars around the world researching ceremonial earthworks. Summing Up: Essential. All academic levels/libraries. --James Bushnell Richardson, emeritus, University of Pittsburgh
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
