Copper Celt   Save
John Seip Collection
Description: This large, copper celt (ungrooved ax) is rectangular in shape. It tapers in width from the bit end to the poll end. The bit end is dulled and the poll end is squared off. There are large masses of textile adhered to the surface on one side as a result of corrosion. The corroded areas of the copper are grayish green and moderate green, while the uncorroded metal is dark reddish brown. This piece comes from Hopewell Culture. In Ohio, the Hopewell Indians (100 B.C.-A.D. 500) built burial mounds and large earthen enclosures in geometric shapes (circles, squares, and octagons) to mark the places where the people gathered periodically to participate in many social and ceremonial events. Some of these sites were quite large - the Newark Earthworks complex extends over a 4-square-mile area. The Hopewell people also maintained a large trade network extending as far as the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming, the Florida coast and Appalachians, and northern Lake Superior. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: A0957_002145
Subjects: Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1–400); Mound-builders; Copper implements, Prehistoric
Places: John Seip Collection