UC s EarthWorks Exhibit Now on Permanent Display at Ohio History Center

Native American cultures that once flourished in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia constructed geometric and animal-shaped earth works that often rivaled and sometimes exceeded Stonehenge in their astronomical accuracy.

A few are still extant – Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio, for example – but most of the region’s ancient architecture was all but squandered. Earthworks, from as early as 600 BC that stretched over miles and rose to heights of more than 70 feet, were either gouged out or plowed under in the 19th century or paved over for development in the 20th.

To tell the story of that lost heritage from the Adena, Hopewell and Fort Ancient cultures, the University of Cincinnati designed a traveling exhibit that included virtual reconstructions of earthworks from 39 sites. The electronic recreations and diverse interpretations in the exhibit, titled “

EarthWorks: Virtual Explorations of the Ancient Ohio Valley

,” required nearly ten years of work by an extensive team of architects, archaeologists, historians, technical experts and Native Americans to complete. The effort was funded by over $400,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

But once they were complete, the exhibit traveled the nation starting in 2004. And now, the UC exhibit is on permanent display at the Ohio Historical Society museum, the

Ohio History Center

, in Columbus, Ohio, as part of the permanent display titled “

Following in Ancient Footsteps

.”

UC’s “EarthWorks” project was directed by John Hancock, professor of architecture in UC’s

nationally ranked

College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP), in partnership with UC’s Center for the Electronic Reconstruction of Historical and Archaeological Sites (

CERHAS

). And architecture and interior design students at the university helped to design the configuration and elements of “EarthWorks,” which was then constructed by the Cincinnati Museum Center.

“EarthWorks” not only features digitally animated tours of the ancient earthworks but  also includes a graphic timeline wall with cross cultural comparisons; a giant map wall of the Ohio River Valley (from the approximate location of Pittsburgh to Louisville) indicating placement of Native American earthworks; panels with diagrams, photos and text; 3-D topographic models of five earthwork sites and virtual-reality models of many of the artifacts from these brilliant Ancient Ohio cultures.

According to UC’s Hancock, “The best part about having the exhibit on permanent display is that it will continue to be available to the public. About ten years’ of work by a large, complex team went into creating ‘EarthWorks,’ so it’s especially satisfying to have the project find a permanent open after its national tour.”

Hancock is now working on a related project to help tourists get the most out of their visits to Ohio’s surviving ancient sites (also funded by the NEH) called “

The Ancient Ohio Trail

,” as well as serving on an Ohio committee seeking to obtain a World Heritage designation from UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) for the state’s Native American earthworks.

“We are working on all the required components to seek such a designation,” said Hancock. “First,” he explained, “The National Park Service’s Office of International Affairs already has us on their official “US Tentative List” but must still decide when we are ready to submit to UNESCO. It’s quite a long, complex process. Not unlike the original creation of our ‘EarthWorks’ virtual recreations and exhibit.”

• See more on UC’s EarthWorks project.

• Learn more about Ohio’s spectacular ancient sites and how to visit them by checking out the travel-related resources at  www.ancientohiotrail.org.

• Find out more about visiting UC’s “EarthWorks: Virtual Explorations of the Ancient Ohio Valley” at the Ohio History Center, including center hours, location, cost for admission.