Description Of Cast Artifacts

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Animal Platform Pipes the Hopewell smoked pipes, some elaborately carved and others plane, probably during certain rituals and perhaps just for pleasure.  Their pipes are of the platform type, that is, they consist of curved or straight rectangular basis with a spool-or barrel-shaped bowl in the middle of the top surface. One-half of the platform serves as the stem in which a tiny hole less then 1/16 inch and diameter connects one end of the platform with the bottom of the bowl.  The Indians evidently fashioned such a hole by using very fine flint drills, or more likely, bone or reed tools with sand as an abrasive. most pipes found in Hopewellian sites are plain, but a few are effigy forms. In the latter case the bowl has been carved in the form of a bird, mammal, and amphibian and, reptile, and even a human head. To large  caches  of effigy pipes - one from the  Trumpeter Mound,   Scioto County and the other from Mount 8, Mound City, Ross County Ohio-provided excellent examples of the  Hopewellian "sculptors" abilities. Some of the animals are so carefully portrayed that the particular genius and species can be easily identified. Often the artist has included minute details, such as differentiating  between course wing feathers and fine down on an owl,or carving the whiskers at a mountain lion face. In other instances the artist has deleted such details that has retained one or two characteristics of the animal in question so that it can be easily recognized.  For example, a Beaver is always shown with a roughened to tail, corrective with its "mask" and a bear with its sharp teeth. The bird and animal pipes may have been used in rituals to increase the number of particular species portrayed by the effigies. For instance by smoking a pipe carved in the form of a rabbit, the Indians may have believed they could increase the rabbit population. r they may have been totemic symbols representing  specific kin or social groups. Some of the pipes may have portrayed animal or bird spirits that aided shamans in diagnosing and  Curing disease. The shaman would perhaps blow the smoke from his effigy pipe over the body of an ill person in an attempt to obtain the necessary information from the animal spirit to cure the patient. Of course, we can never know the  exact purpose of this category of pipes.  However, they have provided archeologists and naturalist with a partial catalog of birds of animals that were living in the Ohio Valley 2000 years ago.  And they also display in spectacular way the Hopewellians abilities to observe and to capture in stone of personalities and these various creatures.

Adena Man Effigy Pipe The Adena  pipe is one of the most famous prehistoric Indian objects.  It was found in 1910 during the excavation of the mound in Chillicothe for which the Adena culture is named. the pipe is typically of that culture in that it is tubular and made of Ohio Pipestone.  The bowl opening is between the figures feet.  A much smaller mouthpiece opening is on the top of the head. The Adena pipe is unique because it is a tubular pipe carbon carved in form of a person. whether it is meant to be a portrait of an actual Adena man,  a mythological being, or just an artist's creation cannot be determined.  The figures portions are not normal, in fact, the short heavy arms and legs, and enlarged head and neck in compares to the torso suggest a type of dwarfism.  The figure is wearing  a distinctive loincloth carved with a bustle of feathers similar to the tail feathers on the Berlin tablet.  The carving lines on the front of the loin-cloth may also relate to that bird-of prey motif.  In the figures pierced earlobes are large earspools that are typically of the latter Hopewell culture.  The carving surfaces on the top of the head may represent a roach style with the head shaved on each side of a band of hair. while it is easy to describe the Adina pipe , it is much harder to excess its place in Adina culture.  It is clearly the work of a skilled craftsmen, yet  no other human effigies have been found. in a sense  it is symbolic of prehistoric Indian culture-sophisticated, complex, and difficult to comprehend.

Holy/Decalogue Stone In November of 1860, David Wyrick of Newark Ohio found the inscribed stone in a burial mound about 10 miles south of Newark.  The stone is inscribed on all sides with a condensed version of the ten Commandments or Decalogue, in a peculiar form of posts-Exilic Square Hebrew letters.  The  robed and bearded figure on the front is identified his Moses in letters fanning over his head. inscription is carved into a fine-grained Black stone. that inscribed stone was found inside a sandstone box.  Smooth on the outside, and hollowed out within to exactly hold the stone.  The Decalogue  inscription begins at the non alphabetical symbol at the top of the front, runs down the less side of the front, around every available space on the back and the sides, and then back up the right side of the front to the end where it began, as though it were to be read repetitively.

Wray Bear Figurine ThisWray figurine, name for a former owner, was found in 1881 by workmen digging a foundation for a building in Newark OH.  It is made from solid rock that weights about 1/2 pounds.  The figure appears to be a man wearing a bear skin complete with animals head, which the man a steady with his left hand.  Bear claws replaced human fingers and toes, perhaps to enhance the persons disguise.  In the figures Lap is a human head with the hair flowing between the figures legs.

Shoveler Duck Pipe With this tube pipe, mouthpiece shaped head and Bill of a Shoveler Duck, the Indians placed a small pebble in the tube to prevent the materials smoked from coming through the mouth opening.

Wilmington Adena Tablet Clinton County 1000 B.C.- 100 AD Among the rarest and most puzzling Adina objects are the engraved tablets.  Most of the tablets are made of fine-grained sandstone. this tablet incised with abstract figures which is of the bird design and stylized human faces on the birds head's.  This tablet suggests that it was used for tattooing.  The engraved surface, covered with paint, could be pressed against a person's body, stamping it with the image.  Then the design could be tattooed into skin  using fine needles.  The process may have been part of an initiation into a social group.  That person thus would always be identified as a member of that group.

Glacial Bird Slate Kame Stone This stone is so named because of the object is in the shape of a rather stylized bird with head and tail erect. may have functioned as a handle, weight, or combined hook and weight for a spear thrower.

Hopewell Seip Head 100 B.C. 200 A.D. Cast From Original.Whether this is a portrait of the deceased person in whose grave it was found, a deity, or simply an anthropomorphic head, it remains a superb example of eary clay modeling. Effigy heads usually are parts of whole figures: isolated and complete examples of this nature are extremely rare. the original was found at Hopewell Seip Mound, Ohio and is now in the Columbus Ohio Museum. Over all length from bottom to top of head is 17 inches. Remember folks theres is only one original in the whole world and and im the only one that had permission to cast it. the casting was done over 30 years ago

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