THE END OF A NORTH AMERICAN TRADITION; HOPEWELL (ca. 100 BC – ca. 400 AD)

Shannon M. Dwyer (0546042)

Submitted to: Helen Haines

(ANTH 4180)

Shannon M. Dwyer, Department of Anthropology, Trent University Durham, 55 Thornton

Road, Oshawa, ON L1J 5Y1 (shannondwyer@trentu.ca)

The Collapse of a North American tradition; Hopewell (ca.100 BC-400 AD)

This case study will focus on the North American tradition known as Hopewell (ca.

100 BC – ca. 400 AD). Through examining Hopewell’s natural and cultural environments, as

well as it’s political, religious, and mystical traditions; this report will discuss the evidence

that has been used to argue for a ‘collapse’ of the Hopewell tradition in ca. 400 AD. Most of

the evidence of the Hopewellian tradition dates to the Middle Woodland period in North

America.

This paper will examine the evidence presented to support or refute the claim for a

collapse of the Hopewell tradition using the 11 major theories of collapse. These are;

conflict/contradictions/mismanagement explanations for collapse, mystical support, social

dysfunction, catastrophes, resource depletion, new resources, insufficient response to

circumstances, other complex societies, intruders, chance concatenation of events and

economic explanations for the collapse of a civilisation.

Through examining the research and literature regarding the Hopewell Tradition; this

paper will present evidence supporting the Collapse of Hopewell; it will also argue for the

abandonment of the Hopewellian Tradition as the main reason for its overall collapse in ca.

400 AD.

Hopewell’s Cultural Environment; The Middle Woodland Period (ca. 1 AD – ca. 500 AD)

According to Tainter (1998) there are 10 main characteristics that compose a

civilisation. These include evidence of; large urban settlements, specialized occupations,

surplus production, monumental architecture and art, a ruling class and a central non-kin

based government, writing, science, and trade, more often long distance trade evidence.

Hopewell is defined as a tradition because although it was a civilisation; it is comprised of

various, societies, groups and cultures. Hopewellian traditions consist of a variety of local

expressions. For example in Ohio, the Hopewell Tradition includes; the Armstrong culture,

the Copena culture, the Crab Orchard culture, the Goodall Focus, the Havana Hopewell

culture, the Kansas City Hopewell, the Laurel Complex, the Marksville culture, the Miller

culture, the Montane Hopewell, the Ohio Hopewell culture, the Point Peninsula Complex,

the Saugeen Complex, the Swift Creek culture, and the Wilhelm culture. In figure 1 in the

addendum you can see that there are many Hopewell Sites spanning from Kansas City to

New York and farther.

Given this information alone it is evident that ‘Hopewell peoples’ were not a single

culture; but that they were in fact a collection of cultures. Even today; anthropologists and

archaeologists still do not know what this collection of cultures would have called

themselves, as the name Hopewell was given to them long after the tradition ceased being

practised. The name Hopewell comes from the landowner on whose property the first

Hopewellian mounds were excavated during the 1800’s in Chillicothe; the first capital of

Ohio, in Southern Ohio’s Ross County. After 400 AD; Hopewellian traditions appear to have

ended as per the archaeological record. This is evident in the cessation of; the creation of

Hopewellian art, the building of large earthen enclosures, and the end of the elaborate

offerings made by these people (Spielmann, 2013).

The Hopewell people cultivated gardens in order to maintain basic crop growth; but

the relied mainly on wild foods and game, through hunting, fishing and gathering. They “…

lived in small dispersed hamlets where they cultivated indigenous crops, hunted, and

gathered” (Spielmann, 2013:142). Surely the crops that were being cultivated during the

Hopewellian tradition would have varied due to the geographic dispersal of the cultures that

created this tradition. But little evidence has been found to suggest that the Hopewell people

had large scale agricultural practices or subsistence strategies in place.

Hopewell’s Natural Environment

As mentioned; most of the evidence of the Hopewellian tradition dates to the Middle

Woodland period in North America. This period is a sub-period of the Woodland period. The

first sub period is referred to as the Early Woodland period which ran from ca. 1000 BC – ca.

