Description: Canine bear teeth with pearl inlays from the Ohio Hopewell culture, 100 BC-500 AD. Excavated from Burial 35, Mound 25, Hopewell Group, Ross County, ca. 1922-1925. The object is held in the Ohio History Connection Archaeology Collection. The Hopewell Mound Group, the type site for the Hopewell Culture, is located along the North Fork of Paint Creek in Union Township, Ross County, Ohio. When first surveyed in the mid-1800s the mound and earthwork complex, once referred to as the Clark Works, contained at least 38 mounds of various sizes within a 111-acre, somewhat “D”-shaped walled enclosure. An attached segmented square enclosed an additional 18 acres. The most notable mound in the group is referred to as Mound 25, a three-part conjoined mound that once measured 35 feet high by 500 feet long and 180 feet wide at the base. It was this mound more than any other that was the source of many of the iconic artifacts that defined the Hopewell Culture (100 BC-AD 400). The Hopewell Mound Group was extensively investigated in the early 1890s by Warren Moorehead to collect material for the 1892 World’s Columbian Exposition. This material is now housed in the Chicago Field Museum. In the 1920s Henry Shetrone of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection) also did extensive field work there, assembling an impressive collection of materials for the museum. Today the Hopewell Mound Group and several other related Ross County earthwork complexes are overseen by the National Park Service as the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. The Hopewell Mound Group is one of seven Ohio Hopewell Ceremonial Earthwork sites presently under consideration by the United States Department of the Interior for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00260
Subjects: Ross County (Ohio); Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; Archaeology--United States--History; Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); Artifacts
Places: Ross County (Ohio)
 

Description: Eagle effigy boatstone, constructed of pipestone and river pearl, from the Ohio Hopewell culture, Middle Woodland period, 200 BC-400 AD. Excavated from the Hopewell Group, Ross County, ca. 1922-1925. The object is held in the Ohio History Connection Archaeology Collection. The Hopewell Mound Group, the type site for the Hopewell Culture, is located along the North Fork of Paint Creek in Union Township, Ross County, Ohio. When first surveyed in the mid-1800s the mound and earthwork complex, once referred to as the Clark Works, contained at least 38 mounds of various sizes within a 111-acre, somewhat “D”-shaped walled enclosure. An attached segmented square enclosed an additional 18 acres. The most notable mound in the group is referred to as Mound 25, a three-part conjoined mound that once measured 35 feet high by 500 feet long and 180 feet wide at the base. It was this mound more than any other that was the source of many of the iconic artifacts that defined the Hopewell Culture (100 BC-AD 400). The Hopewell Mound Group was extensively investigated in the early 1890s by Warren Moorehead to collect material for the 1892 World’s Columbian Exposition. This material is now housed in the Chicago Field Museum. In the 1920s Henry Shetrone of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection) also did extensive field work there, assembling an impressive collection of materials for the museum. Today the Hopewell Mound Group and several other related Ross County earthwork complexes are overseen by the National Park Service as the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. The Hopewell Mound Group is one of seven Ohio Hopewell Ceremonial Earthwork sites presently under consideration by the United States Department of the Interior for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00262
Subjects: Ross County (Ohio); Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; Archaeology--United States--History; Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); Artifacts
Places: Ross County (Ohio)
 

Description: Head and breast plates made of copper by the Ohio Hopewell group, 100 BC-500 AD. Excavated from the Hopewell Mound Group in Ross County, 1925. These objects are held in the Ohio History Connection Archaeology Collection. The Hopewell Mound Group, the type site for the Hopewell Culture, is located along the North Fork of Paint Creek in Union Township, Ross County, Ohio. When first surveyed in the mid-1800s the mound and earthwork complex, once referred to as the Clark Works, contained at least 38 mounds of various sizes within a 111-acre, somewhat “D”-shaped walled enclosure. An attached segmented square enclosed an additional 18 acres. The most notable mound in the group is referred to as Mound 25, a three-part conjoined mound that once measured 35 feet high by 500 feet long and 180 feet wide at the base. It was this mound more than any other that was the source of many of the iconic artifacts that defined the Hopewell Culture (100 BC-AD 400). The Hopewell Mound Group was extensively investigated in the early 1890s by Warren Moorehead to collect material for the 1892 World’s Columbian Exposition. This material is now housed in the Chicago Field Museum. In the 1920s Henry Shetrone of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection) also did extensive field work there, assembling an impressive collection of materials for the museum. Today the Hopewell Mound Group and several other related Ross County earthwork complexes are overseen by the National Park Service as the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. The Hopewell Mound Group is one of seven Ohio Hopewell Ceremonial Earthwork sites presently under consideration by the United States Department of the Interior for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00272
Subjects: Ross County (Ohio); Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; American Indians--Archaeology; Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); Artifacts
Places: Ross County (Ohio)
 

