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Images courtesy of Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Flora and Fauna, Native Species
Recovery From Pollution
Schenley Park
Hopewell
HOPEWELL is the name given to a distinctive, widely shared cultural expression flourishing between A.D. 1 and 400 among locally rooted societies from the Kansas City area to upstate New York. Single autonomous small villages dominated cultural and political life. However, these interconnected prehistoric cultures have a common identity based upon their distinctive artifacts. Much of this artwork has been found in graves and graveside areas in and under burial mounds, and unmounded structures connected with burial rites. A hallmark of this period was far-flung trade in ritually important materials such as obsidian from western Oregon, silver from Ontario, native copper from the Kewennaw peninsula of Michigan, shark teeth, alligator teeth, and marine shells from the Gulf Coast of Florida, and sheets of mica from the Appalachians of North Carolina. Spool-shaped ornaments hammered from copper and secured in the earlobes required intricate fabrication… Other distinctive artifacts included clay figurines, meteoric iron nodules, and atlatl weights.
Hopewell also produced some of the most noteworthy earthen architecture of the Eastern Woodlands. The most distinctive stamp to earthen constructions in this era are the geometric embankments that enclose communal ritual areas. Large squares and circles often conjoined in complex but geometrically regular configurations testify to the knowledge of a simple but sophisticated mathematics that was applied to a complicated symbolism. Most mounds were dome-shaped creations of circular or oval ground plans, and some attained enormous size.
Hopewell also produced some of the most noteworthy earthen architecture of the Eastern Woodlands. The most distinctive stamp to earthen constructions in this era are the geometric embankments that enclose communal ritual areas. Large squares and circles often conjoined in complex but geometrically regular configurations testify to the knowledge of a simple but sophisticated mathematics that was applied to a complicated symbolism. Most mounds were dome-shaped creations of circular or oval ground plans, and some attained enormous size.
Adena
Adena is the name given to a diverse set of cultures that occupied the Upper Ohio Valley. The Adena cultural expression flourished between around 500 B.C. to A.D. 1.
The Grave Creek mound at Moundsville, West Virginia, is the largest known example at sixty-seven feet in height. Adena mounds took the form of pointed conicals, in contrast to the domes of the Hopewell. Adena mounds usually include remains from cremations placed under a thin blanket of soil. A distinctive Adena burial facility was a large house with a circular ground plan. Burials were placed in its floor and covered with small individual mounds. After the structure was deliberately decommissioned, the location was covered by a large mound of soil as part of a ritual practice of completion.
Adena mounds stood in isolation from domestic living areas. Presumably they served a nearby scattering of people. The population was highly dispersed in small settlements of one to two structures.
Imagery on artwork features the shamanic transformation of humans into animals—particularly birds—and back to human form. Objects made of special rocks and minerals gathered from some distance through trade have been found interred with the dead. Distinctive tubular smoking pipes testify to the offering of smoke to the spirits. All told, Adena was a manifestation of a broad regional increase in the number and kind of artifacts devoted to spiritual needs.
The Grave Creek mound at Moundsville, West Virginia, is the largest known example at sixty-seven feet in height. Adena mounds took the form of pointed conicals, in contrast to the domes of the Hopewell. Adena mounds usually include remains from cremations placed under a thin blanket of soil. A distinctive Adena burial facility was a large house with a circular ground plan. Burials were placed in its floor and covered with small individual mounds. After the structure was deliberately decommissioned, the location was covered by a large mound of soil as part of a ritual practice of completion.
Adena mounds stood in isolation from domestic living areas. Presumably they served a nearby scattering of people. The population was highly dispersed in small settlements of one to two structures.
Imagery on artwork features the shamanic transformation of humans into animals—particularly birds—and back to human form. Objects made of special rocks and minerals gathered from some distance through trade have been found interred with the dead. Distinctive tubular smoking pipes testify to the offering of smoke to the spirits. All told, Adena was a manifestation of a broad regional increase in the number and kind of artifacts devoted to spiritual needs.
Meadowcraft Rockshelter
Asian-American Pacific Islander Community
- In Oakland 7.31% of the population is Asian, North Oakland has a higher population, almost double that of South O.
- The AAPI community population-wise is the second-highest minority group, behind the black community.
- Asians are one of the fastest-growing minority groups, which fits in line with the national trend.
- Many Asians come to Oakland for work in education, medicine (like UPMC), technology, and business.
- A large part of the AAPI community comes from students/international students at colleges, like Pitt or CMU. The temporary Asian population sometimes exceeds the permanent one.
- Around Oakland, there are a significant number of Asian-owned businesses, like restaurants (Oakland Ave. between Forbes and Fifth)
- The AAPI community population-wise is the second-highest minority group, behind the black community.
- Asians are one of the fastest-growing minority groups, which fits in line with the national trend.
- Many Asians come to Oakland for work in education, medicine (like UPMC), technology, and business.
- A large part of the AAPI community comes from students/international students at colleges, like Pitt or CMU. The temporary Asian population sometimes exceeds the permanent one.
- Around Oakland, there are a significant number of Asian-owned businesses, like restaurants (Oakland Ave. between Forbes and Fifth)
Violence Against Asian-Americans
A little over a year ago, there were just 12 confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. None were in Pennsylvania.
Even so, Asian and Asian American students were facing xenophobia and racism, Marian Lien, president of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette… Classmates asked one college student to put on a mask to attend class, even though the student had not recently been to China. Another said dormmates had asked her to move to a single room, Ms. Lien said.
Following the Atlanta attack earlier this week, Pitt’s Asian Studies Center posted to its website a strong condemnation: “Because the victims are Asian, this act of violence, following on other acts in different parts of the country, produces a threat that is profoundly serious and deeply felt by our community of students, faculty and staff,” it read in part.
Joseph Alter, the center’s director, said he has not heard of any high-profile cases of harassment in Pittsburgh. But he said social media vitriol against Asians and cases of violence against Asians in other parts of the country has led to a general sense of anxiety.
Ms. Ong: “There might be this misconception that once everyone’s vaccinated, when things are back to in person… all that hate rhetoric will go away. But we know that’s not true.”
Even so, Asian and Asian American students were facing xenophobia and racism, Marian Lien, president of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette… Classmates asked one college student to put on a mask to attend class, even though the student had not recently been to China. Another said dormmates had asked her to move to a single room, Ms. Lien said.
Following the Atlanta attack earlier this week, Pitt’s Asian Studies Center posted to its website a strong condemnation: “Because the victims are Asian, this act of violence, following on other acts in different parts of the country, produces a threat that is profoundly serious and deeply felt by our community of students, faculty and staff,” it read in part.
Joseph Alter, the center’s director, said he has not heard of any high-profile cases of harassment in Pittsburgh. But he said social media vitriol against Asians and cases of violence against Asians in other parts of the country has led to a general sense of anxiety.
Ms. Ong: “There might be this misconception that once everyone’s vaccinated, when things are back to in person… all that hate rhetoric will go away. But we know that’s not true.”
