A View From Afar: The Use of Remote Sensing Technologies to Examine Hopewell Sites in Ohio
Capstone Presentation: American Anthropological Association 111 th 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