Hopewell, Middle Woodland, and the Laurel Culture: A Problem in Archeological Classification 1

Concepts of the Middle Woodland as a classificatory device are examined from the different perspectives of the greater Ohio Valley and the northern lake country between Lakes Superior and Winnipeg with the Hopewell and Laurel cultures as test cases. The predominant role of the former in archeological thinking is seen as providing an unbalanced picture. Four different uses of the term Middle Woodland (formal taxon, cultural tradidition, archeological period, and cultural stage) are explored as they relate particularly to the classification of the Laurel culture. Problems of loose, inadequate, or even inappropriate definitions suggest that archeologists are not quite in the close agreement that use of common classificatory terms might otherwise indicate. A few modest suggestions are made to provide more explicit criteria for classification.