100 BC; and was followed by the Middle Woodland period whereby the Hopewell tradition

began, strived, and collapsed between ca. 100 BC – ca. 400 AD. After roughly a 100 year

gap of historical and archaeological evidence; the Late Woodland period followed the

collapse of Hopewell from ca. 500 AD – ca. 900 AD. The last of the four woodland sub-

periods was the Late Prehistoric period (ca. 900 AD – ca. 1650 AD to ca. 1700 AD).

The Hopewell peoples’ can be traced geographically through the intricate trade

networks they established; referred to as the Hopewellian Exchange System. The

Hopewellian Tradition seems to have no clear geographic boundaries as it extends outside of

Ohio; and even outside of the United States. The actual Hopewellian tradition was quite

extensive. Evidence of this can be found through tracking the Hopewell Exchange System;

which extended from the Southeastern United States, all the way into the Canadian

southeastern region of Lake Ontario. The first two Hopewellian excavations were on the

property of a man named Mordecai Hopewell in 1891. Perhaps this is the reason for the

abundant amount of research focused on the Ohio Hopewell tradition, even though the

Hopewellian Tradition geographically extends beyond the state of Ohio. The reason the

entire tradition was named after Mordecai Hopewell is simple. The two mounds excavated

on his property in Chillicothe are two of the five mounds that, today; create the Hopewell

Culture National Historic Park. A site that demonstrated the distinct features of the overall

Hopewellian tradition.

The first two Hopewell earthworks which were excavated are located in Chillicothe,

Ohio; create the ‘type site’ for the Hopewellian Tradition, and the other three earthworks

were later deemed to meet the same criteria and are also considered to be ‘Hopewellian in

nature’. Together the Hopewell Mound Group, the Mound City Group, the Spruce Hill

Earthworks, the High Bank Earthworks, the Seip Earthworks and the Hopeton Earthworks

create the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. . The Ohio Hopewell Mound Group; in

Ross County near the Northern fork of Paint Creek and is constructed upon “…a late

Pleistocene outwash terrace” (O’Neal, O’Mansky & MacGregor 2005:741). The overall

purpose for the Hopewellian Earthworks is long debated; as “[f]or many earthworks, the

primary use will reflect degrees of power, authority, and outside threat” (O’Neal, O’Mansky

& MacGregor 2005:744).

The Hopewellian earthworks took enormous amounts of labor and extensive periods

of time to build. The process would have started with the clearing of the area in which the

earthwork was to be built. Followed by “…the collection of soil [which would] have to be

planned, as many earthworks contain levels of different colors and textures of earth, some of

which can even be subterranean” (Mills 1992; cited in Magnani & Schroder 2015: 13).

Research suggests that soil loads could weigh as much as up to 14 kilograms. Bernardini

(2004) writes that it would have taken at least 100 laborers;

“…25–50 days of labor per person…[a year for 25 years]…would be an appropriate

range. The work day is assumed to have been five hours long, a figure based on

digging experiments by Erasmus (1965) in which he observed that worker

productivity dropped markedly after the fifth hour of labor. The largest possible

construction events, in which a single geometric shape was erected in a single year,

would have required at least 1000 laborers, and as many as 2700 laborers” (2004:

344-45).

But eventually even “…the most intricately designed of structures, given time, will

ultimately collapse, and the natural forces of gravity and deposition will cause such remains

to take the form of mounds” (Magnani & Schroder 2015: 12).

In 400 AD; “[i]t is not only art that ceased at the end of Hopewell, but also the

construction of the contexts (geometric earthworks) in which this art circulated, and the

manner in which it was offered (caching)” (Spielmann 2013:143).

“…Hopewell exemplifies the ritual mode of production in which craft specialization

is tied to large-scale participation in communal ritual (K. Spielmann 2002).

