New Magnetic Gradient Survey Results from Two Intermediate-Sized Earthwork Clusters in Southern Ohio: Junction Group and Steel Earthworks

Summary

Ohio is home to hundreds of Woodland period (ca. 300 BC- AD 400) earthwork sites. Most contain mounds and ditch-and-embankment enclosures in geometric shapes. Site size and complexity varies widely, from small, lone circles (often surrounding a mound) in the Early Woodland to the mega-large Middle Woodland Newark Earthworks. How and why earthwork construction moved from small to massive are enduring questions yet to be solved. Recent magnetic survey in southern Ohio at two sites of moderate size, Junction Group (33Ro28) and Steel Earthworks (33Ro62), provides mounting evidence for an intermediate level of size and complexity. Both sites contain a range of geometric shapes, including some that are unique. Enclosures are clustered in their spacing and orientation, suggesting growth through time. And at least three kinds of architecture were in use: traditional ditch-and-embankment enclosures of varying size, small enclosures demarcated by narrow trenches (perhaps without embankments), and circles of posts lacking ditches or embankments. Earthwork sites of intermediate size provide a link in time, complexity, and perhaps space between the small sites of the Early Woodland and the immense complexes of the Middle Woodland. They also signal a change in the organization of people and activities on the landscape.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 19974