Ohio History Journal

THE EXPLORATIONS OF THE EDWIN HARNESS

MOUND.

 

 

WILLIAM C. MILLS.

The Edwin Harness Mound is the largest of the four-

teen mounds which are located within the earthworks of the

Harness groupl and in close proximity to them, and it would

equal in dimensions more than all the other mounds of this group

combined, and perhaps the largest mound in the Scioto Valley

proper, although not equal in size to the great Hopewell Mound,

located on the north fork of Paint Creek and the Seip Mound

located in the western part of the county along Paint Creek.

The Harness group, consisting of burial mounds and a com-

bination of circles and a square, is located in Liberty Township,

Ross County, Ohio, eight miles south of Chillicothe, and is sit-

uated on the east bank of the Scioto River and occupies the

third bottom and is fully a mile from the present river channel.

Portions of the earthworks and the large mound of the group

can be seen from the Chillicothe and Richmondale Pike which

crosses the works directly in front of the large mound.

The ground upon which the Harness group is situated is

level, and the earth used in the construction of the large mound

and of the earthworks was taken from the surface in close prox-

imity to the earthworks.

Squier and Davis in their account give a very good descrip-

tion of the appearance of the earthworks, mounds and surround-

ings at the time of their survey, and the following quotation is

from their published report.² "The walls of the entire work

are unaccompanied by a ditch, and are slight, nowhere more

 

1Described by Squier and Davis as "Ancient Works in Ross

County," on page 56 of "Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley."

2 "Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley," page 56, Squier

and Davis.

Vol. XVI.-8.          (113)

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114       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

than four feet in height. The embankment of the square is per-

ceptibly heavier than that of the small circle, which is also

heavier than that of the larger one. The square work measures

1,080 feet upon each side; and its walls are interrupted at the

corner and upon the middle of each side by gateways thirty feet

in width. The central gateways are each covered by a small

mound, of about the same height with the embankment, and

placed forty feet interior to it. The manner in which the cir-

cular works are connected with the square enclosure are accu-

rately shown in the plan, precluding the necessity of a long and

intricate description. It will be observed, that while the wall of

the larger circle is interrupted throughout,- a feature for which

it is, of course, impossible to assign a reason. Besides the small

mounds at the gateways, there are three others within the works,

two of which are inconsiderable, while the other is of the largest

size, being 160 feet long by not far from 20 feet high. There

are also a few other mounds outside of the walls, reference to

which is had elsewhere.   Numerous dug holes occur in the

vicinity of the great mound. Most of these are interior to the

works,-a very unusual circumstance. In fact, the whole work

appears to have been but partially finished, or constructed in

great haste. The mounds at the gateways and those outside of

the walls are formed by carelessly scooping up the earth at their

base, leaving irregular pits near them. In most of the regular

works the material seems to have been taken up evenly and

with great care or brought from a distance.

"No one would be apt to ascribe a defensive origin to this

work, yet it is difficult to conceive for what other purpose a

structure of such dimensions, embracing nearly one hundred

acres could have been designed. The great mound is anomalous

in its character, and throws no light on the question. That there

is some hidden significance, in the first place in the irregularity,

and secondly in the arrangement of the various parts, can hardly

be doubted. Nor can the coincidences observable between this

and the other succeeding works of the same series be wholly

accidental."

Mr. Gerard Fowke in his "Archaeological History of Ohio"

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.      115

 

discusses at some length the discrepancies in the surveys of

Squier and Davis.3

I have prepared a drawing of the works, Fig. 1, following

the suggestions and corrections of Mr. Fowke and have verified

his statements by a personal examination of every portion of the

earthworks available.

Many changes have taken place since the survey by Squier

and Davis. At that time almost the entire works were covered

with the native forest, but now only a part of the small circle

shows the original form as it was a half century ago, and a

greater portion of the land has been under cultivation for more

than a quarter of a century.

A railroad,- The Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton,- has

cut through a portion of the earthworks on the east side of the

pike, and Mr. Harness has built a large house and barn on a

portion of the site of the small circle.

The land upon which the earthworks are located was for-

merly owned by two brothers, Messrs. Edwin and Daniel Har-

ness. The line separating their farms extends almost east and

west about twenty-five feet south of the large mound.

Since the survey by Mr. Fowke Mr. Daniel Harness has

died. and his estate has been apportioned among his heirs, and

Mr. Edwin Harness has divided his land and the part now oc-

cupied by the greater portion of the mounds and earthworks

belongs to his son, Mr. John M. Harness, who aided in many

ways to make our examination of the earthworks pleasant and

profitable.

THE EDWIN HARNESS MOUND.

The Edwin Harness mound has been a noted one since the

early examination in 1846 by Squier and Davis. During the last

half century many attempts to explore the large structure have

been made by various institutions and by private individuals,

and as a consequence the various artifacts taken from the graves

of this mound are greatly scattered. The specimens taken by

Squier and Davis during their examination in 1846 are in the

Blackmore Museum, Salisbury, England. Peabody Museum,

 

3"Archaeological History of Ohio," by Gerard Fowke, page 184.

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.       117

 

Harvard University, contains some 278 recorded specimens taken

from this mound and the two small mounds outside of the in-

closure, the results of the explorations by Prof. F. W. Putnam

in 1885. Our own museum contains more than 12,000 specimens

secured by the two expeditions sent into the field by the Society,

the first in 1896, by Professor Moorehead, who secured several

hundred specimens, and the last expeditions by the writer in

1903 and 1905, when the remainder of the 12,000 specimens were

secured and the examination of the mound was completed.

Outside of the specimens accounted for in the various mu-

seums of the country some four or five private individuals, who

were school boys in the early fifties, each have in their possession

from two to ten copper pieces taken from the mound during

their school days,⁴ and at one time there was scarcely a home in

the neighborhood that did not have from one to a dozen artifacts

of various kinds from this mound, but these specimens are now

so scattered that they will probably never be recovered.

In the following pages I propose to give a detailed account

of the final explorations of this mound, and the recital would

not be complete without including all the explorations made in

connection with this mound.

 

 

EXPLORATIONS BY SQUIER AND DAVIS.

Squier and Davis in their classification of the mounds⁵ rec-

ognize four distinct features based upon position, form, structure

and contents, and in this classification they distinguish -

First -"Altar mounds which occur either within, or in the

immediate vicinity of the inclosures; which are stratified, and

contain altars of burnt clay or stone; and which are places of

sacrifice.

 

4The school house is near and for years the school boys would

spend much time in digging holes into the mound in search of relics,

and some of the most interesting specimens were secured by these boys

as shown by the Report of Prof. Putnam which will be noted in this

monograph.

5 "Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley," by Squier and

Davis, page 142.

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound       119

Second - "Mounds of sepulcher, which stand isolated or in

groups more or less removed from the inclosure, which are not

stratified; which contain human remains; and which were the

burial places and monuments of the dead.

Third- "Temple mounds which occur most usually within

but sometime without the walls of the enclosure; which possess

great regularity of form; which contain neither altars nor human

bones; and which are 'high places' for the performance of reli-

gious rites and ceremonies, the site of structure, or in some con-

nected with the superstitions of the builders.

Fourth -"Anomalous mounds including mounds of obser-

vation and such as were applied to a double purpose or of which

the design and objects are not apparent. This division includes

all which do not clearly fall within the three preceding classes."

Squier and Davis have placed the Harness Mound in the

fourth class or anomalous mound group, basing its classification

upon its form as being both a sepulchral and an altar mound,

and I quote at some length concerning their collections and finds:

"Besides the mounds already described,⁶ the purpose of

which seem pretty clearly indicated, there are many which will

admit of no classification. Some of them possess features in

common with all classes, and seem to have been appropriated to

a double purpose; while others, in our present state of knowledge

concerning them, are entirely inexplicable.

"As these mounds differ individually from each other, it is

of course impossible to present anything like a general view of

their character. We can therefore only describe a few of the

more remarkable, dismissing the remainder with the single obser-

vation that their features do not indicate any specific design,

and are not sufficiently distinct or uniform to justify or sustain a

classification.

"One of the most singular of these mounds, and one which

best illustrates the remark that certain mounds were probably

made to subserve a double purpose, is situated within a large en-

closure on the east bank of the Scioto river. A plan and section

of the mound are herewith presented (Fig. 3). It is an irregu-

6 Squier and Davis "Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley,"

page 178.

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120       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   lar oval in form, and is one hundred and sixty feet long, ninety broad at its larger end, and twenty feet in height. Excavations were made at the points indicated in the section. The one to- wards the right or smaller end of the mound disclosed an in- closure of timber, eight feet square, and similar, in all respects, to those found in the sepulchral mounds, except that, in this in- stance, posts eight inches in diameter had been planted at the outer corners, as if to sustain the structure. These posts had been inserted eighteen inches in the original level or floor of the mound. The holes left by their decay were found filled with

decomposed material; when this was removed, they exhibited perfect casts of the timbers. The casts also of the horizontal timbers were well retained in the compact earth, and one of the workmen, without much difficulty, was enabled to creep more than half of the way around the enclosure which they had formed. Within this chamber the earth was as firm as in any portion of the mound. Upon removing a portion, a skeleton partly burned was found, and with it a thin copper plate seven inches long and four broad, perforated with two small holes; also a large pipe of bold outline, carved from a dark compact porphyry (Fig. 4). The bones seemed to have been enveloped in a species of matting, which was too much destroyed to be distinctly made out. The

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.      121   floor of the mound, it should be mentioned, as far as explored, was composed of clay, was perfectly level, and had been burned to considerable hardness. "The second excavation (B) was made in the larger end of the mound, somewhat to one side of the centre, at a spot marked by a depression in the surface. At the depth of twenty feet was found an altar of clay of exceeding symmetry. This was sunk, as shown in the section, in the general level or floor of the mound, and had been surrounded by an enclosure in all respects similar to the one above described, except that the timbers had been less in size. A fine carbonaceous deposit, resembling burned leaves, was found within the altar. Amongst the decayed mate- rials of the surrounding enclosure were found several skewers, if we may so term them, in lack of a better name, made of the

bones (ulna) of the deer. They were finely tapered to a point, and had evidently been originally highly polished. Some were not less than nine or ten inches long. Though apparently sound, they were found to be exceedingly brittle, retaining little if any of their animal matter. Drifts were carried in the course shown in the section, and the evidences of another enclosure discovered. The excavation was suspended at this point, in consequence of heavy and continued rains. The holes soon became filled by the caving in of the loose earth near the surface; which discouraging circumstance, joined to the extreme difficulty of digging,7 pre-   7The difficulty of carrying on investigations in the large mounds cannot be appreciated. The earth is always so compact as to require, literally, to be cut out. It has then to be raised to the surface,- a

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122       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

vented a resumption of the investigation. It is very certain that

another, perhaps several other chambers are concealed by this

mound.