Specialists may be attached to or embedded in (Ames 1995) the ritual context itself,

and among the Hopewell, much art production may have taken place in or near the

earthworks, as people ‘geared up’ (K. Spielmann 2008) for elaborate communal

ceremonies and feasts” (Seeman 1979b, cited in Spielmann 2013:149).

The Hopewellian Exchange system

The Hopewell Exchange System; which extends from the Southeastern United States

and into Canadian southeastern region of Lake Ontario, allowed the import and export of

local and or raw materials for trade. Most of the actual transportation was done through the

waterways, and along rivers, this allowed the Hopewellian Tradition to extend far beyond its

own boundaries. This can be seen in excavated Hopewell artifacts having been found all over

and beyond the Mid-West United States. Figure 1 in the addendum of this paper shows the

speculative reach of the Hopewell tradition as it was traced using the Hopewell Exchange

System.

Examples of raw materials being traded amongst the Hopewell people are abundant

and vary in form. Recovered materials from excavated Hopewell sites include, but are not

limited to; animal teeth, textiles, chert, different types of shell, mica, obsidian, copper, and

pipestone. The Hopewellian tradition used; [m]ica mined in the southern Appalachians

[which eventually] became a common material, used both in its raw state to cover mortuary

floors, and to craft cut-outs that likely were sewn on ritual garments” (Spielmann 2013:147).

Although Mica was a raw material which required much travel to acquire; the actual

“…mica cut-outs would have been relatively simple to produce, requiring only a

template, the raw material, and a sharp blade. Thus, it is not surprising that the only

evidence of crafting at hamlet sites is that for mica cut-outs” (Spielmann 2013:147-

48).

Beyond the use of Mica; they also obtained obsidian, from Wyoming, which was retrieved

from the Yellowstone Basin and transported back home by the Hopewell people in order to

craft flaked blades. Researchers postulate that the reasons for the taxing procurement of these

exotic and raw materials was most likely “…motivated by power questing by individuals

seeking to increase their prestige and influence” (Spielmann 2013:147-48).

Conflict/Contradictions/Mismanagement Evidence for the Collapse of Hopewell 400 AD

According to Spielmann (2013); Hopewell collapsed due to an overall loss of social

efficacy and agency. It is argued that the Hopewell Tradition “…ended due to a widespread

rejection of ritual authority and the spiritual efficacy of art” (Spielmann 2013:153). Seeing as

the Hopewell tradition is an example of “[i]nter-regional ritual interaction among small-scale

societies” (Wright and Loveland 2015:150); it is plausible that the collapse of the tradition

was due to mismanagement among participating societies and cultures along the Hopewell

exchange System. It has been hypothesized that there was competition for power, authority,

and influence among different groups and their leaders whom participated in the

Hopewellian Tradition. Perhaps this competition had something to do with the Hopewell

Exchange System and “…the long distance procurement of exotic raw materials [which] was

probably motivated by power questing by individuals seeking to increase their prestige and

influence” (Spielmann 2013:147-48).

One must assume that having multiple cultures participate in a singular tradition;

conflict is bound to arise. Mismanagement and contradictory causes for the collapse of

Hopewell in ca. 400 AD require further exploration, as it is reasonable to assume that the

Hopewell peoples’ experienced conflict due to competition amongst the cultures that

participated in the Hopewellian Tradition.

Mystical Evidence for the Collapse of Hopewell 400 AD

Research surrounding the end of the Hopewellian Tradition proves that the abandonment of

the tradition“…thus involved a major shift in how people thought about materiality as

“[e]nchanted objects no longer held the power to act” (Spielmann 2013:155). It has been

speculated that “…some unique ‘spiritual-religious historic event’ that challenged

fundamental aspects of the Ohio Hopewell peoples’ worldview, led to the demise of the

Hopewell ceremonial system. Researchers argue that the Hopewell ceremonial system was a

by-product of competition which led to the ‘hypertrophic elaboration’ of the production and

use of objects “…appropriate for interacting with other-than-humans” (Spielmann

2013:143). It has been hypothesized that this competition was for power, authority, and

influence among different groups and their leaders. Perhaps this competition had something

to do with the Hopewell Exchange System and …the long distance procurement of exotic

raw materials [which] was probably motivated by power questing by individuals seeking to

increase their prestige and influence” (Spielmann 2013:147-48).

