Ancient Skies, Ancient Wisdom

Indigenous architecture from Ohio to the Four Corners region continues to awe researchers, revealing just how deeply these ancient cultures understood the rhythms of the cosmos.

by Kim Kobersmith
February 20, 2026



Chimney Rock is known for its lunar alignments. (Photo courtesy of Chimney Rock Interpretive Association)


At first blush, the structures in New Mexico built by the Chacoan people and those in Ohio traced to the Hopewell culture bear little resemblance. The Chacoans, accommodating the arid desert of their home, constructed stone communal dwellings with apartments and kivas, or round gathering rooms. The Hopewellians, in their fertile midwestern fields, formed massive geometric earthworks for ceremonial or burial purposes.

But when looked at from the perspective of the sky and the cycles of the heavenly bodies, the two are more similar than they first appear. Both show a sophisticated understanding of the cosmos and a desire to acknowledge and honor its natural rhythms. And both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites because of the ancient wisdom encoded into their architecture.

Sacred Ground
Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks encompasses eight locations across southern and central Ohio on state lands and within Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, based in Ross County, Ohio. Constructed between 100 B.C.E. and 400 C.E., the broadly scattered earthworks incorporate corresponding mathematics in features across different sites. An octagon at High Bank Works is a smaller version of the Great Octagon near Newark, Ohio, about 40 miles to the east of Columbus. A circle with the diameter of 1,054 feet repeats again and again, indicating the builders had a systematic unit of measurement. Archeologists surmise the circles were laid out with a central pole and ropes similar to a compass in geometry.

“What’s so remarkable is the same people who had this sophisticated understanding of geometry and astronomy used rather simple technology, such as clam shell hoes and baskets, to build this incredible monumental architecture,” said Brad Lepper, senior archeologist with Ohio History Connection.

More:
https://dailyyonder.com/ancient-skies-ancient-wisdom/2026/02/20/