The Hopewell airburst event, 1699-1567 years ago (252-383 CE)

Meteorites, silicious vesicular melt glass, Fe and Si-rich magnetic spherules, positive Ir and Pt 25 anomalies, and burned charcoal-rich Hopewell habitation surfaces demonstrate that a cosmic airburst event occurred over the Ohio River valley during the late Holocene. A comet-shaped earthwork was constructed near the airburst epicenter. Twenty-nine radiocarbon ages demonstrate that the event occurred between 252 and 383 CE, a time when 69 near-Earth comets were documented. While Hopewell people survived the catastrophic event, it likely contributed to their cultural decline. The Hopewell comet airburst expands our understanding of the frequency and impact of cataclysmic cosmic events on complex human societies.

Draft Genome Sequences of Three Shewanella sp. Strains Isolated from Urban Freshwaters in the Ohio River Valley, USA

Draft genome sequences of three Shewanella sp. strains are reported. The strains NKUCC01_JLK, NKUCC05_KAH, and NKUCC06_TVS were isolated from freshwater sources in the Ohio River Valley, USA. These genome sequences provide insights into Shewanella adaptation to urban freshwaters and may help to elucidate their roles in biogeochemical cycling.

First Records of Freckled Madtom (Noturus nocturnus) in Ohio, USA

Two new Ohio localities for the Freckled Madtom (Noturus nocturnus Jordan and Gilbert, 1886) were recently discovered. These are the first, and currently only, Freckled Madtom collected in Ohio waters. A single individual was collected in the Scioto River in Scioto County by the Midwest Biodiversity Institute (MBI) and a previously misidentified specimen was collected in the Ohio River at the Hannibal Locks and Dam by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO). The closest historical records are from the Little Sandy River and Big Sandy River drainages in eastern Kentucky. Other Ohio River collections have been made near the border of Kentucky and Indiana. The origins of the recent Ohio specimens are unknown; whether they emanate from other known populations or have been overlooked altogether is unclear.

Scarabaeid Pests: Subfamily Dynastinae

This chapter examines masked chafers, which belong to the large genus of North and South American beetles, the Cyclocephala, in the order Coleoptera, family Scarabaeidae, subfamily Dynastinae, tribe Cyclocephalini. Approximately a dozen of these species occur in North America, but only five species are regularly associated with turfgrass cultivation: the northern masked chafer; the southern masked chafer; Cyclocephala pasadenae (Casey); Cyclocephala hirta LeConte; and Cyclocephala parallela Casey. Masked chafer grubs are important turfgrass-infesting species, causing extensive damage to cultivated turf during late summer and early fall. They are the most injurious root-feeding pests of turfgrass throughout much of the Ohio River Valley and the midwestern United States. Adult masked chafers have blunt spatulate mandibles that are unsuited for feeding on plant tissues; as far as is known, they do not feed.

Cahokia in Context

At its height between AD 1050 and 1275, the city of Cahokia was the largest settlement of the Mississippian culture, acting as an important trade center and pilgrimage site. While the influence of Cahokian culture on the development of monumental architecture, maize-based subsistence practices, and economic complexity throughout North America is undisputed, new research in this volume reveals a landscape of influence in the regions that had and may not have had a relationship with Cahokia. Contributors find evidence for Cahokia’s hegemony—its social, cultural, ideological, and economic influence—in artifacts, burial practices, and religious iconography uncovered at far-flung sites across the Eastern Woodlands. Case studies include Kincaid in the Ohio River Valley, Schild in the Illinois River Valley, Shiloh in Tennessee, and Aztalan in Wisconsin. These essays also show how, with Cahokia’s abandonment, the diaspora continued via the Mississippi River and extended the culture’s impact southward.