“In these ritual centers, people markedly intensified all components of the complex

of practices appropriate for interaction with other-than-humans in terms of the

quantity of exotic materials, the distance over which exotics were obtained, the

diversity of skillfully crafted objects, the scale of caching, and the scale and

elaboration of ceremonial space” (see Beck and Brown 2012; Carr and Case 2005a;

Case and Carr 2008; Penney 1989, 2004; Seeman 1979a, 1979b, 2004; K. Spielmann

2002, cited in; Spielmann 2013:146-47).

The above mentioned ceremonial spaces consisted of three ‘related spheres of

ceremonial practice. Primarily the Hopewellian construction of massive earthen monuments;

better known and the Hopewell Earthworks. Secondly; theses ceremonial spaces

incorporated the planned burials of many deceased ‘in monumental contexts’. And finally

these ceremonial spheres accumulated iconographic and sacred objects of extreme diversity

(Wright and Loveland 2015).

Researchers suggest that; sodalities, clans as well as shaman-like leaders were the

organizing entities of the Hopewell Tradition; and “[t]he actions they orchestrated are

inferred to include the re-enactment of origin myths, world renewal ceremonies and the

symbolic reincarnation and honoring of the dead” (DeBoer 1997; Hall 1997, cited in

Spielmann 2013:152). One area of agreement, however, involves “…the likelihood that

leaders participating in these performances wielded power in relationships with other-than-

humans, perhaps through impersonating or becoming other-than-human in the ceremonial

context” (Spielmann 2013:152).

Furthermore; evidence from excavated Hopewell sites show ritualized mortuary

practices and a variety of internments (both human and other-than-human). Burials in

themselves are clear evidence of religious tradition and or ritualistic behaviours that are

usually founded upon mystical beliefs. Evidence of the; production, use, and disposal of

ritualistic objects solidifies that the Hopewell people practiced shared, sacred, and

formalized, ceremonies. This is especially evident in excavated burials containing evidence

of the Hopewell mortuary practices.

Just as they existed prior to Hopewell; “…[r]elations with other-than-humans appear

to have been completely reconceived” (Spielmann 2013:143) since the Collapse of Hopewell

and 400 AD and is supported by evidence from other cultures. This further supports this

papers thesis; that the Hopewell people simply abandoned their tradition.

Social Dysfunction Evidence for the Collapse of Hopewell 400 AD

As previously mentioned; Spielmann (2013) argues that Hopewell collapsed due to an

overall loss of social efficacy and agency as individual cultures and “…societies have clear

ideas on which objects are appropriate to be offered, which are most effective, and the

appropriate manner of their offering (Derks 1998:215, cited in; Spielmann 2013:144). Given

the theories surrounding competition for power, authority, and influence within among

different groups and their leaders who traveled the extensive distances for the “…

procurement of exotic raw materials … motivated by power questing by individuals seeking

to increase their prestige and influence” (Spielmann 2013:147-48).

Perhaps since the Hopewell people participated in shared traditions; yet varying

cultures, social dysfunction was a catalyst in the collapse of Hopewell in 400 AD. There is

no clear evidence to support this theory however it has been postulated that the collapse of

the tradition was due to mismanagement among participating societies and cultures along the

Hopewell exchange System.

Catastrophes Evidence for the Collapse of Hopewell 400 AD

Western Europe, the Southeastern United States, and Central America all experienced

volcanic winters; however the impact of such winters on the Hopewell tradition between 100

BC and 400 AD is not known. There is insufficient evidence to suggest that a temporary or

short term climate change like a volcanic winter would be enough on its own to have caused

the collapse of Hopewell and the abandonment of the Hopewellian Tradition. Overall; there

is no clear evidence to suggest that a sudden change in the environment caused the

abandonment of the Hopewell tradition. There is also no evidence of any specific tragedy

that may have impacted the Hopewell peoples or caused the cessation of their tradition in ca.