"The surface of this mound was covered with the layer of

pebbles and coarse gravel already mentioned as characterizing

the mounds of the first class; but the sand strata were absent.

Around the base had been laid, with some degree of regularity,

a large quantity of flat stones, constituting a sort of wall for the

better support of the earth. These stones must have been brought

from the hills, which are here nearly half a mile distant. Why

the altar as well as the skeleton had been enclosed, and why the

floor of the mound had been carefully leveled, cast over with clay,

and then hardened by fire, which will probably remain unan-

swered and unexplained unless future investigations serve further

to elucidate the mystery of the mounds. At any rate, this singular

mound can prove no greater puzzle to the reader than it has to

the authors of these inquiries."

 

 

EXPLORATIONS OF PROFESSOR PUTNAM.

In 1885 Professor F. W. Putnam, of Harvard University,

examined a portion of the mound by beginning a trench at the

north end and extending it with a varying width, averaging about

18 feet at the top with a gradual slope to the bottom. The trench

extended into the mound about one-third of its length.

I quote at some length from Professor Putnam's Report,8

as he includes an examination of several small mounds outside

of the great earthworks and proves by the contents of the smaller

that the builders belong to the peoples who constructed the large

mound.

"Squier and Davis represent five small mounds inside the

great square of twenty-seven acres. These have been leveled by

cultivation, but we could trace the outlines of three at least, one

 

task of great labor, and only accomplished by leaving stages in the

descent and throwing the earth from one to the other, and finally to

the surface. Four industrious men were employed not less than ten

or twelve days in making the excavations in this mound alone.

8 Eighteenth and Nineteenth Annual Reports of the Peabody Mu-

seum, Vol. 3.

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.     123

 

of which we thoroughly examined, and found that it had been a

simple mound of earth thrown up inside of one of the 'gateways'

of the square. Three mounds, one twice the size of the others,

are represented on the plan as just outside one of the 'gateways'

on the eastern side of the great circle of forty acres' area. All

three have been much reduced in height by ploughing over them,

but probably only the superficial portions have been disturbed.

These three mounds we examined with care, and found that the

small one to the westward contained only a small bed of ashes.

The other two proved to be burial mounds of considerable in-

terest. The human bones were much decayed. We found in

these mounds various objects made of copper, stone, shell and

mica, of the same character as those found in the large one of

the group, consisting of copper plates, spool-shaped ear orna-

ments, a crescent-shaped ornament cut out of slate, another small

stone ornament, a few large beads covered with copper, and a

smaller one, covered with silver over the copper, shell beads and

numerous other small articles.

"Another mound in the corn field, north of the three above

mentioned, was also dug over completely.

"In this we found a large bed of ashes and charcoal about at

the level of the natural surface upon which the mound was made.

This ash bed covered nearly the whole area occupied by the

mound, and in it we found many fragments of pottery and cut

pieces of mica, some of which were circular. A large piece of

grass matting and a mass of burnt seeds, nuts and acorns, were

found in the bed of ashes. In one place the charcoal matting

was in several layers, making a thickness of an inch or more.

Near the centre of the mound, extending to the south, was a

long, narrow pit, about nine by two feet, which was a foot in

depth. At the bottom of this pit were burnt stones, and over

them ashes and charcoal, fragments of pottery and a few burnt

bones.

"Thus it will be seen that the several mounds connected with

the extensive earthwork were erected for different purposes and

vary considerable in their structure.

"Near the eastern corner of the part of the earthwork which

we have called the 'great square,' and within the line of the cir-

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.      125

 

cular embankment forming the 'great circle,' stands the largest

mound of the group, which is known as the 'Edwin Harness

Mound.' This mound proved to be of great interest, and un-

like any other mound which we have explored. It is 160 feet

long, from 80 to 90 feet wide and from 13 to 18 feet high along

the central portion, which rises gradually from the southern to

the northern part. Up to this time we have made a thorough

exploration of about one-quarter of the mound, and have ascer-

tained that it is a burial mound of a remarkable character. In

the northern portion, forty feet from the center, we discovered

the first of the burial chambers, of which we found a dozen in

all. These chambers were made by placing logs, from five to six

inches in diameter, on the clay which forms the lowest layer of

the mound, in such a way as to make enclosures six to seven feet

in length, and from two to three in width, and about a foot in

height. In these the bodies were placed, evidently wrapped in

garments, as indicated by the charred cloth and mats found in

several of the chambers. With the bodies were buried various

objects, such as copper plates, ear-rings, shell beads, and, in one

instance, long knives chipped from flint. In two instances, the

skeletons were found extended at full length within the cham-

bers, the outlines of which could be traced by the imprint of the

logs in the clay, the logs themselves having decayed, leaving only

a dark dust. On the breast of one of the skeletons was a thin

copper plate or ornament. The chemical action of the copper had

preserved the texture of the finely woven cloth lying between the

plate and the bones of the chest. In other chambers, the bodies

had been burned on the spot, as conclusively shown by the rela-

tive positions of the bones, and the fact that, in two instances,

portions of the body had fallen outside of the fire and escaped

burning. It became evident, as our explorations progressed, that

these chambers were covered by little mounds of gravel and clay,

and that, in those where the burning had taken place, the cov-

erings of earth were placed in position before the bodies were

consumed, shown by the small amount of ashes and the reduction

of the logs to charcoal in their position on the clay floor of the

chamber, which was burned to a thickness varying with the

amount of heat. It is probable that the burials and cremations

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126       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

did not occur at one time, and that, after all these mounds had

been made, earth was brought from various surrounding places

and heaped over all. Then the mound was finished with a cover-

ing of gravel and a low border of loose stones was placed around

its base.

"It is of interest to note that Squier and Davis, in 1840, dug

two pits in this mound. At the bottom of their pit A, which was

just south of the center of the mound, they opened one of the

burial chambers, and they state that the skeleton in it was partly

burned, that it was enclosed in a framework of logs, and that

with it were a copper plate and a pipe carved out of stone. They

remark that the body seemed to have been enveloped in matting.

Their pit B, about twenty feet northwest of the centre, and there

they came to another burnt skeleton, as shown by their explora-

tion, although, deceived by the imperfect examination which the

caving of the pit compelled them to make, they thought they

had found an 'altar,' and mention the burnt burial chamber as

such. They state that they found at this point several imple-

ments made of bone. At the side of their excavation we took

out about half a dozen pointed implements made from the leg

bones of deer. Several months before our work was begun, as

already referred to, the school boys, under the lead of Mr. Wil-

son, dug two pits in the mound, one of which was between those

made by Squier and Davis over forty years ago, and the other

at the side of Squier and Davis' pit B. In each of these many

remarkable objects were found. So far as 'relics' are concerned,

the boys made a lucky hit and took out more objects from one

of their pits than were found in all our explorations. The larger

part of these we have been able to secure from the boys, and

from Mr. Daniel R. Harness, who very kindly gave to the Pea-

body Museum all that he had purchased from the boys at the

time, realizing that they would be of more importance and value

to science if placed in the museum with other objects from the

mound, than if held in private hands as mere curiosities. Among

the specimens thus obtained were two copper celts and three or

four copper plates, also several copper ear ornaments, some of

which were covered with meteoric iron in the same way as those

from the Turner Mounds in the Little Miami Valley, and a celt

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.      127

made of meteoric iron. Thus we have an important link, con-

necting the people who built this great mound and the earth-

works about it in the Scioto Valley, with the builders of the sin-

gular group on the Turner farm, in the Little Miami Valley.

"Burnt human, animal and bird bones; shells of different

kinds, some of them perforated; cores and chipped points of

flint; ornaments made of stone; hammer-stone and discoidal

stone; beads of pearl, bone and shell; canine teeth of large bears,

some of them perforated; teeth of deer and a shark's tooth; orna-

ments made of copper; ear ornaments of copper, a few covered

with a thin layer of silver and others with meteoric iron; small

hemispheres of stone and of pottery, covered with silver, copper

and meteoric iron; fragments of silver ornaments; a celt of mete-

oric iron and one of copper; ornaments and fragments of mica;

portions of a pipe carved out of stone; a large mass of galena;

cloth, seeds, nuts, corn and grass, all charred; fragments of mat-

ting partly burnt; balls of clay; fragments of pottery; bone han-

dles, awl points and other implements of bone; braided grass;

charcoal, ashes and burnt clay, some of the latter still bearing the

impress of logs of wood; portions of burnt and unburnt human

skeletons; all from the mounds belonging to the Liberty group

on the land of Edwin Harness, Esq., in Liberty Township, Ross

County, Ohio."

 

 

EXPLORATIONS OF PROFESSOR MOOREHEAD.

In 1896 Professor Warren K. Moorehead, under the aus-

pices of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society, ex-

amined the south part of the mound, beginning where Professor

Putnam left off. His examinations were for the most part car-

ried on by means of tunnels, and I quote from his report:9

"Our work upon the mound was begun July 22d and

ended the evening of August ₉th. We first cleaned out the end

of the trench abandoned by Professor Putnam, and measuring

the mound thence to its end, ascertained the distance to be about

eighty feet, at least sixty feet of which should be excavated. We

 

9 Publications of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical So-

ciety, Volume 5.

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.      129

 

started in with a trench some thirty feet in width, being a little

wider than the excavation he had conducted. We had proceeded

twelve or fifteen feet when we ascertained that burials followed

each other pretty much the same distance apart on either side of

the mound, and that there were few burials in the main or central

portion. Most of the burials in these rows occupied little domes

or pits, varying from three to five feet in diameter and three to

five feet in height.

