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Hopewell Obsidian Ceremonial Spear Points

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Title	Hopewell Obsidian Ceremonial Spear Points
Subject	American Indians in Ohio Geography and Natural Resources Spears Mounds (Burials) Funeral rites & ceremonies Hopewell culture
Place	Chillicothe (Ohio) Ross County (Ohio)
Description	The Hopewell used many different kinds of stone to make knives and spear points, including obsidian, a volcanic glass brought to Ohio from the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming and Idaho. The obsidian spear points from Mound City do not show any signs of use as a cutting tool, suggesting they served a symbolic or ceremonial function. The ceremonial spear point in the first photograph was found on a low earthen platform in a building within the earthwork complex, along with many other objects, including another obsidian spear point, suggesting that the objects held special significance for the Hopewell. It measures 9 inches (22.8 cm) long and 4 inches (10.3 cm) wide. The ceremonial obsidian spear point in the second photograph was found with copper stars, a copper plate, a copper mountain goat horn effigy, and many other objects on a platform on the floor of the Mound 7 building. It is 7.8 inches (19.8 cm) long and 2.8 inches (7.2 cm) wide. The final spear point shown here is 6.3 inches (16 cm) long and 2.1 inches (5.5 cm) wide. The shape of this spear point's base, the area used to attach the point to the spear shaft, is unique to the Ross County, Ohio area. Some archaeologists believe that the obsidian used to make these spear points, and others at Mound City and nearby Hopewell ceremonial centers, was all brought to Ohio in one trip from the Rocky Mountains. The spear points were found during an archaeological excavation in Ross County in the 1920s. The Hopewell inhabited the eastern part of what is now the United States from 100 B.C. to A.D. 500. They lived in small settlements and put great emphasis on burial customs and mound building. The Mound City Group was a rectangular earthwork consisting of twenty-four mounds. Each mound covered the remains of a charnel house, cremated burials, and ritual deposits. The remaining mounds can be found just north of Chillicothe.
Date of Original	200 B.C. to 200 A.D.
Source	Historical object(s) or artifact(s) HOCU-2939 HOCU-2978 HOCU-4220
Submitting Institution	Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
Type	StillImage
Format	picture; artifacts

Title	Om762_1061576_001
Rights	For rights and reproduction requests, go to the Ohio Historical Society's Audiovisual and Graphic Reproduction Services page at http://www.ohiohistory.org/resource/audiovis/photodup.html; Online access is provided for research purposes only. For rights and reproduction requests or more information, go to http://www.ohiohistory.org/images/information
File Name	Om762_1061576_001.tif
Image Height	1046
Image Width	2220
File Size	840.909 KB
Format	picture

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Hopewell Obsidian Ceremonial Spear Points

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Hopewell Obsidian Ceremonial Spear Points

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