Description: Headless human figures made of mica by the Ohio Hopewell culture, 100 BC-500 AD. Excavated from Burial # 34 at Hopewell Mound # 25 in Ross County, Ohio, ca. 1922-1925. It is known that the Hopewell obtained mica from western North Carolina, but archeologists are not certain how they used mica cut outs. These objects are held in the Ohio History Connection Archaeology Collection. The Hopewell Mound Group, the type site for the Hopewell Culture, is located along the North Fork of Paint Creek in Union Township, Ross County, Ohio. When first surveyed in the mid-1800s the mound and earthwork complex, once referred to as the Clark Works, contained at least 38 mounds of various sizes within a 111-acre, somewhat “D”-shaped walled enclosure. An attached segmented square enclosed an additional 18 acres. The most notable mound in the group is referred to as Mound 25, a three-part conjoined mound that once measured 35 feet high by 500 feet long and 180 feet wide at the base. It was this mound more than any other that was the source of many of the iconic artifacts that defined the Hopewell Culture (100 BC-AD 400). The Hopewell Mound Group was extensively investigated in the early 1890s by Warren Moorehead to collect material for the 1892 World’s Columbian Exposition. This material is now housed in the Chicago Field Museum. In the 1920s Henry Shetrone of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection) also did extensive field work there, assembling an impressive collection of materials for the museum. Today the Hopewell Mound Group and several other related Ross County earthwork complexes are overseen by the National Park Service as the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. The Hopewell Mound Group is one of seven Ohio Hopewell Ceremonial Earthwork sites presently under consideration by the United States Department of the Interior for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00278
Subjects: Ross County (Ohio); Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; American Indians--Archaeology; Archaeology--United States--History; Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400)
Places: Ross County (Ohio)
 

Description: Human head sculpture made of clay by the Ohio Hopewell culture, 100 BC-500 AD. This small clay effigy of a human head (89.8 mm x 75.6 mm) is mottled dark reddish-gray, light reddish-brown, black and dark reddish-brown. The eyes are oval and eye sockets are formed by deeply incised lines. Distinct eyebrow ridges with some incised lines indicate eyebrows above the right eye. Nose has two indentations denoting nostrils. The mouth is slightly open and a ridge denotes the lower lip. There are projections on either side for ears, well-shaped with ear and ear lobes. Behind the left ear, running from the base to the forehead, is a gash that measures 76.6 mm in length. Behind the right ear, there is a gash running from the top of skull to the base that measures 74 mm in length. Base is flat where the neck would begin. There is a 19.7 mm hole in the base, roughly circular in shape, that extends into the head. There is also a hole that is 3 mm in diameter. The back of the head is somewhat flattened. On the top are two holes, roughly 6.3 mm in diameter, that extend into the head. Gash across the forehead measures 41.7 mm in length. This item has been extensively restored, and is held in the Ohio History Connection Archaeology Collection. It was recovered during the excavation of Seip Mound No. 1 in 1927. Seip Mound, sometimes referred to as the Seip-Pricer Mound, is located in Paxton Township, Ross County, Ohio. It was constructed between 100 BC and AD 400 by people of the Hopewell Culture and situated at the center of Seip Earthworks, an extensive earthwork complex occupying more than 150 acres along Paint Creek in southwest Ross County. There was also a large three-part burial mound associated with the earthworks later referred to as the Seip Conjoined Mound to avoid confusion. When first surveyed, Seip Mound measured 240’ x 130’ x 30’ and counted as one of the four or five largest Hopewell burial mounds ever built. Between 1925 and 1928 Henry Shetrone of the Ohio History Connection conducted excavations at Seip Mound, recovering over 100 burials and numerous funerary and other objects made of exotic materials. Shetrone also recovered series of “Great Pipes” that were uncharacteristic of Hopewell themes and designs and likely of southern origin. This strongly suggests at least cultural ties to contemporary groups below the Ohio River. During the 1970s investigations within the earthworks uncovered possible workshop and domestic locations indicating that overall the site was much more complex than first imagined. Originally a property of the Ohio History Connection, both Seip Mound and the associated earthworks are presently overseen by the National Park Service as part of the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. It is also one of seven Ohio Hopewell Ceremonial Earthwork sites presently under consideration for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site by the United States Department of the Interior. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00279
Subjects: Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); American Indians--Archaeology; Archaeology--United States--History; Seip Mound (Ross County, Ohio); Artifacts
Places: Ross County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph showing the alligator effigy pipe recovered at Esch Mound in 1930. The Esch Mounds were a pair of conical mounds located along the Huron River in Erie County, Ohio. Emerson Greenman of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection) investigated these mounds in 1930 and unearthed a variety of objects including several platform pipes and a number of Flint Ridge Flint bladelets or flake knives. These are all diagnostic of the Hopewell culture (100 B.C. - A.D. 400) although a subsequent radiocarbon date of A.D. 590 points to a rather late timeframe for such a classical Hopewell site. Perhaps the most remarkable object recovered in Greenman’s excavations is the large stone smoking pipe seen here, made from Ohio pipestone and fashioned to represent the head of an alligator or perhaps some mythical deity in the Hopewell belief system. This extraordinary object is now on display at the Ohio History Center in Columbus. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00263
Subjects: American Indian history; Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; Archaeological excavations; Effigy pipes; Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1–400); Esch Mound
Places: Erie County (Ohio)
 