"We decided to explore the mound by means of tunnels,

which should follow the lines of the burial, and, at short distances,

to run side branches from the main tunnels toward the center,

and, if necessary, toward the edges of the mound. As the work

proceeded the scheme was found to be practical, and the whole

base of the mound was thoroughly covered at much less expense

than would have resulted had we attempted to remove the entire

structure. The total length of tunnels and branches was 253

feet, the main tunnels 98 feet, the branches 155 feet. It occupied

the time of from four to five men continuously for sixteen days.

They were five feet wide at the base and about four and one-

half feet high.

"In the end of the mound opened by Professor Putnam a

number of entire skeletons were found, accompanied by various

objects. In the end which we explored were a total of twenty-

seven interments, but two of which were uncremated skeletons,

a child and an adult. All the others were more or less burnt.

In Fig. XVII all skeletons with which relics were found are

numbered, and the brief description accompanying the illustra-

tion will acquaint readers with the find. Skeletons Nos. 4 and 5

had some of the copper objects with them. No. 10 had the best

copper plate. Eight of the bodies had objects buried with them.

Every one of these skeletons had been cremated, and even some

of the beads and copper showed marks of fire. The total inter-

ments in the mound numbered 27.

"Nearly all of the skeletons were on little raised platforms

of burnt earth, varying in height from four to ten inches. The

platforms were usually about two by three feet. Such relics as

accompanied the remains were placed in no special order and

many of them were partly burnt up. The looseness of the earth

Vol. XVI.-9.

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130      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

above the skeletons, or the little domes to which we have referred,

is probably due to small structures of poles having been built

about the remains. The supports remained in position sufficiently

long for the earth to become somewhat packed, and after their

decay just enough earth fell upon the remains to cover them

loosely. Frequently there was a space of about a foot between

the top of the dome and the loose earth below. The good cop-

per plate found in No. 10 is nine inches long and five inches wide.

It had two small perforations. With No. 5 was a burnt plate,

three-fourths of which we took out entire, beads and bear

tusks, etc.

"The skeleton uncremated (and placed by itself) was found

as indicated by No. 12 in Fig. XVII. These individual inter-

ments, at a distance or isolated from the other burials, are often

observed in the large mounds of the Scioto.

"In the heavy layer of charcoal and carbonized wood ac-

companying skeletons Nos. 7 and 3, were fragments of cloth,

which we preserved in order that the texture and manner of weav-

ing might be carefully studied."

 

 

FINAL EXPLORATIONS.

On the 1₄th of August, 1903, I commenced the final explo-

rations of the mound, by exposing to view from time to time as

the work progressed, the entire site of the mound, recording and

photographing the burials and other important features of the

mound.

The mound at the time work was begun, was covered with

a dense tangle of underbrush and trees (See Frontispiece). A

deep cut beginning at the north end of the mound extended almost

to the center, while dug holes extending down to the tunnels

below made the place very unsightly, and to say the least, not very

promising of results.

After the underbrush and trees were removed the surface

of the mound was examined and measured. The results of the

measurements are as follows: Length of mound, 160 feet; width

of mound, at the north end, 85 feet; at the south end, 70 feet,

with a height of 163/4 feet at the north end, which gradually tap-

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132       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

ered to 11 1/4 at the south end, the mound containing approxi-

mately 4,700 cubic yards of earth.

The mound for the most part was constructed of loam or

surface soil, secured in close proximity to the mound, however,

a hard, compact clay, overlying the gravel, and which clay is

found to a depth averaging from 3 to 4½ feet, and which was

used in constructing nearly all the well prepared graves, which

latter will be described at some length later on, was also used.

The clay used in covering the graves would average in thick-

ness from a few inches to fourteen inches and was secured from

deep holes which are quite noticeable a few hundred feet east and

north of the mound.

The flat stones described by Squier and Davis as placed upon

the sides of the mound were found at three different points upon

the mound. At the west end of the mound stones were found ex-

tending up the side of the mound to the height of about six feet.

These stones consisted of slabs of sanstone averaging in length

from a few inches to several feet, and in thickness from one to

four inches. These had been laid with some degree of regularity

and placed upon the mound in the form of a circle forty feet in

diameter, the highest point being near the center of the mound,

and then gradually tapering toward each end. On the east side,

two of these circles were present, one near each end of the mound.

The stones on the east side were different in size, none of them

being large, and all less than a foot in length, averaging in thick-

ness from one-half to one inch. The greater number of these

flat stones showed use as a digging implement, and were no doubt

employed in digging the soil used in the preparation of the graves

and the building of the mound.

 

 

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE INTERIOR OF THE MOUND.

Many interesting features were brought to light in the ex-

amination of the mound.

First. The object of the mound was for burial purposes

only.

Second. The site of the mound was an enclosure consisting

of large posts placed in the ground to the depth of two and one-

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.      133

 

half to three feet, as evidenced by the post molds; the posts hav-

ing been burned off to the surface of the ground when the char-

nel house was filled and ready for the mound to be heaped

over all.

Third. All the burials in the mound had graves carefully

prepared for the reception of the dead.

Fourth. The burials were of two kinds, cremated and un-

cremated.

Fifth. The cremation for the most part took place away

from the grave and the ashes and charred bones of the deceased

were gathered together and placed in the prepared grave, though

a few bodies were evidently cremated at the grave.

Sixth. A final ceremony was performed when the cremated

dead were placed in the grave. The uncremated dead were placed

in graves similar to those for the cremated.

Seventh. The builders of this mound were representatives

of the highest culture of the aboriginal man found in Ohio.

I shall attempt in the following pages to discuss all the

special features of the mound, including a detailed account of

the artifacts taken from the graves.

 

 

THE OBJECT OF THE MOUND.

Squier and Davis in their discussion of this mound, previ-

ously referred to, describe it as an anomalous mound, namely,

that it was used for a double purpose and describe that double

purpose as a sepulcher and altar mound. In my examination of

the mound I was fortunate in finding the shaft B which Squier

and Davis describe and figure, and is reproduced in Fig. 3 of

this article.

Professor Putnam states that he took from the side of the

excavations half a dozen of the large bone implements made from

the leg of the deer. These were described by Squier and Davis

as the "skewers" found in the altar enclosure.

I cleaned out the shaft made by Squier and Davis and found

the grave described as an altar, but it was similar in every re-

spect to the hundred or more other graves found in the same

mound. The charred remains of the cremated dead were re-

maining in the grave, but had been greatly disturbed, and four

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134       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

more of the large bone implements, one large perforated canine

of the bear and two copper ear ornaments were left in the grave.

One of the most interesting features of this grave was the

finding of a large number of bone implements stuck in the clay

layer which immediately covered the grave. All of these imple-

ments were so placed as to point toward the center of the grave,

and twenty-six were taken out in a perfect condition, while in-

numerable pieces of these implements were found in the loose

dirt which had been handled by Prof. Putnam, so there is no way

of telling how many of these artifacts were placed with this

burial, and was the only instance in which the large bone imple-

ments, made from the metapodiale bone of the deer and elk, were

found in the entire mound.

One of the conditions, according to Squier and Davis, char-

acterizing the altar or sacrificial mound is a stratification of the

different soils, but this condition occurs practically in all mounds,

and this change in the earth was easily discerned whenever the

sides of the mound were sufficiently exposed. This stratification

was caused by a variation in the soil as it was taken from its

original bed and placed upon the mound. When the gravel, or in

some cases sand, was encountered it was placed over the mound,

and at various places in this mound the gravel was several inches

thick and seriously annoyed the workmen.

At the Seip Mound, on Paint Creek, a layer of gravel, in

some places thirty inches in thickness, was encountered, so that

I fear it would be impossible to characterize a mound as being

stratified to signify a certain definite type, for all mounds show

different layers caused by a difference in the soil.

It seems probable that Squier and Davis imagined that in the

two burials, or as they characterized them, a burial and an altar,

they had secured about all the great mound revealed, though

they said, "It is very certain that another, perhaps several other

chambers, are concealed by this mound."

Professor Putnam in his investigations removed twelve

burials, two of which were uncremated and ten cremated.

Professor Moorehead secured twenty-seven burials, of which

twenty-five were cremated and two uncremated, and our present

investigation secured one hundred and thirty-three burials. Five

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136       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

were uncremated and one hundred and twenty-eight cremated,

which shows a total taken from this mound of ten uncremated

and one hundred and sixty-four cremated, still it is known that

quite a number were destroyed by the school children in their

search for relics, as Professor Putnam states that the school chil-

dren secured more relics from one pit than he secured in all their

explorations, hence it is safe to say that at least ten graves

were destroyed in this way. Therefore it seems to me that this

mound must be considered purely as a burial mound; that no

altars occurred in the mound; that all burials had prepared

graves; that for the most part cremation took place at the charnel

house where eight great fire places were found, which were per-

fectly devoid of ashes except in one, where a small charred piece

of human skull was found, thus indicating that these fire places

were used for the crematory. After the cremation took place

the ashes and charred bones were gathered together and placed

in a grave near by. In a number of instances the cremation took

place at the grave. These are all characterized by finding por-

tions of the unburnt skeleton intact. The uncremated were placed

in regular order with the cremated, and in no instance were two

uncremated burials side and side, but were invariably followed

by a cremated burial.

 

CHARNEL HOUSE.

The site of the great mound had been properly prepared and

its beginning was at the south end of the mound, marked by

large posts set in the ground at a depth varying from two and

one-half to three feet. The south end of the enclosure was made

in the form of a semicircle, and the sides continuing in a straight

line north for sixty feet, when the line of posts was turned at

right angles to the east wall and running across toward the west

side, where an opening was left for an entrance. This enclosure

of sixty feet in length measuring, from the center of the circle

on the south to the row of posts running across the mound at

right angles to the outside walls, forty feet in width at the north

end, was no doubt the first structure or enclosure for the recep-

tion of the dead.

The second enclosure was merely a continuation of the out-

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.     137

 

side walls of the first, extending some seventy feet directly to the

north, when another wall at right angles to the east wall was

run directly to the west, and similar in every respect to the open-

ing at the south part of the mound; however, the posts were not

in a straight line in the north section of the mound, and the inside

of the mound at the north end measured fifty-one feet. It is im-

possible to tell whether the two enclosures were built at the same

time or not, but I am inclined to believe from a careful observa-

tion, that the portion to the north was not constructed until the

south portion had been filled with the dead, though I feel assured

that the south portion was not completed, and a mound heaped

over it until the north portion had been also filled and the entire

site was ready for the building of the great monument.