400 AD. Catastrophes of all sorts have been postulated as the reasons for the collapse of the

Hopewell tradition; but none have been substantiated by evidence thus far.

An article in the examiner points fingers at the plague as the cause of the Collapse of

Hopewell. Given that there is extensive evidence of Hopewell trade; perhaps the plague

entered into the Hopewell community at one trade point and spread throughout all of the

Hopewellian Cultures through the Hopewell Exchange System. There is sufficient evidence

to support that in ca 540 AD a plague spread through Europe wiping out nearly half of its

population. Perhaps this plague also reached the Hopewell Cultures. But like most of the

theories that suggest reasons for the end of the Hopewellian Tradition; there is little to no

physical evidence of the plague among the Hopewell peoples (The Examiner 2012).

Was Resource Depletion a Factor or the Cause of Hopewell’s Collapse in 400 AD?

Research finds that resource depletion was not a crucial cause of the end of the

Hopewellian Tradition. The archaeological record shows very little evidence of “…

intensification in agricultural or subsistence production” (Spielmann, 2013:154) among the

Hopewell peoples. Perhaps not enough focus was placed on maintaining resources; and in

cases of extreme need the Hopewell people may not have had sufficient resources to meet

their needs. Eventually leading to the abandonment of a tradition that had proved

unsuccessful; the Hopewellian tradition. This is only a theory as there is no archaeological or

historical evidence to suggest that resources; whether in abundance or in demand, were the

root cause of the collapse of the Hopewell Tradition in ca. 400 AD. Although many theories

have been proposed; there is no evidentiary link between resource depletion and the collapse

of the Hopewellian Tradition in ca. 400 AD.

New Resources Evidence for the Collapse of Hopewell 400 AD

Evidence from the various Hopewell sites show various craft specialties; unskilled,

technically adept crafting, skilled crafting, and highly skilled crafting. For example;

“[t]echnological skill was required to craft the abundant copper earspools (Ruhl and Seeman

1998) and copper celts” (Bernardini and Carr 2005, cited in; Spielmann 2013:148).

Meanwhile; the carving of animal bones, and effigy platform pipes shows evidence of highly

skilled tradespeople and crafting. The Hopewell tradition shows evidence for;

“[h]ighly skilled artisans [who] worked in numerous media, including chert, obsidian,

pipestone, copper, mica, shell, animal teeth, and textiles, to create objects of social

agency. The production, use, and disposal of these objects almost exclusively

occurred in ceremonial precincts defined by extensive earthen embankments

constructed in geometric shapes” (Spielmann 2013:141).

Archeological evidence maintains that raw and exotic materials were available at different

times and in different places; but the Hopewell peoples were able make the most of these

materials through trade using their exchange network (the Hopewell Exchange System). As

previously mentioned; there is no archaeological or historical evidence to suggest that

resources; whether in abundance or in demand, were the root cause of the collapse of the

Hopewell Tradition in ca. 400 AD.

The Collapse of Hopewell 400 AD: An Insufficient Response to Circumstances?

Researchers briefly entertained that population pressure was a factor in the collapse of

Hopewell. However this is later dismissed given that settlements seemed to be small-scale

and widely dispersed. Climate change has also entertained as a factor in the collapse. Again;

this theory has been dismissed as we see very little subsistence and agricultural evidence

which would be necessary in order to refute or support this theory. (Spielmann, 2013).

The Influence of Other Complex Societies on the Collapse of Hopewell 400 AD

Based on “the large quantities of exotic materials found at Hopewell sites, [and] the

scarcity of population in many of the source areas… [evidence suggests that] …the raw

materials necessary for Hopewell crafting were directly procured by Hopewell people, and

that these materials were fashioned into sacred objects exclusively in the Hopewell core

(almost exclusively at earthwork sites)” (Wright and Loveland 2015:149). Perhaps this is

part of the reason for the Hopewell Exchange Network; which would have permitted the

geographically dispersed cultures that participated in the tradition to transport raw materials

long distances.

