A View From Afar:

The Use of Remote Sensing

Technologies to Examine Hopewell

Sites in Ohio

Capstone Presentation:

American Anthropological Association

111th Annual Conference

San Francisco, California

November 14-18, 2012

Timeline of Mound Building Cultures in Ohio

Adena: 800 BC to 100 BC

Hopewell: 200 BC to 500 AD

Fort Ancient Tradition (Mississippian): 1000 AD to 1500

Mound Destruction

The Need for

Preservation

Study Areas and Major Rivers of Ohio

Resources Used in this Study

1. Early maps of Hopewell mounds and earthworks retrieved from: Squier, E. G., & Davis, E. H. (1848). Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley (Classics in

Smithsonian Anthropology). Smithsonian Books.

2. Modern orthorectified aerial photography (Tiff Format) and Lidar data (las. format) available from the State of Ohio Office of Information Technology (2011), Ohio

Geographically Referenced Information Program.

3. ODOT (Ohio Department of Transportation) shapefiles for Airport, Active Rail, City, County, Interstate, State Routes, Township, and US Routes.

4. DNR (Department of Natural Resources) hydrography shapefile of Ohio‘s water sources, and divide line between Lake Erie and the Ohio River.

5. USGS (United States Geological Survey) aerial photographs from the late 1950's and 1960's, as well as SRTM DEMs.

Early Mapping of Hopewell

Sites Squier & Davis

Seip Earthworks as Mapped by Squier and Davis in 1847

Map of Seip Earthworks Converted to Shapefile in ArcGIS

Squier and Davis Map of Seip Overlaid onto 2008 Aerial Photograph

Exploring Lidar Data

MARS

LP360/ArcGIS

Quick Terrain Modeler

Squier and Davis Map of Seip Overlaid onto Lidar Data

Features Derived from Lidar Data

Squier and Davis Shapefile Compared to Lidar Shapefile

Seip Earthworks 1960

Map Derived from Lidar Data Overlaid onto 1960’s Aerial Photograph

View of Seip Earthworks Facing Southwest, Elevation TIN using MARS

The Elevation has been Multiplied by Seven to Illustrate the Earthworks & Mound Remains

Seip Site Facing Northwest, Using Quick Terrain Modeler

The Elevation Has Been Reduced to Between 698 and 711 Feet to Illustrate the Remains of the Earthworks

The Preservation of Hopewell

Sites

Map Derived from Lidar Data Overlaid onto 1960’s Aerial Photograph

Park Development and Preservation

Conclusion

Image created by CERHAS, University of Cincinnati