On the interior of the mound at irregular points large post

molds were found, and in the north section of the mound one of

these posts extended above the floor of the mound a few inches

more than ten feet, indicating that perhaps other posts, as evi-

denced by the post mold, extended above the graves, and there-

fore might have supported a covering or roof for the charnel

house.

I am inclined to believe that such a roof existed, although no

definite proofs of such a roof, other than the uprights to support

it, were found in the mound. The posts forming the outer row

varied in size from six to ten inches, however, a very great num-

ber of the upright supports consisted of a combination of smaller

posts placed together, and this was evidenced by the post molds

showing a number of smaller posts placed together. In a num-

ber of instances these posts had been split, and in several cases

posts seven inches in diameter were split and used for support.

After the posts were placed in position the base of the mound

was carefully prepared by the formation of a clay floor which

gave great evidence of having been puddled before being placed

in position. This clay floor extended from a few to fifteen inches

beyond the posts on the outside of the enclosure. After the floor

had been carefully prepared there was placed over it a layer of

fine sand, varying in thickness from one-half to three quarters

of an inch, and so compact was this sand at the time of our ex-

amination that where it was the thickest it could be taken out in

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138       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

large slabs. The clay floor was also dug up by us and examined

from one end of the mound to the other. This floor varied in

thickness. In some places it was only three or four inches in

thickness, in other places from ten to twelve. This, like the sand

layer, could be taken out at the time of examination in great

blocks, as the original surface of the site was covered with ashes

and charcoal which readily separated the clay floor from the

original surface, and showed that the site had been carefully

cleaned of all debris by burning. Nowhere were there evidences

of any prolonged fire on the original surface, rather only the

burning of small limbs as was evidenced by the charcoal remains.

After the charnel house was filled with the dead, the final prepa-

ration for the erection of the mound was completed by burning

off the superstructure and exposing to view the graves as they

had from time to time been made.

We know that the graves were covered before the super-

structure was destroyed as the covering of many of them, which

were placed near the outer row of posts, extended around these

posts, and when the superstructure was burned the charred re-

mains of the top of the posts were three and four inches and

sometimes more, above the other posts which were not so covered.

The charred tops of the posts were always present, these were

never destroyed, but the portions of the posts that extended into

the base below had entirely rotted away, leaving the exact mold

of the post. Very frequently these molds would contain broken

animal bones, mussel shells and occasionally a piece of mica, but

we have never been able to find, in the great number of molds

examined, any implements or ornaments.

 

BURIALS.

All the burials, whether cremated or uncremated, were placed

in a prepared grave and great care and some degree of skill was

displayed in their construction. The graves of the cremated were

similar to each other so far as the outside construction was con-

cerned, but unlike in the general make up of the inside of the

grave. Out of one hundred and twenty-eight graves unearthed,

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.          139

 

four different types¹⁰ were found, and these were many times

duplicated during the explorations.

First. The plain elevated platform made of clay and usu-

ally elevated from three to six inches above the prepared plat-

form. In a number of graves this clay had the appearance of

being puddled and then used in constructing the platform, while

in other cases the clay did not have that appearance, but seemed

to have been used in making the platform in the dry state. This

plain elevated platform grave was invariably higher at the center,

gradually sloping to the sides and ends where small logs, aver-

aging in diameter from three to six inches had been placed, usu-

ally in the form of a parallelogram, but often very nearly in a

square. These plain platforms averaged in length about four

feet and in width two and one-half to three feet. The logs were

usually made the exact size of the graves. In a few instances they

extended over at one end or the other, and not a single grave was

found on the base of this entire mound that did not show the

use of logs as an outline for the grave. In many instances the

logs were put in place upon the platform and plastered over with

this clay,and then the inside of the grave was made. Fig. 9 is a

good illustration of the prepared grave of the plain platform type.

Second. The next type of grave was similar to the first and

apparently made in the same way, with this difference: the top

of the platform was cut out and made in the form of a basin,

varying in depth at the center from two to four inches. A good

illustration of this platform is shown in Fig. 10.

Third. Elliptical shaped grave. In this form of grave the

platform was similar to the other graves, but the timber used in

the construction of the outside portion was made of small pieces

of logs and the clay plastered over them, forming a regular ellip-

tical grave. This type is shown in Fig. 11. This form of grave

 

10The four types of graves mentioned above were similar in every

respect to the altars described by Squier and Davis, and I quote from

"Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley," page 143 as follows.

"The altars or basins found in these mounds are almost invariable of

burned clay though a few of stone have been discovered.

They are symmetrical but not of uniform size and shape, some are

round, others elliptical and others square or parallelogram."

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140       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. would vary in depth from four to eight inches; and required much skill and labor in its construction.

Fourth. The grave made in the form of a parallelogram. This form of grave was found in various por- tions of the mound and was constructed simi- lar in every respect to the other types, the logs being put in place and plastered over, while the inside was removed to a depth varying from  four to twelve inches. This grave is best illus-

trated in Fig. 12, which shows one of the graves and its contents.

For the uncremated simiar1y prepared platform graves in- closed by logs were made, and the body was placed at full length within the in- closure. Fig. 13 is a good illustration of this form of burial, and represents the one hundredth burial un- earthed. All the re- mains placed in the graves described above were cremated and uncremated. The

cremated remains for the most part were brought to the grave, the cremation of the body taking place away from the grave, and

• 28
 

Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.     141   as previously stated, I have great reason to believe that the cre- mation took place at the eight great fire-places found within the charnel house. In only one was there left anything to show for what purpose these great fire-places were intended. In the one in question a portion of a human skull was found, indicat- ing that the cremation took place after which the remains were gathered up and removed to the grave. In all of the other great fire-places found, not even a small amount of ashes could be se- cured, as all had been gathered and carried away, though a num- ber of the bodies were undoubtedly cremated at the grave.

By careful examin- ation I found that out of the nine buri- als which occurred in this way, all had a grave of the first type with the exception of one, where a grave had been prepared of the type of No. 3. It did not show that fire had been used any great length of time, consequently it was not a crematory prior to the time the body was placed there to

be cremated. In all of the graves where cremation took place at the grave a portion of the fleshy part of the body would not be wholly destroyed, consequently the innominate and parts of the femur would be in place while the other portions would be de- stroyed. One of the singular features of the cremations which took place at the grave was that the implements and ornaments would be almost totally destroyed, while in the cremations which took place away from the graves the implements and ornaments were placed in the grave in a perfect state with the ashes and the incinerated bones of the body. After these remains were de- posited in the grave they were frequently covered over with mat-

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142       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   ting or some woven fabric, and then a covering of grass and twigs, and as a last ceremony this covering was set on fire, and while it was thus burning clay was carried and covered over the fire, thus preserving the cloth, the grass and twigs in a charred state. The covering of these graves, as heretofore stated, was of

clay similar in every respect to the clay used in making the plat- form and in forming the grave. This covering of clay would vary in thickness from a few inches to fourteen inches, the average being very close to ten inches, and was the temporary covering for all the graves as they were placed in the charnel house. The uncremated graves were prepared in the same way as

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144       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

shown in the illustration, Fig. 13. This individual was placed

in the grave at full length, with him were ornaments of copper,

such as the ear ornaments, which can be seen at the side of the

head, and a great copper plate which is under the loins. The

ornaments are similar to those found in the cremated graves.

On the right hand side of the body, as it lay in the grave, was

placed the incinerated remains of an adult, on the left hand was

a human skull, and near the head on the left side of the body,

was placed another cremated skeleton; near the knees on the

right side of the body, was placed the skeleton of a little child,

and near this skeleton were two human jaws, perforated, and

which no doubt had been used for ornament..

 

ARTIFACTS FOUND WITH THE BURIALS.

The articles taken from the burials of this mound were most

interesting as to quantity and quality and represent the highest

art of prehistoric man in Ohio. From the 133 burials, upwards

of 12,000 specimens, including implements and ornaments of cop-

per, shell, bone and stone were removed. Some of the copper

pieces contained small nuggets of silver, showing that the copper

came from the Lake Superior region. Large ocean shells that

were made into drinking cups and ornaments of various kinds

were unearthed, which came evidently from the region of the

southern gulf. There were also found great quantities of mica,

some pieces representing the original blocks as they were quar-

ried, other pieces had been cut into geometrical forms and used

for decoration. This mica no doubt came from North Carolina.

Again we found crystals of galenite as well as large lumps of the

lead ore, which came from the north Illinois region. Obsidian

was also found, and this no doubt came from the far west, per-

haps the Yellowstone region. The finding of so much material

of this sort, whose source of supply was so far from the site of

the mound, indicates that the prehistoric inhabitants of this sec-

tion had an inter-tribal trade, for it certainly would have been

impossible for the Ohio tribes to visit those distant points men-

tioned.

The artifacts were made into various forms of implements

and ornaments. The most interesting of these are the large cop-

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146       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

per plates of which ten were found, the largest one being ten

inches in length by five and one-half inches broad. It was made

of very thin copper one-eighth of an inch in thickness, in the

form of a parallelogram, with the ends cut concave. It was

pierced with two holes near one edge. Of the ten copper plates

removed, all showed contact with some woven fabric.

The next largest copper plate is shown in Fig. 15, and this

may be taken as a type of the plates from this mound. As shown

in the figure, the entire surface is covered with the remains of

a woven fabric. This plate is nine inches in length by four and

three-quarters in width, and would average about one-eighth of

an inch in thickness. Some of these plates show contact with

fire, which in this instance, doubtless burned a little longer than

usual during the last ceremony at the grave.

A good illustration of the copper thus burned, the incinerated

bones of the dead clinging to it can be seen in Fig. 16. This

copper plate is perfect with the exception of one corner, which

entirely crumbled when the plate was removed from the grave,

and with the further exception of a small piece broken out of the

side. This specimen is about one-eighth of an inch in thickness.

