V.

Hopewell Culture

The Hopewell tradition, which flourished from about 200 bc to 400 ad, possessed many of the same cultural traits as the Adena culture, but on a grander scale. Compared to the Adena culture, Hopewell peoples had more abundant and larger earthworks. Burial mounds were up to 12 m (40 ft) high, and Hopewell peoples built large earthen walls to outline geometric shapes, including circles, squares, octagons, and parallel lines. Hopewell culture had richer burials, increased ceremonialism, greater refinement of art, more highly developed agriculture, larger villages, and a more organized society than the Adena tradition. Hopewell villages were distributed over a wider geographical area as well, along river valleys throughout the Midwest and East. The types of raw materials found at Hopewell sites indicate a wide-ranging trade network in regions where no Hopewell sites have been located, such as the eastern seaboard and the Rocky Mountains.