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. 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. 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.
Background: Moonrise Over the Newark Ohio Earthworks