Ancient earthen observatory in Ohio reveals vast astronomical knowledge of early Natives

More than 2,000 years after the Octagon Earthworks were developed, the series of earthen mounds built by early Indigenous people are finally getting their due recognition. PBS Newshour reports that archaeologists have compared this site in present-day Newark, Ohio, to Stonehenge for its precise design that tracks the moon’s 18.6 year journey across the sky. But the intricate series of mounds suffered centuries of development, including a members-only golf course that limited access for researchers.

In 2023, the World Heritage Committee rewarded more than 20 years’ effort by the Ohio History Connection by putting eight of its mounds on its list, alongside notable structures such as the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids of Giza. Earlier this year, visitors were invited to experience the Octagon Earthworks as an official World Heritage Site, an ancient astronomical observatory built by Indigenous people who lived roughly 1,500 years before Galileo.

A Native chief, Glenna Wallace of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, told PBS Newshour that when she visited the site, she could hear ancestors singing. The Eastern Shawnee are descendants of what researchers call the Hopewell people, who were driven out of Ohio with the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830.