Archaeology - Recent Titles from Ohio University Press

Transitions

Sat, 01 Nov 2008

Transitions (2008)
Archaic and Early Woodland Research in the Ohio Country

Edited by Martha P. Otto and Brian G. Redmond

The late archaic and early woodland peoples lived in the Ohio region between 5,000 and 2,000 years ago. This was a time of transition, when hunters and gatherers began to grow native seed crops, establish more permanent settlements, and develop complex forms of ritual and ceremonialism, sometimes involving burial mound construction.

The focused archaeological studies described in Transitions: Archaic and Early Woodland Research in the Ohio Country shed light on this important episode in human cultural development. The authors describe important archaeological sites such as the rich Late Archaic settlements of southwestern Ohio and the early Adena Dominion Land Company enclosure in Franklin County. They present detailed accounts of Native American behavior, such as the use of smoking pipes by Adena societies and a reconstruction of mound use and ritual.

Transitions is the result of a comprehensive, long-term study focusing on particular areas of Ohio with the most up-to-date and detailed treatment of Ohio’s native cultures during this important time of change. This book will be of great value to students and other readers who wish to go beyond the general and often dated treatments of Ohio archaeology currently available.

For more information about this book visit ohioswallow.com/book/Transitions.
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The Emergence of the Moundbuilders

Wed, 30 Mar 2005

The Emergence of the Moundbuilders (2005)
The Archaeology of Tribal Societies in Southeastern Ohio

Edited by Elliot M. Abrams and AnnCorinne Freter

Native American societies, often viewed as unchanging, in fact experienced a rich process of cultural innovation in the millennia prior to recorded history. Societies of the Hocking River Valley in southeastern Ohio, part of the Ohio River Valley, created a tribal organization beginning about 2000 bc.

Edited by Elliot M. Abrams and AnnCorinne Freter, The Emergence of the Moundbuilders: The Archaeology of Tribal Societies in Southeastern Ohio presents the process of tribal formation and change in the region based on analyses of all available archaeological data from the Hocking River Valley. Drawing on the work of scholars in archaeology, anthropology, geography, geology, and botany, the collection addresses tribal society formation through such topics as the first pottery made in the valley, aggregate feasting by nomadic groups, the social context for burying their dead in earthen mounds, the formation of religious ceremonial centers, and the earliest adoption of corn.

Providing the most current research on indigenous societies in the Hocking Valley, The Emergence of the Moundbuilders is distinguished by its broad, comparative overview of tribal life.

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An Archeological History of the Hocking Valley

Tue, 01 Aug 1989

An Archeological History of the Hocking Valley (1989)

By James Murphy

The Hocking River stretches 95 miles south eastward from Columbus to the Ohio River, draining an area of 1,200 square miles. In this detailed study of the archeological investigations in the Hocking Valley, James L. Murphy summarizes and re-evaluates explorations in the light of current knowledge. He discusses the prehistory of the Hocking Valley for six major time periods: Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Early Woodland, Middle Woodland, Late Woodland, and Late Prehistoric.

Never before available in paperback, this new edition also reveals Murphy’s original findings during 15 years of archeological surveys and excavations. This book includes detailed reports on the excavation of three Adena mounds, two Fort Ancient village sites, and several multi-component rock shelters.

A deliberate effort to present archeological finds of interest to both the professional archeologist and the layman in terms understandable to both has been coupled with an attempt to distinguish clearly between the presentation of facts and the presentation of opinion. The book is enhanced by illustrations of much of the artifact material analyzed in the text, site diagrams, and a map locating all major known archeological sites in the Hocking Valley, and an appendix locating and describing all sites discussed in the text.

For more information about this book visit ohioswallow.com/book/An+Archeological+History+of+the+Hocking+Valley.
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The Mound Builders

Thu, 01 May 1986

The Mound Builders (1986)

By Robert Silverberg

In Illinois, the one-hundred-foot Cahokia Mound spreads impressively across sixteen acres, and as many as ten thousand more mounds dot the Ohio River Valley alone. The Mound Builders traces the speculation surrounding these monuments and the scientific excavations which uncovered the history and culture of the ancient Americans who built them.

The mounds were constructed for religious and secular purposes some time between 1000 B.C. and 1000 A.D., and they have prompted curiosity and speculation from very early times. European settlers found them evidence of some ancient and glorious people. Even as eminent an American as Thomas Jefferson joined the controversy, though his conclusions—that the mounds were actually cemeteries of ancient Indians—remained unpopular for nearly a century.

Only in the late 19th century, as Smithsonian Institution investigators developed careful methodologies and reliable records, did the period of scientific investigation of the mounds and their builders begin. Silverberg follows these excavations and then recounts the story they revealed of the origins, development, and demise of the mound builder culture.

For more information about this book visit ohioswallow.com/book/The+Mound+Builders.
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Petroglyphs of Ohio

Fri, 01 Jun 1984

Petroglyphs of Ohio (1984)

By James L. Swauger

While earthworks, or “mounds,” are the most widely known fixed monuments of Native American history in Ohio, the state shares with the rest of the upper Ohio Valley a widely dispersed collection of smaller monuments. The animal, mythical, and human designs scratched into soft rock faces throughout the region constitute a fascinating, enigmatic, and fragile record of the world of the late prehistoric peoples of the American Midwest. Unlike the larger monuments, many of which have long been recognized and set aside for study and preservation, the rock art of the state has, because of its scale and location, been known only to professional archaeologists and, perhaps, a few local observers. In Petroglyphs of Ohio, James Swauger provides a comprehensive account of all recognized petroglyphs in the state.

For each of fifty–six locations, Swauger provides maps, photographs and line drawings, a summary of historical accounts, and discussion of the figures involved, their possible significance, and methods of creation. Based on comparative studies and interpretation of site records, Swauger suggests that the majority of Native American petroglyphs in Ohio were created between A.D. 1200 and 1750 by an apparently peaceful, proto–Shawnee tribe which spoke an Algonquian tongue. Such evidence also enables Swauger to isolate numerous later rock carvings, some of which masquerade as Native American, and advance theories as to their origin.

Swauger’s examination of many of these sites reveals the comparatively rapid deterioration to which the petroglyphs are subject. Because natural forces and man have combined, over the last century, to obscure many of them, Petroglyphs of Ohio will provide a much-needed record, serving for the forseeable future as the authoritative study of rock art of Ohio.

For more information about this book visit ohioswallow.com/book/Petroglyphs+of+Ohio.
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