When the copper plates were placed in the cremated grave they

were usually placed upon the bottom, and the calcined bones and

ashes of the dead were placed immediately over the plates. In

two instances plates, found with the uncremated had been placed

directly under the loins, while in another the plate was placed

upon the breast. A great number of these plates were taken from

this mound. As near as I can learn, one was taken out by Squier

and Davis, three by Professor Putnam, and two by Professor

Moorehead, and four others owned by as many individuals living

in various parts of the country, making a total of twenty taken

from this entire mound.

Another interesting specimen of copper is shown in Fig. 17,

which represents a thin piece of this metal about one-eighth of an

inch in thickness, ten and one-half inches in length by three and

one-quarter inches in width at the larger end and two inches at

the smaller end. Three specimens of this character were found,

and all fairly well preserved. The other specimens were perhaps

more curved than the one shown in the illustration and somewhat

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148       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.   149

larger. The larger end of these specimens was invaria- bly square or nearly so, and perforated with three holes, one at each corner and one in the center. The other end is invariably oval, more so in the other specimens than in the one shown. This end is perforated with two holes near the center of the speci- men, and is concave upon the inside, and looks in every respect as though it might have been used for a head-- dress, although this is only conjecture, as all the speci- mens found came from the cremated burials, and no specimens, as far I know, have been found with the uncremated.     EAR ORNAMENTS. Ornaments designated as "spool shaped" ear orna- ments were more abundant than any of the copper pieces found in the mound, as more than fifty perfect pieces were taken from this mound dur- ing the last explorations. These objects were found with all of the uncremated burials, with the exception of one, and were placed invari- ably on each side of the head close to the temporal bone,

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150       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   which would indicate that they were used for ear ornaments.11 The ear ornaments taken from this mound exhibit a degree of skill in their manufacture and show the high degree of advance- ment made in ornamental art, as many of these ornaments were overlaid with a thin covering of iron, presumably meteoric, and a few had a thin covering of silver and copper hammered together. Fig. 18 shows a specimen covered with iron, and Fig. 19 shows a specimen covered with a thin layer of copper and silver mixed. This silver and copper layer was hammered very thin and resembles very much the thickness of ordinary writing paper. Four different types of these ornaments are found, and all were many times duplicated during the explorations.

The form of manufacture of the various types was similar and consisted of two concavo-convex plates connected by a cen- tral cylindrical column. These plates varied in diameter from one and one-half inches to two and one-quarter inches. As a rule, one of the plates forming the ornament was larger than the other, in a number of cases the plates were alike on each side.   11 Professor Putnam in his account of the Marriott Mound No. 1, describes specimens of the "spool-shaped" ornaments and proves beyond a doubt that they were used as ear ornaments. In this connection he speaks of these same ornaments taken from the Liberty Group, now known as the Harness Group.

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.      151   The concavo-convex plates were evidently made over a wooden pattern and the copper hammered into form.12 Fig. 20 shows one of the types frequently met with. It is made of four plates of copper, two of which are circular plates, pierced at the center with a hole, and these two plates are con- nected together with a small cylinder of copper about three- quarters of an inch in length passing through the holes and clinched on the inside. The space between the two circular disks varies from a quarter to half an inch. The next process in the manufacture of the ornaments is the putting in place of the concavo-convex disks. Before this is done the concavo-convex disk at the center of the concave portion is extended by hammer- ing so as to fit into the cylindrical column and is then perforated.

The convex portion of the concavo-convex disk is filled with a yellow clay and the concavo-convex plate is then fitted to one of the circular pieces which has been attached to the cylinder con- necting the two sides of the ornament and the edges of the outer concavo-convex plate are turned over the inner circular plate, and is firmly held in place. The other side is made in the same way, and frequently when the ornament is finished the two out- side plates are connected to the cylindrical column so that a cord could be readily passed through the hollow column from one side to the other. 12 Professor C. C. Willoughby of Harvard University describes the process of making the copper ear ornaments in American Anthropolo- gist, Volume 5, 1903.

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152       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   Fig. 21 shows the next type of ear ornament. These are made from two circular pieces of copper hammered into the con- cavo-convex forms and connected together by a cylindrical column. This again shows great skill employed in connecting these two pieces, as in the first type the concave portion is greatly extended so as to fit in the column and apparently held in place by being pressed firmly to the side of the cylinder, and the cyl-

inder wrapped with a cord to hold the va- rious parts together. Type No. 3 is shown in Fig. 22, and like the last type described, consisted of two concavo-convex plates connected to- gether by a cylinder extending through the hole cut in the concave portion and then clinched upon the outside, and as in type No. 2, only three pieces of copper are used in their construction. Type No. 4. This type is very much

like the other three only it is made of four pieces of copper. One side of the concavo-convex part is double, while the outer piece extends down through the central cylinder and is there fastened while the cylinder extends through the opposite side of the con-

cavo-convex cylinder and is clinched on the outside. Many of these ear ornaments when placed in the burials of the cremated dead show contact with woven fabrics, while others show contact with or- naments made of feathers, while still others show contact with human hair. Many of the ear orna- ments have a string wound around the central col- umn. I am inclined to believe from my examination of a number of these ornaments that the string wrapped around the central column served to hold together the various parts of the ear ornament.

Fig. 22a shows one of the columns wrapped with a string and tied, the knot showing in the photograph.   COPPER COVERED ORNAMENTS. It is quite apparent from the extensive use of copper in connection with aboriginal ornamentation that it was greatly

• 40
 

Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.     153   prized by the ancient artificer, and that he soon learned to know its malleable nature, and could readily adapt it to his use and

wants. He made molds in the shape of hem- ispheres out of the wood, perhaps, and ham- mered the copper to fit these molds, and afterwards by attaching two of these hem- ispheres together almost a perfect ball was formed. One of these is shown in Fig. 23. The specimen is almost a perfect ball three- quarters of an inch in diameter and filled with yellow clay. The specimens have been found attached to charred woven fabrics,

indicating that they were used for ornamental purposes. Copper

was also used as a setting for pearls.13 Large and select pearls were flattened upon one side by grinding, and then placed upon a circular disk of copper a little larger than the pearl. The edges were then turned around the pearl holding it in place. This is shown in Fig. 24. Not only were pearls set in this way, but various pieces of shell cut in a circular form were thus set in copper.

Fig. 25 shows one of the copper pieces with the edges turned. The setting was lost out.

Another of the interesting objects used for ornament were small hemispheres made of wood and covered over with iron, presumably mete- oric,14 and then set in copper. These are perhaps the most interesting of the many artifacts found in the mound. The manner of attachment of the hemis- pheres is shown in Fig. 26, which shows that two small holes were drilled into the copper setting,

13 Large quantities of fresh water pearls made into beads were found in every section of the mound. In one instance more than 2,000 of these beads were found with one burial, and these will be noted later. 14 Implements of meteoric iron were found in this mound by Prof. F. W. Putnam. Peabody Museum Report, Vol. 3.

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154      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   and the set having been prepared before hand by cutting a crease into the wood so that a cord could be passed from one hole to the other in order that the ornament could be attached. Associated with the small hemispheres covered with iron were a few tubular beads from one-half to three-quarters of an

inch in length. With one of the burials was found a small ornament made of thin copper representing a leaf shaped arrow point, being one and five-- eighths inches in length, one and one-eighth inches in width at the widest part. It is very finely wrought, the edges being perfectly smooth and the convex top nicely rounded. No holes are found for its attachment or suspension, but as the surface is greatly corroded perhaps the holes

have been entirely filled. This specimen is the only one of the kind found in the mound, and is shown in Fig. 27.

IMPLEMENTS OF COPPER. The implements made of copper were not numerous in this mound. Most of the copper employed in this section seems to

have been used for making ornaments, yet four copper axes and one copper needle were found with the burials. One fine axe, larger than any one of the four taken out during our explora- tions was presented to us by Mr. Vause Harness, who secured the specimen from the mound some twenty-five years ago. This specimen is shown in Fig. 28. The axes for the most part are small, and all are practically one type and made from masses of native copper by hammering into form. The surfaces of the axes are very much corroded,

but they plainly show the irregularities in the surface so char- acteristic of the specimens found in the Scioto Valley. Several of the axes show the remains of a woven fabric plainly imprinted upon their face, and the meshes of some of this cloth are so

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.     155

 

firmly attached to the copper that it cannot be removed without

destroying it entirely, while in another instance the cloth cover-

ing one side of the axe was readily separated and the cloth was

well preserved by the salts of copper.

The pole or blunt end of the axes was invariably square,

and one side perfectly flat, the width gradually enlarging from

the blunt end to the cutting edge, which shape was produced by

pounding from the flat side. The cutting edge, which was very

much expanded at the bit, is fairly sharp, and has the convex

curve of modern axes. The other side of the axe is an oval

gradually tapering from the center or thick portion to the edges.

This rounded portion of the axe is very smooth, showing that

much care and labor had been expended in fashioning the im-

plements, and since we have learned that the concavo-convex

portions of the ear ornaments, previously described, were no

doubt formed in a mold expressly prepared for that purpose, I

am inclined to believe that plano-convex axes were made in the

same way, and that a mold was made out of stone the size re-

quired for the individual lump of copper and then the annealing

and hammering into form would go rapidly forward. Again, I

am inclined to believe that when the partly hammered copper

was placed in the fire to be annealed it was returned to the mold

while hot and rapidly hammered into shape.

Fig. 28 shows the large copper axe presented by Mr. Vause

Harness. This axe was taken from the mound by Mr. Harness

when he was a boy attending the school, some twenty-five years

ago. When Mr. Harness secured this axe a number of other

specimens were taken from one of the graves. Mr. Harness also

presented us two parts of an ear ornament, a perforated bear

canine and several pieces of mica. The axe is five and one-half

inches in length, two and a quarter inches in width at the blunt

end and three and three-eighths at the cutting edge, and seven-

tenths of an inch in thickness; and weighs one and one-half

ounces short of two pounds, and is decidedly of the plano-con-

vex type. Mr. Harness tells me that this axe was taken from

near the center of the mound, and as near as he can recall, was

not on the base line.