The problem is that the Hopewell Exchange System extends from the Southeastern

United States, and into Canadian southeastern region of Lake Ontario, crossing the

geographic boundaries of other complex societies. It is possible (but not proven) that other

complex societies may have influenced the collapse of the Hopewell Exchange system;

which in turn may have been that start of the collapse of the entire Hopewellian Tradition in

ca 400 AD.

Evidence of the Impact of Intruders on the Collapse of Hopewell 400 AD

There is very little evidence of intruders as the cause of the Hopewell collapse in ca

400 AD. According to Spielmann; there is however evidence of “ritual practice [having

been] driven in large part by interest in the accumulation of corporate and individual social

capital. Communal ritual action in general involves the demonstration of power as it relates

to ritual knowledge, and communal rituals are prime arenas for social competition”

(2013:150). Perhaps the various cultures within the Hopewell tradition fought amongst

themselves for power and prestige. The archaeological record, however, hold no clear

evidence of invasion or intrusion as the reason for the collapse of Hopewell in ca. 400 AD.

Evidence for the Collapse of Hopewell 400 AD: A Chance Concatenation of Events?

As mentioned earlier in this paper; there is insufficient evidence to suggest that a

temporary or short term climate change like a volcanic winter would be enough on its own to

cause the collapse of Hopewell. However; the climate could have been one of many factors

that contributed to the end of the Hopewellian Tradition.

Another theory that has been presented is one of a “revolt of the people”. This is

when the people of a certain culture start to lose faith in the tradition itself; and request

change or maybe even try to force it. Perhaps “…the burden of participation in large-scale

monument construction and communal rituals may have become too great, at least in relation

to the perceived benefits of participation” (Spielmann, 2013:154), causing the Hopewell

people to begin to abandon their own tradition. Meaning that the end of the Hopewellian

Tradition may have been a choice of the Hopewell peoples’ themselves.

Economic Explanations for the Collapse of Hopewell 400 AD

Economic explanations for the Collapse of Hopewell “[t]he immense diversity and

quantity of art that was destroyed and cached at a number of Hopewell sites, as well as

buried with specific individuals at the sites of Hopewell, document some degree of

inequality” (Spielmann 2013:154) among the Hopewell people and within the Hopewellian

ceremonial system. Furthermore; …the long distance procurement of exotic raw materials

was probably motivated by power questing by individuals seeking to increase their prestige

and influence” (Spielmann 2013:147-48). The evidence presented by the Hopewellian

Exchange Network also supports theories that suggest the Hopewellian people had class

systems based on; power, prestige, or religion.

Furthermore evidence dictates that there was variation among the Hopewell political

strategies. Coon (2009) presents evidence of at least two different Hopewellian political

strategies; one of corporate orientation, and another of exclusionary politics. Through in

depth analysis of the Hopewell Exchange System, Coon (2009) is able to geographically

separate political strategies as per their closest river draining on along the exchange system.

This certainly would have cause competition within the Hopewellian tradition amongst the

participating cultures and could have been a factor associated with the overall collapse of the

Hopewell in ca. 400 AD.

Other Cultures

The relationship between Adena and Ohio Hopewell remains an issue of debate.

Suffice it to say that in one portion of the Adena geographic range, southern Ohio around

2000 BP, ritual became spatially concentrated into significantly larger ceremonial centers”

(Seeman and Branch 2006, cited in; Spielmann, 2013:146). This may account for the

confusion between the Adena cultural tradition and the Hopewellian tradition. Researchers

such as“…Carr and Case (2005b: 202) imply some overlap because Adena and Hopewell

imagery employ ‘perceptual-metal ambiguities” (Cited in; Giles, 2013:503).

Furthermore, the archaeological record shows evidence of the importance of other-

than-human relationships prior to Hopewell and since its collapse; “…[r]elations with other-

than-humans appear to have been completely reconceived” (Spielmann, 2013:143) as

supported by historical, and archaeological evidence from other cultures. Many cultures

influenced the Hopewell (ca. BC 100 – ca. 400 AD); and the Hopewell influenced many later

cultures to varying degrees. However no one tradition comes as close to that of the

Hopewell; as does the Adena culture.