Description: Awls made of bone from the Ohio Fort Ancient culture, 900 AD-1500 AD. Excavated from Feurt Mound in Scioto County, Ohio. These objects are held in the Ohio History Connection Archaeology Collection. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00264
Subjects: American Indians--Archaeology; Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; Archaeology--United States--History; Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650);
Places: Scioto County (Ohio)
 

Description: Fish hook made of bone from the Fort Ancient culture, 900 AD-1500 AD. Excavated from the Feurt Village Site in Scioto County, Ohio, in 1940. The object is held in the Ohio History Connection Archaeology Collection. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00265
Subjects: American Indians--Archaeology; Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; Archaeology--United States--History; Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650);
Places: Scioto County (Ohio)
 

Description: Comb made of bone by the Fort Ancient Culture, 900 AD-1500 AD. Excavated from the Feurt Village Site in Scioto County, Ohio. This item is part of the H. R. McPherson Collection at the Ohio History Connection. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00266
Subjects: American Indians--Archaeology; Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; Archaeology--United States--History; Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650);
Places: Scioto County (Ohio)
 

Description: Beaded necklace made of bone from the Fort Ancient culture, 900 AD-1500 AD. Excavated from the Feurt Village Site in Scioto County, Ohio, 1916. The object is held in the Ohio History Connection Archaeology Collection. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00267
Subjects: American Indians--Archaeology; Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; Archaeology--United States--History; Fort Ancient Culture (A.D. 1000–1650);
Places: Scioto County (Ohio)
 

Description: Cranial ornament from infant burial of the Adena culture, 800 BC-100 AD. Excavated from Florence Mound in Pickaway County, Ohio, 1938. The object is held in the Ohio History Connection Archaeology Collection. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00275
Subjects: American Indians--Archaeology; Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; Archaeology--United States--History; Funeral rites and ceremonies; Adena Culture (800 B.C.–A.D. 100); Artifacts
Places: Pickaway County (Ohio)
 

Description: Falcon-shaped cut-out made of copper by the Ohio Hopewell culture, Middle Woodland period, 200 BC-1 AD. Excavated from the Central Grave site at Mound City, Mound # 7, in Ross County, Ohio. The object is held by the National Park Service. Mound City is a burial mound and earthwork complex located in Union Township, Ross County, Ohio. It is situated on the west bank of the Scioto River opposite the Hopeton Earthworks, a few miles north of Chillicothe. The site was constructed between approximately 100 BC and AD 400 by people of the Hopewell Culture and consists of 22 variously sized mounds surrounded a low, four-sided, earthen embankment that encloses about 13 acres. During World War I Mound City became part of an expansive army training facility called Camp Sherman. In an attempt to preserve as much of the site’s integrity as the army would allow, the mounds were flattened or truncated and camp buildings built over them and not intruded into them. Beginning in the 1920s, the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection) funded restoration of the site and in 1923 the Mound City Group was elevated to the status of National Monument. Since 1992 Mound City has served as the focal point of the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. Restoration lasted several years and was the beginning of the movement toward archaeology as a disciplined profession. One interesting aspect learned during the restoration process was that, for whatever reason, burials at Mound City were of a more egalitarian nature and not just of apparent high status as seen at other locations. The Mound City Group is one of seven Ohio Hopewell Ceremonial Earthwork sites presently under consideration by the United States Department of the Interior for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00268
Subjects: Ross County (Ohio); Ohio History--Natural and Native Ohio; American Indians--Archaeology; Archaeology--United States--History; Hopewell Culture (A.D. 1-400) (A.D. 1-400);
Places: Ross County (Ohio)