What Was Life Like 2000 Years Ago In North America?

Stretching across the horizon, the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks stand as monumental reminders of a world that thrived 2,000 years ago in North America. What was life like around them?

Today, archaeologists and Native descendants are working to uncover the human stories behind these designs—stories of ingenuity, community, and deep ties to the land.

Logan York, a citizen of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, travels to Seip Earthworks in Chillicothe, Ohio, to seek answers through conversations with archaeologist Timothy Everhart, PhD, and interviews with Native voices and scholars.

The earthworks still endure, and while we don’t know everything about how they lived, every connection brings us closer to the people who shaped this land—and whose descendants keep their story alive today.

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Watch the first episode of the series Who Were The Ancestral Builders You Were Never Taught About?    • Who Were The Ancestral Builders You Were N...  

Watch every episode of Hopewell Earthworks: Stories Written in the Land through the series playlist at    • Hopewell Earthworks - Stories Written On T...  .

Hopewell Earthworks: Stories Written on The Land is funded in part by the America 250-Ohio Commission. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program and website do not necessarily represent those of the America 250-Ohio Commission.

Photos:
Arturo Garcia
Ben Barnes
Brad Lepper
Bret Ruby
Joshua Garcia
Library of Congress
Miami Tribe of Oklahoma
National Park Services
Ohio History Connection
The New York Times
Tim Everhart
Wyandotte Nation

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION (P13206)

Special Thanks:
National Park Service
Newark Earthworks Center
Ohio History Connection