Conclusion: Did Hopewell Collapse?

“Inter-regional ritual interaction among small-scale societies” (Wright and Loveland

2015:150) may have caused conflict within the tradition causing the individual cultures to

part ways and abandoned practicing the Hopewell Tradition. Again this is simply another

theory for the Collapse of Hopewell in ca. 400 AD; but one that has yet to be disproved.

Furthermore the “…abandonment of the Ohio Hopewell ceremony and its art

represents a radical transformation in the appropriate ways to interact with other-than-

humans” (Spielmann, 2013:144). As this paper has already stated; “…[r]elations with other-

than-humans appear to have been completely reconceived” (Spielmann, 2013:143) since the

Collapse of Hopewell and 400 AD and is supported by evidence from other cultures. This

further supports this papers thesis; that the Hopewell people simply abandoned their

tradition.

Moreover; given the extensive information gathered from burial sites; we see that the

Hopewellian tradition may have been religious and or mystical in nature. For example: The

Hopewell Elizabeth Site (11PK512) in Pike County, Illinois, which among many human

burials also contained; 7 dog burials (deemed seemingly unrelated), 1 intentionally buried

Roseate Spoonbill, as well as the human-like internment of a juvenile bobcat. The bobcat

burial was intentional as seen in the shell necklace it was wearing, that also contained two

effigy bear canine teeth. To date this is the only human-like Bobcat burial we see in the

Americas, and it was surrounded by burials in a circular formation which were buried at

different stages building the earthwork.

Spielmann (2013) argues for the abandonment of the Hopewellian tradition as

opposed to a collapse of the Hopewell civilisation. This is supported by the transition to the

Late Woodland Period in Ohio; where Hopewell’s “…relatively rapid disappearance…

[occurred around] …AD 400. The end of Ohio Hopewell, the transition of what is referred to

as the Late Woodland, coincides with the end of ‘art’ for a considerable period of time in the

Midwestern United States (Spielmann, 2013:142). This means that the Hopewell artistic

tradition experienced a rapid demise which affected the production of ‘art’ for nearly 100

years until AD 500. Perhaps the abandonment of the Hopewellian Tradition stems from loss

in ritualistic belief and or faith among the cultures of Hopewell (ca. BC 100 – ca. 400 AD).

Ultimately, however, “…the entire array of art objects ceased to be made and, as a

result, neither skilled crafting nor the use of exotic materials continued significantly after

Hopewell; neither did caching, as this practice was intimately connected to art” (Spielmann

2013:153). According to Tainter (1998) there are two key factors to collapse. First, the

exposure to unexpected stress; and secondly, complexity is no-longer an attractive strategy.

Perhaps the latter is the reason for this abrupt end in the practice of Hopewellian traditions;

the people simply did not find the return of the current complex strategy to be significant

enough to continue its practice.

Overall; there is no definite answer to the question; what caused the collapse of

Hopewell in ca. 400 AD? There are however many theories that require further analysis.

Theories suggest that the collapse of Hopewell (ca. BC 100 – ca. 400 AD) was more of an

abandonment. Research and evidence support the thesis of this paper more than they support

the 11 major theories of collapse. Which are; conflict/contradictions/mismanagement

explanations for collapse, mystical support, social dysfunction, catastrophes, resource

depletion, new resources, insufficient response to circumstances, other complex societies,

intruders, chance concatenation of events and economic explanations for the collapse of a

civilisation. If one of the 11 explanations had to be chosen; mystical seems to be the most

fitting. Meaning that the Hopewellian tradition ended due to a loss of faith in their ritual and

ceremonial practices. In conclusion; through examining the research and literature regarding

the Hopewell Tradition; this paper theorises and maintains that the abandonment of the

Hopewellian Tradition was the main reason for its overall collapse in ca. 400 AD.

Addendum

Figure 1

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