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The Hopewell Culture followed directly after the Adena culture and was a continuation of the Adena culture with some elaboration. The transition occurred roughly 2000 years ago and marked the division of the Burial Mound I phase and the Burial Mound II phase. This transition was not an abrupt one, and was probably a peaceful transition rather than a violent one. The beginnings of the culture can be traced back to central Illinois and diffused out of that area with the peak of the culture occurring roughly between 100BC to 200AD. The Hopewell culture was generally an egalitarian civilization. It is believed that because of the excessive amount of resources and area, there was no need for a stratified society or bureaucracy. The Hopewell culture was able to exert a considerable amount of influence over other cultures in the eastern North America during its high point. This is evident by the amount of exotic raw materials that can be found within the burial sites. These raw materials originated in various regions from across North America.
The main feature of the Hopewell culture is its unique pottery which is much more elaborate in structure and design than the earlier Adena pottery. Hopewell pottery also contained larger variety containers which were fired, making them much more durable. These new designs include bowls and plates. The burial mounds of the Hopewell culture are much larger and more complex than the ones that of the Adena culture. An example would be Effigy Mound in Iowa. Some of the burial complexes are as large as 100 acres and include earthen embankments that rise as high as 5 meters. The burials were much like the Adena culture. Most were cremated and were buried within a wooden temple inside the earthen structure. As with the Adena culture, there were artifacts placed within the log temple tomb that accompanied the dead. These artifacts included sheet copper, mica, various figurines, swastikas, animal claws, freshwater pearls, and occasionally some pottery goods. However, unlike the Adena mounds, the Hopewell mounds sometimes gave the impression that they were fortified. On these sites there were walls built of stone or earth that followed the top of the burial mound.
Tools of the Hopewell culture were made of highly refined flint and obsidian. These tools include various forms of projectile points, knives, and hooks. The most common projectile point of this culture is large, broad, corner or side notched, and is a slight modification of the earlier Archaic types. This type of projectile point would seem to suggest that they were using the throwing stick. The typical knife shows no sign of being used as a weapon, but rather an effective cutting tool. Also the Hopewell people made used of the axe made of stone, copper, or iron. However, the Hopewell did not practice any sort of advanced metallurgy. Instead, they relied on the same technology that was first used during the Archaic cultures.
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