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156       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.       157 Fig. 29 is another axe of this same general type, both sides of which are greatly corroded and covered with a finely woven fabric. Beneath the fabric there seems to be a skin of some ani- mal with short hair. This can be seen in the figure in the right hand corner of the cutting edge. On the opposite, or flat side, a covering of bark lies directly over the cloth. The axe is five

inches in length, one and one-half inches in width at the blunt end. One side grad- ually tapers to the bit, but the other side is cut off at an angle of forty-five degrees, and one inch below the blunt end the axe is two inches wide and then gradually tapers to the cutting edge, where it is three and one-half inches in width. It weighs one pound and ten ounces. The axe was found near the left knee of one of the uncremated burials. Fig. 30, although small, is one of the most beautiful axes taken from     the

mound. Like the others, it is corroded, and one side is covered with the imprint of cloth, while the cloth itself was removed and preserved. The axe is three and one-tenth inches in length, one and one-tenth inches in width at the blunt end and one and six- tenths inches at the cutting edge. Like the other two, this axe is of the plano-convex type. This specimen was found with a cremated burial.

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158       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   With this burial were also two copper ear ornaments, two large copper plates and one human skull, which was no doubt a trophy. The position of this axe in reference to the burial and skull can be seen in Fig. 31. Fig. 32 is another one of the small axes. By a glance at this cut one can readily see the inequalities of the surface, and in several places the copper is distinctly laminated, and at one corner of the blunt edge a piece of copper is separated from the main mass. The specimen is two and eight-tenths inches in length, one and two-tenths inches in width at the blunt end, and

one and six-tenths inches wide at the cut- ting edge. Fig. 33 is one of the most interesting of the axes found in this mound. It was taken from the fourth grave found in the mound at the extreme south end. It had been wrapped in bark, though but lit- tle of the bark can be seen adhering to the implement. It is slightly oxidized. It is two and seven-tenths inches wide at the blunt end and one and eight-tenths inches wide at the cutting edge. It is also of the plano-convex type, but also shows some hammering on the cutting edge from both sides, which is not notice- able in the other specimens. The other copper implement found in this mound is the needle, and only one

was discovered. The needle is three inches in length and slightly over one-twentieth of an inch in diameter, and is perfectly sym- metrical throughout from the point to the end which is slightly curved and flattened. The eye is broken out. The needle is a little short of the bone needles which were found in this mound, but resemble the bone needles in every re- spect. POTTERY. The use of pottery for the preparation of food was universal among the prehistoric peoples of Ohio, and the builders of Har-

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.     159 ness Mound were no exception, for in every portion of the mound fragments of broken pottery, representing a high type of fictile art were found. These fragments had been gathered up with the soil as work progressed upon the mound and were carried to the mound and deposited as so much material necessary for its construction.

The unearthed potsherds were large enough to show that the shapes were those of simple pots with wide mouths, and the necks but slightly constricted; while the rims were sometimes developed in a wide collar and uniformly made as shown in Fig. 34, while in others the rims were small, plain and undecorated, still in others the rims were slightly enlarged and decorated with incised

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160       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   lines and indentations. The symmetry and grace displayed by the discarded sherds show that the early ceramic workers dis- played much skill and patience as well as experience in their art.

No potsherds or perfect pots were found in any of the burials, but a perfect piece had been placed upon the clay covering of one of the uncremated dead about eighteen inches above the body,

and was accidentally broken by being struck with a digging tool by one of the workmen, and the vase shattered, but we hope to be able to restore it. The clay used in the manufacture of this

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.      161   pottery was evidently secured from the clay pits near at hand, and resembled the clay used in the preparation of the graves.

The tempering of this clay was mainly with angular sand derived from the pul- verized rock. A number of the unearthed sherds also show that small pieces of mica, sometimes a quarter of an inch in length, would be used in conjunction with sand,

in other instances pieces of limestone and mussel shells that had been broken into very fine particles were used. The decoration

of this pottery presents some very striking features. In some instances modeling tools covered with a cord were used in decorating the lower portions of the vessels and the upper portions were decorated with a stamp and stylet used in making the straight lines. In other in- stances a stamp was used over the body of the entire vessel, as shown in Fig. 35.

A specimen with markings over the body of the vase similar Vol. XVI.-11.

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162       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

to this was taken from the Hopewell Mounds.15. Another speci-

men similar to Fig. 35, is shown in Fig. 36, only the lines are

curved.

Figure 37 shows a potsherd decorated with a diamond shaped

stamp, and the decoration evidently extended over the body of the

vessel.

BONE OBJECTS.

The articles of bone which played an important part in the

daily life of the builders of this mound may be grouped under

two heads, utilitarian and ornamental. The first comprises bone

implements, such as needles, awls, etc.

The second group represents the beads, carved bone pendants

and ornaments made of human as well as animal jaws.

 

 

BONE IMPLEMENTS.

Bone implements were not abundant with the burials of this

mound, although a few of the graves produced a number of very

fine specimens of needles and awls in perfect condition, but the

greater number had been calcined by the action of fire after the

cremated bones and ashes, together with their implements and

ornaments, had been placed in the grave, so that restoration of

many of the bone implements would be impossible. Fig. 38 shows

a representative collection of the largest bone implements found

in the mound, the length of these respectively, varies from eight

to ten inches. The implements were made from the metapodiale

bones of the deer by splitting the bone lengthwise and sharpening

the anterior end. Two kinds of this implement were found in

the mound, those having sharp points and the body of the imple-

ment likewise cut in proportion. No. 1 of Fig. 38 is a good ex-

ample of the first class which were perhaps used as bodkins.

The second kind of implement were those having blunt points,

the body of the implement being heavy throughout its entire

length. A good example of this implement can be seen in Fig.

38, No. 2. These implements were very likely used for domestic

purposes, taking the place of our modern fork.

15Twentieth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, Plate

CLXXII, by W. H. Holmes.

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Another variety of the bone im- plements found sparingly in the graves were the bone awls made from the tarso-metatarsus of the wild tur- key. They vary in length from two to four inches, and the points are made very sharp. The anterior part of the bone is cut away almost to the center, and this cut is carried through to the posterior end of the bone, which is sharpened into a well tapered point. Fig. 39 shows a good example of these awls, which were invariable in form as found throughout the entire mound.

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164      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

 

BONE NEEDLES.

This useful implement was likewise found sparingly in the

burials, and when found usually appeared in lots from three to

seven placed together. Fig. 40 is a good illustration of this finely

wrought needle. The needles were usually from three to four

inches in length, gradually tapering from the head to the well

sharpened point. The head is usually flat, as shown in the illus-

tration and pierced with a small hole near the end. The hole is

bored from both sides of the needle, and many gave evidence of

having been much used. The bone usually employed in making

the needle was the metapodiale bone of the deer and elk. The

making of the needles from this bone required much labor and

even skill to produce the gradual taper and symmetry of the

implement.

ORNAMENTS OF BONE.

Ornaments of bone were frequently found in the burials in

perfect condition, though many had been destroyed by fire, so that

their identity could not be determined. Those that could be iden-

tified consisted of gorgets, carved bone, bear teeth, shark's teeth

and ornaments made from animal and human jaws. The most

interesting of these ornaments were the human jaws. The lower

jaw was usually selected, but occasionally the upper was detached,

perforated and used for ornament.

In one of the graves (No. 46) the cremated remains were

placed in the grave together with implements and ornaments.

The implements consisted of two arrow points and the ornaments

consisted of two copper ear pendants and a human inferior maxil-

lary bone. This jaw when taken from the grave was considered

perfect, but upon examination, it was found to be an adult jaw

with three incisor teeth gone. The loss had been replaced by

three incisor teeth of the deer. The deer teeth have very long

roots, but these were cut and properly fitted into the socket of the

human jaw to replace the lost human teeth and make the orna-

ment appear perfect, as only jaws with a perfect set of teeth

were used.

Fig. 41 shows a front view of the jaw. Different parts of

the jaw show polishing and cutting. The symphysis is cut and

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.    165   some work in polishing done. The sigmoid notch also shows by notches cut into the bone near the neck that the ornament was attached at this point. The coronoid process is also slightly pol- ished, and parts of the body of the jaw show polishing and cut- ting. The rami of the jaw is colored green from the copper ear ornaments which were placed in the grave in contact with the jaw. Fig. 42 shows two jaws taken from an uncremated grave (No. 100). The burial is shown in Fig. 13. The jaws are those

of adults, and the rami of both jaws are entirely broken away leaving only the body of the jaw with the teeth inserted. Two holes on each side of the symphysis perforate the jaw, and were no doubt used for attachment. Another interesting ornament is shown in Fig. 43, which is made of the upper jaw or superior maxillary bones, and was made by cutting the bone from the face above the alveolar process and leaving the platate intact. The jaw is perfect with the exception of the last molar on each side, which has been cut away. The

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166      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   attachment was made through the posterior palatine canal which

had been enlarged by bor- ing. Not only were human jaws utilized for ornament but those of the mountain lion, wild cat and bear were frequently met with. Fig. 44 shows a lower jaw of the mountain lion which was taken from one of the buri- als. The rami of this jaw has been cut away, leaving the body of the jaw with all of the teeth inserted. Fig. 45 shows a lower jaw of the wild cat. The under portion of this jaw has been cut away and pol- ished. It was taken from a cremated burial, (No. 107). Fig. 46 shows the lower jaw of the bear, which had been cut and

polished, leaving only the canine and the premolars inserted in

the jaw.   PENDANTS OF BONE AND TEETH. One of the most interest- ing of the many ornaments from this mound is the effigy pendant made from bone which is shown in Fig. 47, No. I. This pendant is simi- lar to No. 2, which is made of stone, perhaps argilite. These specimens represent

the claw of an eagle. They are well-wrought and highly polished.

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.       167   They are both perforated at the base, the hole being bored from both sides. The perforated teeth of the shark, as shown in Fig.

48, were frequently met with in the burials, although they are limited in number in each bur- ial, seldom  more than two, sometimes only one were found.

They were all perforated with one hole, which was drilled from both sides. All of the perforations are made in every way sim- ilar to those shown in the illustration.

