Description: Photograph showing a bufflehead duck effigy pipe recovered during the excavation of Tremper Mound, 1915. Tremper Mound is located near the confluence of the Scioto River and Pond Creek in Rush Township, Scioto County, Ohio. The mound, originally surrounded by a low, sub-rectangular embankment, is large and irregularly shaped, and early on was thought by some observers to be in the form of an animal. William C. Mills excavated the mound in 1915 and discovered that it had actually been constructed over the remains of a large wooden post structure with several side chambers, giving the mound its unusual outline. In one of these chambers Mills recovered over 500 objects diagnostic of the Hopewell Culture (100 BC - AD 400), most of which had been “killed” or purposely broken. This number included 136 smoking pipes of various styles carved from a soft stone known as pipestone. Some pipes portrayed zoomorphic (animal-like) forms that were created so exactingly that different species of the same animal can be discerned. They are considered true works of art. Many of these pipes have been restored and are presently on display at the Ohio History Center in Columbus. A similar cache of pipes was excavated from Mound 8 at Mound City in the mid-1800s but was later sold to the British Museum. Because Tremper Mound is just west of the main deposit of Ohio Pipestone, this was long thought to be the source material for the entire Tremper cache. However, recent non-destructive testing indicates that in addition to Ohio Pipestone, Catlinite from Minnesota and Sterling Pipestone from Illinois were also used. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV17_B04F05_E07_003
Subjects: Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1–400); Mounds -- Ohio -- Scioto County; Earthworks (Archaeology); Excavations (Archaeology)--Ohio; Artifacts
Places: Scioto County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph showing a wood duck effigy pipe recovered during the excavation of Tremper Mound, 1915. Tremper Mound is located near the confluence of the Scioto River and Pond Creek in Rush Township, Scioto County, Ohio. The mound, originally surrounded by a low, sub-rectangular embankment, is large and irregularly shaped, and early on was thought by some observers to be in the form of an animal. William C. Mills excavated the mound in 1915 and discovered that it had actually been constructed over the remains of a large wooden post structure with several side chambers, giving the mound its unusual outline. In one of these chambers Mills recovered over 500 objects diagnostic of the Hopewell Culture (100 BC - AD 400), most of which had been “killed” or purposely broken. This number included 136 smoking pipes of various styles carved from a soft stone known as pipestone. Some pipes portrayed zoomorphic (animal-like) forms that were created so exactingly that different species of the same animal can be discerned. They are considered true works of art. Many of these pipes have been restored and are presently on display at the Ohio History Center in Columbus. A similar cache of pipes was excavated from Mound 8 at Mound City in the mid-1800s but was later sold to the British Museum. Because Tremper Mound is just west of the main deposit of Ohio Pipestone, this was long thought to be the source material for the entire Tremper cache. However, recent non-destructive testing indicates that in addition to Ohio Pipestone, Catlinite from Minnesota and Sterling Pipestone from Illinois were also used. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV17_B04F05_E07_004
Subjects: Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1–400); Mounds -- Ohio -- Scioto County; Earthworks (Archaeology); Excavations (Archaeology)--Ohio; Artifacts
Places: Scioto County (Ohio)
 

Description: This pipe in effigy (a likeness or representation) of a wood duck was excavated from Tremper Mound, a Hopewell culture site located five miles north of Portsmouth in Scioto County. Made of dark gray stone, it shows the head of the duck only. Eyes are drilled and inset with copper. Some parts of the pipe have been restored. This pipe is part of a large collection of pipes found at Tremper Mound. The pipes were carved of Ohio pipestone, a silica-based material that can be easily carved when freshly quarried from the hills east of the Scioto River. The pipes represent a variety of animals significant to the Hopewell, including owls, wolves, deer and beaver. Skilled Hopewell craftsmen carved the pipes with flint knives and some are embellished with pearls or copper. 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: Om1357_1764606_015
Subjects: American Indians in Ohio; Plants and Animals; Arts and Entertainment; Geography and Natural Resources; Hopewell culture; Mounds (Burials); Pipes (Smoking); Ducks; Birds
Places: Rush Township (Ohio); Scioto County (Ohio)
 

Description: This pipe in effigy (a likeness or representation) of a duck was excavated from Tremper Mound, a Hopewell culture site located five miles north of Portsmouth in Scioto County. Archaeologist William C. Mills identified this as a Buffelhead duck. Made of mottled dark olive gray stone, the pipe measures approximately 1.75" x 1.5" x 3.25" (4.2 x 3.6 x 8.25 cm). Some parts of the pipe have been restored. This pipe is part of a large collection of pipes found at Tremper Mound. The pipes were carved of Ohio pipestone, a silica-based material that can be easily carved when freshly quarried from the hills east of the Scioto River. The pipes represent a variety of animals significant to the Hopewell, including owls, wolves, deer and beaver. Skilled Hopewell craftsmen carved the pipes with flint knives and some are embellished with pearls or copper. 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: Om1357_1763268_016
Subjects: American Indians in Ohio; Plants and Animals; Arts and Entertainment; Geography and Natural Resources; Hopewell culture; Mounds (Burials); Pipes (Smoking); Ducks; Birds
Places: Rush Township (Ohio); Scioto County (Ohio)