Stop with the Earthworks dogmatism

That Indians used to hang out at Moundbuilder's Country Club is pretty certain. But who built them and why is still unproven. It's past time to admit our ignorance.

Nevertheless, from reading about the Newark Earthworks in the Advocate, one is led to assume that one theory has been established as fact. From a recent article ...

The structure -- the Octagon Earthworks -- built by the Hopewell Indians about 2,000 years ago, will align with the rising moon Monday night.

"The moon rises in a different place on the horizon every night, and it follows an 18.6-year cycle," said Dick Shiels, director of the Newark Earthworks Center. "It turns out that the Octagon Mound in our town is built to align with the movements of the moon."

The simple fact is that nobody knows why the mounds were built or by whom. That the notches therein (almost) align with the rising moon once every 18 years does not prove the Moundbuilders were that accomplished in astronomy or that they were in any way equipped to, or interested in, moving so much dirt just so they could gather once each 18 years to see the moon rise between two little hills. This theory should be doubted for no other reason than this: It would be far easier just to build the notch without all this other geometric clap trap.

My admiration for this vast world treasure is not diminished in the least by these doubts about its purpose or origin. But it's way past time when we should stop blindly following the currently prevalent Earthworks dogmatism that implies we know these answers.

A few years ago I posted at The Newark Ohio Tea Party a set of three articles which talk about these doubts and also the status of the Earthworks. You are invited to go read them.