ORNAMENTS OF BEAR TEETH. Canine teeth of the bear, Fig. 49, were a favorite or- nament, and were found in many of the burials. They perhaps were not used as pendants, as most of them show three or four perfor- ations, and many of the holes are counter sunk, and perhaps served to attach the tooth to a belt or wear- ing apparel. The perfect

canine teeth outside of the perforation showed but little work in

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168       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

the way of polishing and dressing, although in one grave, Fig. 12, twenty (20) cut and polished halves of the canine teeth were found. These teeth are shown in Fig. 50 The two specimens to the left in the figure show a highly polished outside surface of the tooth, and the three specimens to the right show the inside of the tooth, exposing the pulp cavity. The speci- mens are perforated with two holes, one on each side of the center. For the most part these holes were drilled from the outer surface of the tooth, although a number show the enlargement of the holes from the opposite side.  These ornaments were placed with the cre-

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.    169   mated burial as shown in Fig. 12, and associated with them were copper ear ornaments, knives and a platform pipe, Fig. 62, made of steatite.

Necklaces made of perforated canine teeth of the raccoon and opossum were abundant, and several hundred of these teeth

were secured, but many of them were in a charred state. A good illustration is shown in Fig. 51. Fig. 52 shows another

interesting necklace made from the toe nails of the gray wolf (Canis occidentalis). These ornaments were evidently highly prized as they occur quite frequently in the graves.

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170      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   As previously stated, many of the ornaments found in the cremated graves were also calcined and their identity entirely

lost, and in Fig. 53 one of these orna- ments partly restored, is shown.  It was made of the outside part of the horn of the elk, which had been  carefully  cut and perforated with holes as shown in the illustration. Among the most interesting specimens found with a burial in this mound were the carved and polished bones shown in Fig. 54. The two bones are shown in the illus- tration as they ap- peared in the grave. The decoration upon them is in every way uniform, and was made by cutting away the bone by grinding and polishing, thus leaving the decorated portion in relief. At one end the beak of a bird is shown, the nostril and eye being quite plain, but the

decoration at the other end is not apparent. The opposite side of the bone is not decorated, but is highly polished. The bones used for this ornament are perhaps the leg bones of the bear,

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.       171

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172      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

as is suggested from their size and general shape, but they have been so cut and polished that the bones at present show but little re- semblance to the original form.  At each end the bone is perforated with three holes bored from the polished side of the bone. The marrow cavity is greatly enlarged through- out the entire length, and at the larger end the bone is cut very thin, consequently making that portion of the ornament very fragile.     OBJECTS OF MICA. Blocks of mica and vari- ous figures and objects cut from the detached thin sheets were found in many graves as well as every part of the mound. The mica pieces not found in the graves had evidently been lost from the clothing of the workers while they were engaged in building the mound, as the pieces were very thin and in many instances would represent only a portion of a design. In one of the cremated graves, No. 89, more than one hundred sheets of mica

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.      173   in various designs were found. The largest design is shown in Fig. 55. The specimen is ten inches in length and three inches wide, and is cut from one sheet of mica in the form of a spear point. The diamond shaped base is very unusual, and is per- haps a fancy form for decoration. The point of this spear was lost in removing the specimen from the grave. Fig. 56 shows a number of forms found in this grave, and they are many times duplicated, especially the scrolls and the

long narrow strips of mica. Circular pieces of mica, as shown in Fig. 57, were not found in abundance in the mound, although quite a number were taken from this particular grave. All of the mica is pierced with small holes, apparently for attachment. The cutting into these various forms was no doubt done with a flint knife, as a careful examination of the specimens will show. I do not think that they used a pattern in making these objects as several pieces of mica were found which show the object partly cut out, while none of the scrolls found in this grave were like

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174       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   each other. While the pieces exhibited the same design of dec- oration the size varied. The edges are jagged and rough, and many of them exhibit irregularities, and none of them are geo-

metrically correct.     PIPES. During the explora- tions of this mound four platform pipes were found in as many graves. As far as I am able to ascertain, pipes were not exhumed by any of the previous ex- plorers of this mound except Squier and Davis who found a pipe in shaft A. A drawing of

this pipe is shown in Fig. 4. Consequently only five pipes were found in the burials of this large mound. The first pipe found is shown in Fig. 58. It was taken from the cremated grave No. 20. Associated with the pipe were three

copper ear ornaments and several hundred beads made of ocean shell. A fire of grass and twigs had been kindled over the grave, and as the pipe was deposited on top of the cremated remains it

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.      175   suffered most and was broken into a dozen pieces, but all of the pieces were secured and the pipe is now fully restored, as shown in the photograph, Fig. 58. The pipe is made of limestone, plat- form in design, with a slightly curved base, bold and symmetri- cal in outline. The bowl rises from the center of the slightly curved side of the platform and slightly increases in diameter to the middle of the bowl, where it gradually decreases, forming a symmetrical concave depression around the entire bowl, which again increases in diameter at the top of the bowl, where it is the same diameter as the base of the bowl. That platform of the pipe is five and one-fifth inches in length, one and one-half inches in width, and three-fourths of an inch in thickness. The bowl measures one and one-tenth of an inch in height from the plat-

form, and is one and one-half inches in diameter. The hollow of the bowl is six-tenths of an inch in diameter. A small hole is drilled from one end of the platform and connects with the hol- low of the bowl. The most symmetrical and beautiful of the pipes found in this mound is shown in Fig. 59. This pipe is made of limestone with a curved base, which is slightly shown in the figure, as the pipe is so placed that the hollow in the bowl can be seen. The platform part of the pipe is four and one- tenth inches in length, one and one-tenth inches in width at the center, gradually tapering at each end to one and three-fourths of an inch in width. This platform is very thin, being four- tenths of an inch in thickness and highly polished throughout. The bowl, like Fig. 58, rises from the center of the platform and

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176       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   is one and four-tenths inches in height by one and three-tenths in diameter. The crease is cut on each side of the bowl parallel to the platform at the point where the bowl joins the platform. Near the center of the bowl the diameter is greatest. Just above the center a crease encircles the bowl and the top is flaring, be- ing wider than other parts of the bowl. The hollow in the bowl is three-fifths of an inch in diameter, which is the same

from the top to the bottom of the bowl. A small hole is drilled from one end of the platform and connects with the hollow of the bowl. Another interesting pipe is shown in Fig. 60. This

cut does not do justice to this little pipe, as the bowl does not show to any advantage in the cut, yet it is six-tenths of an inch in height and nine-tenths of an inch in diameter. The platform of this pipe is only slightly curved, being three inches in length and one inch in width at the broadest part, which is the center, and gradually tapering to each end. The bowl rises from the platform furthest from the end where the small hole is bored,

which connects with the hollow of the bowl. The pipe shows much use, and the hollow is seven-tenths of an inch in diameter, and the walls of the bowl are very

thin, apparently from continued use. Fig. 61 shows a beautiful steatite pipe taken from burial shown in Fig. 12. It is also a platform pipe, the platform being almost straight, and is three and one-half inches in length, eight- tenths of an inch in diameter and one-half inch in thickness. The pipe is highly polished throughout. The bowl rises from a slightly convex top nearest to the end where the small hole is

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.      177

 

drilled into the platform and communicates with the hollow of

the bowl. The bowl is oblong, being one inch in its longest

diameter and two-fifths of an inch in its shortest diameter. The

hollow in the bowl is made on a similar scale, being six-tenths

for its longest diameter and one-half inch shortest diameter. The

bowl is contracted near the base, and near the top of the bowl a

small crease extends entirely around the bowl.

 

STONE IMPLEMENTS.

The largest of the stone implements found in the mound

outside of the large digging implements mentioned in connection

with the flat stones found on the sides of the mound were the

stone celts, and these were seldom met with, only two being found

during the entire explorations. Those two were indiscriminately

placed in the mound. None were placed with the burials.

A good illustration of this implement is shown in Fig. 62.

It is made from a compact granite of a dark green color and is

symmetrically made, finely finished and polished. The celt meas-

ures four and four-fifths inches in length, two and one-fifth

inches in width at the cutting edge, gradually tapering to a blunt

point at the pole.

 

FLINT AND OBSIDIAN IMPLEMENTS.

Flint implements found in the burials consisted mostly of

knives, as shown in Fig. 63. The material for these knives was

evidently secured from the flint ridge district, and is the best

grade of chalcedony found here, such as the variegated and

banded jasper grades, which qualities are capable of being flaked

into fine and sharp knives found so abundant in the graves. The

knives were not large, the largest measured only three and one-

fourth inches in length, but they were seldom less than one and

one-half inches in length; the average length would exceed two

inches, and the average width would be about three-fifths of an

inch. The knives had the same general curve as shown in the

figure. These were made from banded and variegated jasper,

and the specimens show several facets on the convex face, while

the concave side of the specimen, on account of the compact

structure of the flint, is plain and very smooth, with sharp cut-

Vol. XVI.-12.

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178      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   ting edges on both sides. The knives show no chipping, and all were flaked from cores. Twenty of these knives were found in one burial, and it was a very common occurrence to find ten or twelve. A few of the cores mentioned above were also found in the burials, invariably in close proximity with the knives. The best example of a core is shown in Fig. 64, which is made of a variegated and banded jasper, and shows several facets from which knives have been flaked.

Arrow points were found spar- ingly in the graves. Fig. 65 shows the type of points found. All are stemmed and finely chipped. The points were also made of flint ridge material, but the fine jasper was not used in the making of arrow points, but a white variety shading into a light dark was used. Obsidian arrows and spears are frequently met with upon the sur- face throughout the entire valley of the Scioto, but the greatest find of obsidian specimens in Ohio were those taken from the Hopewell Mounds by Professor Moorehead in 1892. The only specimen found in the Harness Mound is shown in Fig. 66.   The specimen is broken, but it no doubt represents one of the large curved knives char- acteristic of the Hopewell culture. The length of the specimen is three

and one-fifth inches, and the width at the largest end is one and one-half inches. It is well-wrought, and the chipping was done by one experienced in the art.   STONE GORGETS. Stone gorgets, as shown in Fig. 67, were not found in abund- ance, though evidently many had been destroyed by fire. All

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.      179 shown in the figure have been more or less subjected to fire, and several have been broken, but we were fortunate in most cases to secure the pieces, and thus restore many of the gorgets. The largest piece perforated with one hole, as shown in the figure, was found in a grave associated with cut mica. This piece is four inches in length by one and three-fourths inches in width, and a little less than one-fourth of an inch in thickness. It is made of slate and highly polished. The next gorget shown in the figure is of an oblong boat shape, made of slate and perforated with two holes, one on each side of the center. The perforation is made from one side. The general surface is plano-convex, and three and one-half inches

in length and one and one-fourth inches in width at its widest part. The next gorget shown in the cut is beautifully made, also of the plano-convex type almost diamond shaped, perforated with one hole, which is at the center of the gorget, and pierced from the concave side. It is three and one-fourth inches in length and one inch in width at its widest part. Throughout the mound and scattered promiscuously were found large and small pieces of galenite, and all show some work upon them in the way of polishing and grinding. The largest piece weighs seven pounds and six ounces, and is cut and pol- ished into the form of a roughly shaped ball. A few of the isometric crystals were found in the graves, and were no doubt

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180       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   prized for their shining, metallic lustre. Many of the large pieces of galenite are associated with limestone, indicating that the gal-

enite came from the upper Mississippi region.

