Ancient Ohioans and their Earthworks Legacy Lecture and Bus Tour

The Ancient Ohioans and their Earthworks Legacy Lecture and Bus Tour is an eye-opening series of events highlighting the cultures, lost architectures, and landscape architecture of the Ancient Ohioans who built Ohio’s unique earthworks, effigy mounds, and Pre-Columbian settlements.

Date and time: October 24, 2010, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. for lecture and tour.

Fees: Lecture is FREE. Tour: $65 regular, $55 children and students with valid ID. Includes box lunch and drinks. Reserve with Cincinnati Museum Center (513) 287-7021

Location: Reakirt Auditorium, Cincinnati Museum Center: 9 a.m. – 11 a. m.

Tour: Round trip from Museum Center at Union Terminal to Sunwatch Village, Dayton, and Ft. Ancient, Warren County. 11:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Speakers:
Gary Meisner, FASLA, moderator, Architecture Foundation of Cincinnati, trustee
Brad Lepper, archaeologist / The Ohio Historical Society
Kevin Pape, archaeologist / Gray & Pape Cultural Resource Consultants
Bob Genheimer, archaeologist / The Cincinnati Museum Center
John Hancock, architect / Professor, University of Cincinnati, DAAP, and co-director, The Ancient Ohio Trail.

The presentations, which incorporate the latest research, will include:
An overview of the most significant pre-historical sites in Ohio.
A discussion of the interrelationship of ancient and modern Native American cultures.
An overview of modern archaeological exploration tools and technology.
3D re-creations of key remaining sites and several "lost sites."
Several sites have documented partial solar and lunar calendars. There will be on-site discussion of archaeoastronomical connections to the cycles of Earth, Moon, and Sun.

Several Ohio Earthworks sites are being considered for UNESCO designation as "World Heritage Sites." An overview of this significant process will be presented. Very few sites in the United States have received this designation.

The tour immediately following the lecture features educational presentations, including site-specific videos moderated by the speakers. This will enhance visitor appreciation of these unique and subtle landscapes.

Sponsored by:
Architecture Foundation of Cincinnati
Cincinnati Museum Center
The Ohio Historical Society
Sunwatch Village
The Ancient Ohio Trail Initiative

AUTUMN EQUINOX EVENT AT THE GREAT CIRCLE, NEWARK

The public is invited to attend an Equinox Extragavanza at the Great Circle Earthworks from 5 – 8 p.m. on Tuesday, September 21. The event will include the unveiling of a sculpture by carver Bill Shippen, a Native American ceremony, free food, and tours of the Great Circle, Native American Heritage Garden, and the Great Circle Museum. There also will be craft opportunities and throwing of the atlatl.

Shippen carved the sculpture of an American Indian man wearing a bearskin from a fallen Maple tree near the Great Circle. Mark Welsh and others of the Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio (NAICCO) will lead the Native American ceremony. The Native American Heritage Garden was created by 5th graders from Miller Elementary School in 2009.

The equinox occurs in the spring and the fall each year; in the fall, both day and the night last the same amount of time, because the sun is shining directly on the equator and sets directly in the west.

“This is a time of year when we think about balance in our lives, because of the balance between light and dark,” said Carol Welsh, director of NAICCO. “It is also harvest time, so we’re thankful for the blessings in our lives.”

Students, faculty and staff of The Ohio State University at Newark plan to attend the event, which will follow Convocation, taking place earlier that day with Chief Glenna Wallace of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma as speaker. Chief Wallace is the first woman in Tribal history to be elected to her position. Convocation takes place on campus at 11 a.m.

Parking is limited at the Great Circle, which is located at 455 Hebron Road, state Route 79, Heath, Ohio, 43056. Parties interested in utilizing campus transportation to the site should contact Holly Mason, assistant director of student life, at 740.366-9172 or hmason@cotc.edu.

The Ohio Historical Society Celebrates Ohio Archaeology Month

Enjoy an evening of free presentations about recent discoveries in Ohio archaeology on Thursday, October 7 in Classroom 1 at the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus.

7:00pm: Dr. Robert Riordan, Wright State University: The Moorehead Circle at Fort Ancient: preliminary results of the 2010 Wright State University Field School Excavations. What are the latest discoveries at the highly complex Moorehead Circle, a Hopewell ceremonial feature at the Fort Ancient Earthworks? Could these discoveries change the way we look at prehistoric architecture?

7:30pm Christine Keller, Ball State University: Glacial Kame Sandal Sole Shell Gorgets: An Exploration of Manufacture, Use, Distribution and Public Exhibition. The sandal sole shell gorget is one of the diagnostic artifacts of the Late Archaic Glacial Kame culture. This presentation focuses on recent research on sandal sole shell gorgets. What were the results of the research? Come and find out!

8:00pm Dr. Jarrod Burks, Ohio Valley Archaeology, Inc.: Excavations at the Rankin House State Memorial. In 2010 OVAI was contracted by OHS to conduct archaeological investigations in the lawn of this historic abolitionist residence. What they found was quite interesting indeed!

8:30pm Dr. Annette G. Ericksen, Hocking College: Results of the 2010 Fieldwork at Pickawillany, Miami County, Ohio. Pickawillany, a 1750's Miami Indian village and English trading post is the location of the first historically recorded conflict in what would become Ohio. What did the Hocking College students discover this year?

In addition to the talks, participants can try their hand at identifying artifacts from the Society collections at the "Whatz’it?" table.

Come join us in the celebration!

For additional information please contact Linda Pansing, Assistant Curator or Archaeology at lpansing@ohiohistory.org or 614-298-2061.

Ohio Archaeology Month is an annual event coordinated by the Ohio Archaeological Council. The mission is to promote awareness of Ohio’s cultural heritage as revealed through nearly 200 years of archaeological research. A series of statewide educational events designed to highlight archaeological research throughout Ohio are planned. Detailed information on each event can be found on the Ohio Archaeological Council’s website http://www.ohioarchaeology.org/.

Otto inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame

On Thursday August 26, 2010 eleven Ohio women were inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame. One of them was our very own Martha Potter Otto, seen here accepting her award from First Lady Frances Strickland.

The following is her acceptance speech for those who were unable to attend.

"Probably the most exciting aspect of my 40+ years in archaeology at the Ohio Historical Society is the nearly constant change. New discoveries, new theories, new technologies continually give us addition insights into the lives and accomplishments of people who lived here hundreds and even thousands of years ago, as well as new ways of communicating those discoveries to wider and wider audiences.

I have also been heartened by the growing number of women who are entering my profession and are establishing successful careers in universities, museums, and cultural resource management. The thought that my own career has possibly served as a role model for some of these women is both gratifying and humbling.

To my colleagues in the profession and at the Ohio Historical Society, thank you for your dedication and enthusiasm.

To my family, and especially to my husband, Frank, thank you for your love and support.

To the Governor’s Office for Women’s Initiatives and Outreach, thank you for this great honor."

The award ceremony can be seen in its entirety at http://www.ohiochannel.org/multimedia/media.cfm?file_id=126769