Ancient Ohio Earthworks
- Jul 25, 2025
- 1 min read
Updated: Aug 7, 2025
I have been a senior GIS analyst for Santa Cruz County, Arizona, for 10 years. I have a good job, but I've been wanting to expand my GIS experience. A trip to Ohio three years ago and my discovery of the amazing geometric earthworks there. Built by a Native American culture 2 thousand years ago, one in Newark, Ohio, is one of the largest in the world, covering over 4 square miles. This and others have been nominated as World Heritage Sites. This trip got me interested in what is called computational archaeology, in which GIS is just one important part. But I knew little about archaeology or these earthworks, so I embarked on a two-year study of this culture and archaeology in general. I have been writing articles about science for quite some time, so my current interests have led to a series of 11 articles over the past two years. I am influenced by the work of the archaeologist Megan Howey, who has done theoretical work in GIS and brilliant work in Michigan. I don't claim to know much, perhaps enough to get me in trouble, but I'm now ready to use this information for various GIS-related research projects. These I will publish as I go along.
Bill Beaver
My site - https://wjbeaver.wixsite.com/mysite
I might have dropped a line to you on the Facebook page "Adena Core." I accidentally found your blogs and have been combing through them for several months. I also have a strong interest in the Adena / Hopewell, with recent obsessions about the Piketon Graded Ways and your search for the Big Bottom works. As a Chillicothe and Ross County native and resident, I'd like to help you with your analyses. Check out my posts on my Intrepid Heritage Services Facebook page (my nom de plume as a local prehistorian and tour guide). As for the Big Bottom works, I think the sharp bend in the canal here, near the Pike County town of Omega, better matches Whittlesey's map...thou…