A Team Ten Years in the Making

Below is a listing of many of the team members who contributed to "EarthWorks." But, first, hear what a few of the contributors have to say regarding this extensive project.

• Author Roger Kennedy, director emeritus, the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Kennedy served as an "EarthWorks" advisor/narrator. He is the author of numerous books on American architecture and history, including Hidden Cities: The Discovery and Loss of Ancient North American Civilization, which deals with the earthworks.

Regarding "EarthWorks" and his involvement, Kennedy says, “While working on my book, Hidden Cities, it became clear to me that the Ohio earthworks are among the wonders of the world and of signal importance in understanding the American past… The ability to visualize these architectural and engineering achievements is the precondition to appreciating their role in the human story, and preserving them. That’s why this project is important.”

• Archaeologist Brad Lepper of the Ohio Historical Society

Lepper has researched and written extensively on Newark’s earthworks, the largest set built by the Hopewell. He provided archaeological and archival assistance to the project, including detailed, unpublished 19th century maps.

Said Lepper, “I remember when I first sat down to use "EarthWorks." I felt like I was a hawk up in the sky, swooping over the works and seeing them as the Hopewell dreamed of seeing them 2,000 years ago. I look at this effort as the most exciting development in public education in connection to the earthworks. John presents the earthworks in a way that is immediate, that is food for the imagination. Before, our tools were maps drawn in the 1800s that seem quaint to modern sensibilities. With "EarthWorks," we literally see that there’s nothing quaint about the Hopewell’s achievements. We appreciate their power. I simply couldn’t be more enthusiastic.”  

• Rick Perkins, chief ranger, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, Chillicothe, Ohio

Perkins assisted in installing a portion of "EarthWorks" in the visitor’s center there.The center’s archaeologists – Jarrod Burks and Jennifer Pederson – also contributed to "EarthWorks" in its developmental stages.

Said Perkins, “…Many of the daily life aspects of the [Hopewell] culture have never been displayed, and through this program, it gives visitors a glimpse of what life may have looked like 2,000 years ago….  Until this point, we only had drawings and words that described these Native Americans. Now, "EarthWorks" visitors can actually enter ceremonial structures for the first time.  It opens people’s eyes.”

Other team members include

• Project leader John Hancock, professor of architecture and team member at the Center for the Electronic Reconstruction of Historical and Archaeological Sites (CERHAS) at the University of Cincinnati

• Anthony Aveni, archaeoastronomer, Colgate University
• Elizabeth Bartley, CERHAS executive director, University of Cincinnati
• James Brown, professor of anthropology, Northwestern University
• David Cave, scholar of comparative and indigenous religions, U. of Cincinnati
• William Dancey, archaeologist, Ohio State University
• N’omi Greber, curator of archaeology, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
• Robert Hall, professor emeritus of anthropology, University of Illinois at Chicago
• Rebecca Hawkins, Shawnee tribe member, historic preservation officer with Algonquin Archaeological Consultants
• Katherine Jakes, Hopewell textiles expert, Ohio State University
• Jose Manoel Kozan, architect, designer and digital media artist, CERHAS, University of Cincinnati
• Judith Larson, evaluator, Cincinnati Museum Center
• Adrian Lazzazera, archaeologist
• Cathryn Long, writer and curriculum developer
• Julie Olds, Miami tribe official, Oklahoma
• Geoffrey Plank, associate professor of history, University of Cincinnati
• Linda Poolaw, former Delaware Grand Council chief, Oklahoma
• Mark Seeman, archaeologist, Kent State University
• Patti Shinn, Seneca tribe member, Oklahoma
• Dawn Spring, Choctaw tribe member and doctoral history student, University of  Cincinnati
• William Taylor, professor of architecture, Howard University
• Robert Templeman, ethnomusicologist
• Ferenc Traser, research assistant, CERHAS, University of Cincinnati

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