Virtual World Heritage Ohio

FAIN: HAA-269032-20

Ball State University (Muncie, IN 47306-1022)
Kevin C. Nolan (Project Director: June 2019 to March 2024)
John Fillwalk (Co Project Director: October 2019 to March 2024)

The development and testing of a prototype of an interactive three-dimensional simulation of the Newark Earthworks, one of Ohio’s Hopewell ceremonial centers.

People the world over build monuments to connect land and sky, structuring human experience of the cosmic through their creations. When built of earth, these monuments degrade in ways that obscure the intended earth-sky connection and meaning ascribed to it. We overcome some of these challenges by employing recent digital technologies to virtually reconstruct one of the most significant earthworks built by the American Indian people of the Hopewell Culture. With a Level II grant, Virtual World Heritage Ohio develops a full digital model and virtual exploration prototype of the Octagon Earthworks--a Hopewell culture site on the U.S. Tentative List for World Heritage. The publicly accessible prototype builds upon the existing CERHAS reconstructions, expanding avenues for humanities scholarship while broadening public understanding of and appreciation for these significant American Indian monuments.

Associated Products

VWHO Newark Consensus Map (Web Resource)
Title: VWHO Newark Consensus Map
Author: Nolan, Kevin C.
Author: Moore, Jade
Author: Fillwalk, John
Author: Lepper, Bradley T.
Author: Aultman, Jennifer
Author: Federer, Meghan
Author: Zehr, Neil
Author: Morris, Christine Ballengee
Author: Barnes, Brett
Author: Chaatsmith, Marti L.
Author: Connolly, James
Abstract: Web application sharing the consensus model of the Newark Earthworks site based upon all sources and expert knowledge.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://arcg.is/1H9n00
Primary URL Description: Link to the application.

VWHO Newark Earthworks All Maps (Web Resource)
Title: VWHO Newark Earthworks All Maps
Author: Nolan, Kevin C.
Author: Moore, Jade
Author: Fillwalk, John
Author: Lepper, Bradley T.
Author: Aultman, Jennifer
Author: Federer, Meghan
Author: Zehr, Neil
Author: Morris, Christine Ballengee
Author: Barnes, Brett
Author: Chaatsmith, Marti L.
Author: Connolly, James J.
Abstract: An ArcGIS Online Application containing the derived shapefiles for all digitized maps and resources. This allows the user to explore the errors in the various maps in comparison to each other and in comparison to the VWHO consensus map of the earthworks.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://arcg.is/i98n0
Primary URL Description: Link to application

Newark Earthworks (Web Resource)
Title: Newark Earthworks
Author: Jennifer Aultman
Author: Trevor Danehy
Author: Meghan Federer
Author: John Fillwalk
Author: Ina-Marie Johnston
Author: Adam Kobitz
Author: Bradley Lepper
Author: Kevin Nolan
Author: David Rodgiguez
Author: Neil Zehr
Author: Jade Moore
Author: Tusher Mohanta
Author: Ashra Wickramathilaka
Abstract: Digitized for Virtual World Heritage Ohio. Funded through grant number HAA-269032-20 and named National Endowment for the Humanities: Digital Humanities Advancement Grant (NEH DHAG). Contributors for this project include Jennifer Aultman, Trevor Danehy, Meghan Federer, John Fillwalk, Ina-Marie Johnstron, Adam Kobitz, Bradley Lepper, Kevin Nolan, David Rodgiguez, Neil Zehr, Jade Moore, Tusher Mohanta and, Ashra Wickramathilaka. The goal of this project is to create three platforms for experiencing the Newark Earthworks in Ohio. Ball State University’s (BSU) Applied Anthropology Laboratories (AAL) and the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA lab), in partnership with BSU’s Digital Scholarship Lab, the Ohio History Connection (OHC), and The Works: Ohio Center for History, Art & Technology (The Works) began using ArcGIS to develop the three deliverables outlined in the initial proposal on 6/19/2019. With state-of-the-art celestial modeling and flexible, discoverable virtual ecosystems, Virtual World Heritage Ohio is a compelling model for facilitating virtual humanities scholarship and virtual public access to the Newark Earthworks.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://arcg.is/0LKuf
Primary URL Description: ArcGIS Online Application

Newark Earthworks and Virtual World Heritage Ohio: Introduction to a Prototype, Multi-audience Virtual World Experience (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Newark Earthworks and Virtual World Heritage Ohio: Introduction to a Prototype, Multi-audience Virtual World Experience
Abstract: The Hopewell (ca. 1 to 400 CE) monumental earthworks were expressions of a brilliant florescence of art, architecture, ceremony, and interregional interaction unparalleled in contemporary North America. “Hopewell” societies participated in a sophisticated interaction sphere that likely involved a mixture of gift-giving, pilgrimage offerings, extraordinary journeys by individuals and small groups, and trade. These places of aggregation, celebration, and renewal are now severed from these functions. It is no longer possible to experience and investigate the original forms of these monuments. The barriers of time and space limit various audiences (e.g., tribal citizens, K-12 schools, researchers) from being able to interact with and learn from these earthworks. New digital technologies provide opportunities to overcome these challenges through virtual Hopewellian built environments. The Newark Earthworks, the preeminent example of Hopewellian geometric earthworks, consists of four large enclosures connected by avenues of parallel walls enveloping more than 3.9 mi2. The complex inscribes intricate knowledge of the celestial ecosystem into the site geometry. Precisely inscribing these alignments on the ground, required extensive planning and exquisite knowledge of the sky’s various cycles. The Applied Anthropology Laboratories and the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts, in partnership with the Ohio History Connection, The Works: Ohio Center for History, Art & Technology, and a project Advisory Board, with a Level II Digital Humanities Advancement Grant (HAA-269032-20), develop an interactive 3D simulation to advance scholarship on, and public engagement with the Newark Earthworks, specifically, and Ohio’s Hopewell ceremonial centers, generally. We present an introductory overview of Virtual World Heritage Ohio and a discussion of our progress to-date.
Author: Kevin C. Nolan
Author: John Fillwalk
Author: Brad Lepper
Author: Jennifer Aultman
Author: Meghan Federer
Author: Neil Zehr
Author: Jade Moore
Author: Christine Ballengee Morris
Author: Brett Barnes
Author: Marti L. Chaatsmith
Author: James J. Connolly
Date: 5/7/2021
Location: Virtual
Primary URL: https://youtu.be/mZ8yjaxByd0?t=8202
Primary URL Description: YouTube recording of the live streamed presentations.

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