Hopewell Mound by Gray Redfox
NOTE: Mound is in West Virginia!
Before European settlers, even before the Odawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibway, prehistoric people called the Hopewell built hundreds of burial mounds in the river valleys and forests of what we now call Michigan. Some Hopewell lived in the western and southern part of the Lower Peninsula. However, the most sophisticated Hopewell settlements and the largest burial mounds were in Ohio and Illinois. When they buried honored people in the mounds, the Hopewell included items that tell us about their lives.The Hopewell were part of a huge trading network that stretched across the central United States. Elaborate decorations and jewelry made from Michigan copper, North Carolina mica, and shells and pearls from the Gulf of Mexico were discovered in Hopewell mounds. Carved obsidian (a volcanic rock) from the Rocky Mountains and shark teeth from Virginia's Chesapeake Bay also have been found. The most ornate artifacts were in Ohio mounds. Michigan artifacts, such as pots and bowls, are simpler. Archaeologists believe the Hopewell traded furs and food, too, but they decayed long ago.
In their eating habits, the Hopewell fit between hunter-gatherers and farmers. The Hopewell may have grown some plants, but they were not a full-time farming people. They ate nuts, squash, and the seeds from several plants. Hopewell people also ate wild animals, birds, and fish.
The Hopewell's houses were not permanent, so little evidence remains to tell about them. Scientists believe the houses had wooden pole frames covered with animal skins, grass or herb woven mats, or bark.
The Hopewell built their mounds in Michigan from 10 B.C. until about A.D. 400. Historians believe the Hopewell are the distant ancestors of the native people who still live in Michigan. Still, no one knows why they stopped building mounds or where they went after A.D. 400.
For more great stories on Michigan's past, look to Michigan History magazine. For more information or a free trial issue, call (800) 366-3703 or visit http://www.michiganhistorymagazine.com/.
More Hopewell Indian Resources
- Norton Mounds Cultural Resource Project from the Public Museum of Grand Rapids
- Norton Mound Group (Grand Rapids area)
- History Themes: The Hopewell Curriculum guide & resources - very cool!
- A Brief History of the Hopewell Culture from the National Park Service
23 Comments
Editor's Note: I updated this article with photos from other states as they illustrate more of the character of the Hopewell's lives than no photo at all (especially the photo of the wood duck bowl - links to a set of great artifact photos!). I would very much like to use Michigan photos - if anyone has some, please let us know!
This info is very interusting. What are your sources?
This is from Michigan History Magazine, which is published by the State of Michigan.
this is a great help to kids with projects and is so wonderful!
!
This info really helped me on my soical studies project,and it really interested me after I looked on a whole bunch of boring websites!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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this helped me on my social studies project big time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very cool Samantha, Rachel & Samuel - thanks for the kind words!
It is suggested that the Adena people of the Ohio River Valley are the mound-builders. Many skeletons of the Adena people are demonstrably quite large and have had red-hair recovered.
It's amazing what sort of things are on these internets. Here's Watertown school's piece on the Adena and moundbuilders and several rather more fantastic articles on the Adena:
Thanks for the facts they will help me on my social studys project.
Where do these facts come from?
Thanks for the info
The facts come from Michigan History Magazine, who wrote the article. Which is part of the Michigan Department of History, Arts & Libraries.
As far as I know, all of the Michigan History series of articles here on Absolute Michigan are well researched and are the result of the best scholarly procedures.
I don't know if I can make the same claim about all our articles.
did the mound builders ever venture into sw ontario anytime
wow that was dumb.
put how they used michigan's resources.
this website is sooooooooo stupid!
thanks for the writing
yeah website rocks
The history of these antient inhabitants is in a book called the Book of Mormon
the hopewell indians are so cool. how come we never know about them before.
why are the hopwell indians so cool is because they where here before us. that is so cool I can not belevie it.
yo weird
hope well indians are awesome i luv them they are my fav indian tribe.
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