ABSTRACT
Between approximately AD 1 and AD 400, the Scioto Valley of central Ohio was the core of a major American Indian phenomena known as Ohio Hopewell. The communities that made up this phenomenon constructed elaborate mounded landscapes, participated in continental social networks that brought exotic materials from the Great Lakes, the Gulf Coast, the Appalachians, and the Rocky Mountains to the Ohio Valley. Scales of participation range from the household level, to regional scales, and broader scales that combine these diverse societies into an amorphous ‘Hopewell’. To begin to understand what these social interactions look like at various scales, we must engage explicit methods of analysis, such as social network analysis (SNA). The first step towards interpreting the nature of these relations is a robust understanding of the flow of material. We use SNA to examine the structure and distribution of the multi-scalar lithic material patterns that are the objectification of the underlying relations that unite and define these communities. We reveal an interaction structure built from the household level upwards, not centered, or dependent upon the large earthwork complexes. This requires a re-evaluation of the nature of ‘Hopewell’ in the Scioto Valley and beyond.
