Radiocarbon study contracts Ohio Hopewell timeline from 700 to 250 years

September 10, 2026DatingNew Research

Source: New Radiocarbon Dates: Hopewell's Earthworks Were Built in 250 Years With Geometry and Astronomy by The Randall Carlson

Site mentioned

📍 Hopewell Mound Group

Using a 425-date radiocarbon dataset, Mark F. Seeman and Kevin C. Nolan redated six major Ohio Hopewell sites. Their revised chronology places construction within roughly 250 years, down from the conventional 700, with a peak in visual and constructional arts around 2,000 years ago.

Key facts

A 2023 paper in American Antiquity by Mark F. Seeman (Kent State University) and Kevin C. Nolan (Ball State University) re-dated six major Hopewell earthwork sites in Ohio.
The paper reports a comprehensive dataset of 425 radiocarbon dates, with contextual screening and strict chronometric-hygiene criteria used to assess reliability and reject compromised results.
The six sites analyzed were the Hopewell Mound Group, Liberty, Mound City, Seip, Tremper, and Turner.
The revised chronology narrowed the major Hopewell construction span from approximately 700 years to about 250 years.
The peak of Hopewell construction activity occurred approximately 2,000 years ago.
The authors interpret Hopewell as an early American Indian socio-religious movement with distinct shrine or cultic centers.

Sources

Kevin C. Nolan, Ph.D.: "The "when" of Ohio Hopewell is…" - Mastodonmastodon.online

Ohio #Hopewell is an archaeological concept that is known worldwide but that suffers from “a disarray of radiocarbon results”. Here, we ...

Adena-Hopewell Astronomy and Landscape Archaeologythearchcons.org

He draws together basic site data as well as the most recent research by himself and others to posit new interpretations of the Adena and Hopewell cultures.

[PDF] New Dates on Scioto Hopewell Sites: A SCHoN Projectohioarchaeology.org

As part of a larger project, Scale and Community in Hopewell Networks (SCHoN), we submitted a series of 19 dates from seven Scioto Valley Hopewell sites.

Hopewell Culture NHP: Administrative History (Chapter 1)npshistory.com

[2] The Hopewell perfected the use of copper to make intricate handicrafts, and are credited with achieving the highest level of Indian artisan ...

A Post from our Ohio Neighbors - 30 Days of Kentucky Archaeology30daysofkentuckyarchaeology.wordpress.com

Seeman and Nolan's analysis suggests that, at least for the six sites included in their model, the Hopewell culture emerged at around AD 125; ...

Building the Ohio Hopewell Chronology: An Incremental ...researchgate.net

Here, we establish a comprehensive dataset of 425 14C dates from Ohio Hopewell sites. Seeman, Mark F. 1988. Nolan. 2023. Building the Ohio Hopewell Chronology: ...

Building the Ohio Hopewell Chronologycambridge.org

by MF Seeman · 2023 · Cited by 9 — Nineteen new AMS dates from Ohio Hopewell contexts were submitted under NSF grant (BCS1419225, PIs: M. Hill, K. Nolan, and M. Seeman) for the SCHoN project.

Ancient Crossroads of the American Midwest - Ohio Hopewellhopewell.unl.edu

Hopewell Mound Group and their excavations in 1891 and 1892 produced. Hopewell collection was initially recognized in 1985. This manuscript was well underway ...

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