Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks in Ohio was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites on Sept. 19, 2023. The eight mound complexes that received this designation are spread across central and southern Ohio and were built between the beginning of the common era and the 12th century.
The mounds are marvels of Indigenous science and astronomy, which helped Native Americans organize everything from cycles of planting and hunting to their ritual calendar.
But two of the mound complexes, Newark and Serpent Mound, which were not controlled by either the National Park Service or the Ohio History Connection, the state’s historical society and museum, were treated poorly.