GRAPHITE. In several of the burials quantities of graphite in the gran- ular form were found. The graphite had been placed with the

burial in small bags made of woven fabric. The graphite prob- ably comes from the North Carolina district.

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.       181     OBJECTS MADE OF SHELL. Objects of shell, for the most part, were made of ocean shells, though the shells of the fresh water mussels were used in making spoons with small handles, which were beautifully and symmetrically made. The pearls taken from the mussels were also used as ornaments. For some reason the ocean shells sup- plied their aboriginal wants and needs better than the shells found at their very door. The ocean shells were doubtless

brought to their settlements in the rough state, and they were then made into such objects as were needed. Large containers, or drinking cups, were made from these shells as shown in Figs. 68 and 69. The shell shown in Fig. 68 is known as the Fulgur Perversum, and was made by cutting away a portion of the body whorl and removing the columella. The beak was carefully rounded and made into a wide spout to aid in emptying the vessel or to serve as a place to drink from

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182       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   the vessel. This shell container is quite large, measuring eight and one-half inches in length by six inches in width at the widest part. The apex, sutures and periphery are cut and polished so that the vessel appears perfectly smooth both inside and out.

These drinking vessels were always placed in the cremated burials upsidedown, the orifices resting upon the bottom of the prepared grave, indicating that nothing in the way of food or drink had been placed in the container when it was deposited

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.      183   with the incinerated remains which were placed around and over the vessel. Three of the perfect containers were secured, and one which was badly broken by the action of fire which was used in the last ceremony before the grave was covered with

earth. The container as shown in Fig. 69 was made from  Fulgur Perver- sum, and is prepared a lit- tle different from the one shown in Fig. 68. The beak was left almost in- tact.  The aperture had been enlarged by cutting away the body whorl sim- ilar in every respect to the last one described. A por- tion of another shell was made into a drinking cup of a form known as the "horse conch"-- Fascio- laria gigentia. This ves- sel was badly broken by fire, but the greater part of the apex remains.   PEARL BEADS. Most abundant of all objects found in the mound were beads of shells and pearl.  The pearl beads were pierced with holes and strung for attachment around the

neck or wrist. A string having some twenty-one hundred beads was found with burial No. 100. A section of a case in which these beads are now kept is shown in Fig. 70. They are all small, some of them being perfectly round. While the majority are small several hundred of them were found of a size which would

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184       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   vary in diameter from one-fourth to one-half of an inch. Some of the large pearls are shown in Fig. 71. In several instances the large pearls had been flattened upon one side and set in copper, as shown in Fig. 26. Again, the pearls were often flattened, as shown in Fig. 72, and pierced with

holes for attachment. The pearls shown in Fig. 71 are all full size, and all exceed one-half inch in diameter.     IMITATION OF PEARL BEADS. Associated with the pearl beads were beads of clay, modeled in exact imitation of the pearls with which they were found.

The clay beads were burned and afterwards covered with a flex- ible mica. No doubt the beads were made to imitate the true pearls. Beads were made of small ocean shells, such as the Oliva literata and the Nerita rumphia, as shown in Fig. 73. More than

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.     185   three thousand of these shells were found with one burial. A glance at the cut will show how these were made. The Oliva are slightly altered by cutting away the apex so as to permit of the passage of a string which was introduced through the natural aperture; the Neritas were ground away so as to show the col- umella, which would also permit of a string being passed around it, so in that way it could be readily strung.

A great number of round beads made of the columella of the large shells are shown in Fig. 74. These beads vary in size from one-fourth to three-fourths of an inch in diameter, and so perfect are they that they resemble beads that have been made by machinery. The small hole is bored from both sides. Another form of bead is shown in Fig. 75. This bead is an

oblong one, varying in length from one-half inch to one and one-half inches, and is also made of the columella and pierced with a hole for attachment. TEXTILES. One of the primitive industries of the builders of the Har- ness Mound was the weaving of fabrics, and we find the charred remains of the simplest to the highest art in primitive weaving.

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186       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   In almost every burial where the final ceremony consisted of set- ting fire to the covering of straw and twigs, which were placed over the cremated remains, we find the charred remnants of cloth or coarse matting. It is fully known that the textile art appeared early in primi- tive culture, and it is generally believed that the association of esthetic concepts with it came first and it became quite a factor in personal adornment.

Thus we find in the graves of the Harness Mound woven fabrics embellished with copper ornaments and cut designs of mica, showing a high degree of advancement in personal adorn- ment. Fig. 76 is a good example of the coarse matting so fre- quently found in the burials. No. 1 is made of coarse straw closely twined, and No. 2 is made of bark and straw mixed and woven in the same way.

Several different textiles with ornaments of copper and mica attached were found, as shown in Fig. 77, but the coarse reticulated patterns were more abundant. The finer patterns of reticulate weaving were found wrapped around the copper pieces which were preserved by the salts of copper. The textile shown in Fig. 77 is made by twining, and is a very closely woven fab- ric. When the charred remains of the cloth were removed the

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.     187   mass appeared to be about one-half an inch in thickness, and upon examination it was found to contain fourteen layers of cloth, covered by a piece of very thin iron made in the form of a circle.16 After finishing the explorations of this mound I received permission to examine a small mound in the field in front of Mr. Robert Harness' house. This mound is located upon the same

terrace as the Harness group, and is less than half a mile distant to the south. The mound is a typical conical mound, being six feet and six inches in height at the time of our examination and only forty feet in diameter at the base. Mr. Harness informs me that the mound was fully two feet higher at the apex when the site of the mound was first ploughed over some twenty years ago. 16 According to Professor Putnam the iron from this mound was determined as meteoric iron. Reports of the Peabody Museum Vol. 3.

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188       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   The mound covered twenty-eight burials. Twenty-seven of these burials were placed on the base line, or from a few inches to a foot above this line. Not one of the twenty-seven was cre-

mated, and all had been placed promiscuously at or near the base of the mound. No prepared graves were discernible, and in several instances the heads were placed lower than the feet, and in one instance the head and feet were lower than the middle of

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190       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   the body. The skeletons were badly decomposed, so much so that not a single perfect bone of any kind was removed from the burials. But few artifacts were interred with the burials, and these consisted of a few notched arrow heads, very well chipped, and many flint knives roughly prepared. Near one of the burials was found a finely polished celt, and with another a tubular pipe, which is shown in Fig. 79. The extra burial forming the twenty- eighth, which constitutes the contents of the mound, was cre- mated, and intrusive to this mound. The grave in which the cremated remains were placed was made some time after the mound had been completed, as the outline of the various layers of clay could readily be seen on the sides of the grave. No logs had been used as support around the side of the grave, which was otherwise similar to those placed above the base line in the Ed- win Harness Mound, but the grave showed that a covering of

brush and bark, which was set on fire, had been placed over the incinerated remains and the grave covered while it was burning. No artifacts were found with this burial.     RESUME. A brief mention of the more salient points brought out by the examination of a portion of the mound that was abandoned after more than half a century of active efforts manifest in an attempt to examine the mound, as set forth in the preceding pages, will be, perhaps, of interest, and I will briefly give them. The object of the mound was purely mortuary, and the site of the mound a charnel house until it was filled with graves, when the house was destroyed by fire and a mound erected as a monu- ment to the dead. All of the graves in the mound showed a careful preparation for the reception of the remains.

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.      191

 

Of the one hundred and thirty-three, only five were uncre-

mated, and a majority of those cremated showed that the last

rite was performed before the grave was temporarily covered,

by setting fire to the grass and twigs that covered the grave, and

while burning was covered over with a layer of clay. This was

done with each burial until the charnel house was filled.

The artifacts placed in the graves also show that the builders

of the mound were possessors of a wonderful wealth of art pro-

ducts, which products had a well marked individuality, being

superior in every respect to the artifacts found in the prehistoric

village near Higby, five or six miles to the south. The Higby

inhabitants were representatives of the Fort Ancient culture,¹⁷

though we find that the Harness Mound builders were equal in

culture in every respect to the peoples occupying the Hopewell

group.

The earthworks and mounds of the Harness group were

purely aboriginal, and from the data secured from our explora-

tions are representatives of the North West group described by

Mr. W. H. Holmes,¹⁸ and which so far as the artifacts testify,

are purely Pre-Columbian.

The great body of relics found in the mound were made of

copper, shell and bone. Especially noticeable were the ear orna-

ments of copper which were in some instances covered with iron

and silver, and which display remarkable workmanship. A care-

ful examination of these finely wrought implements and orna-

ments plainly shows that the mechanical art was developed almost

exclusively, while in other sections of the Scioto Valley, where

the Hopewell Culture is found, the idiographic art was highly

developed along with the non-imitative.

No perfect pieces of the ceramic art were exhumed, but the

sherds plainly show that the fictile products are entitled to a high

place in Ohio ceramic arts.

The great variety of weaving and the quantity of woven

 

17I have for my own convenience named the two great cultures

whose remains are so abundant in Ohio, Fort Ancient Culture and Hope-

well Culture, "Explorations of the Baum Village Site," Vol. 14, Ohio

State Archaeological and Historical Publications.

18 Twentieth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethonology.

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Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound.    193 material found in the graves, indicate that the art was assiduously practiced. The examination of the Robert Harness Mound proved it to be a burial mound belonging to the Fort Ancient Culture, and the finding of a burial of the Hopewell Culture intrusive to the Robert Harness Mound proves without question that the people of the Fort Ancient Culture were the first to occupy the surround- ing territory, and consequently the Hopewell Culture occupied this territory at a later period.

Vol. XVI.-13.

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