THE FEURT MOUNDS
AND VILLAGE SITE.
BY WILLIAM C. MILLS.
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site are
situated about five
miles north of the city of Portsmouth,
on the east side of the
Scioto river, in Clay township, Scioto
county, Ohio. The land
upon which this group of mounds and the
village site is located
is a part of the estate of Mr. William
C. Feurt, which consists
of more than 400 acres of rich bottom
lands and sloping hill-
sides, and is considered one of the most
productive and well-
kept farms along the Scioto. Mr. Feurt,
who gives personal
attention to his farm, lives in a
commodious and stately mansion,
constructed in an early day by his
father and added to, as re-
quired, by the son until today it stands
among the most beautiful
farm residences in the Scioto valley.
The immediate location of the mounds and
village site is
a level plateau of less than five acres
in extent, elevated a little
more than forty feet above the bottom
land into which it projects,
promontory like, with steep and very
abrupt banks. Looking
south from the site of this village upon
the broad and beautiful
valley of the Scioto, and westward
across the river valley to
the foothills, where is located the
Tremper Mound, one is im-
pressed with the fact that early man in
the Ohio valley took
advantage of natural surroundings in
selecting a site for his
home.
The original top soil of this plateau
was a clay loam of
several feet in thickness, underlaid
with gravel. The present
top soil is from six inches to four feet
above the original surface,
as a result of the custom of the
inhabitants of the village in
carrying soil from the sides of the
abrupt bank and covering up
the accumulated debris in and around
their tepee sites. When
these places were uncovered, the story
of the primitive peoples,
who doubtless for a long period of time
made this site their
home, was revealed.
Vol. XXVI-20. (305)
306
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
THE GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY OF THE COUNTY.
Scioto county is very rugged in all its
parts, and is bounded
on the south by the Ohio river, which
separates Ohio from the
Kentucky hills. The Scioto river flows
through the county from
north to south forming its junction with
the Ohio at Portsmouth,
the capital of the county. The valley of
the Scioto is perhaps
the most fertile and the broadest of any
of the river valleys
emptying into the Ohio. The hills on the
east side of the river
are higher than those on the west, and
many of them are still
covered with the deep tangled forest,
unchanged since the days
when early prehistory man roamed over
them in search of game
and food, or of the Ohio pipestone,
which he prized so highly
for making into pipes and ornaments.
GEOLOGY.
Scioto county presents many very
interesting features as
regards geological formations, that were
taken advantage of by
primitive man. The Ohio pipestone, which
outcrops on the very
summit of the highest hills on the east
side of the river, dips
to the east and covers the entire
eastern portion of the county.
The pipestone stratum varies in thickness from one foot to
eleven feet, the average being three and
one-half or four feet.
At the outcrop on the summit of the
hill, as shown by the old
quarries made by primitive man, the
color is light gray with a
reddish tint, gradually shading into a
dark red, which resembles
the Minnesota pipestone.
The Ohio pipestone was extensively
quarried all along the
crest of the hill. Many of these old
quarries have been extended
by white men, who sought to use the
product in the making of
fire brick, but the percentage of iron
was too great, and the
project was abandoned. The pipestone,
however, as quarried
by primitive man, was entirely suited to
his purpose, as it was
readily carved into form and would take
a high polish. The
prehistoric inhabitants of the Feurt
village site used this pipe-
stone extensively for making pipes and
ornaments, as did the
builders of the Tremper mound, located
directly across the
river on its west bank, from which the
beautiful effigy pipes
were taken in 1915 by the survey.
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 307
The Ohio black shale outcrops on the
west side of the river
and is one of the lowest stratums
exposed in the county. In
color the shale is very black and takes
a high polish, but when
exposed to the air and sun after being
dug from the earth, it
has a tendency to split up into thin
sheets and finally to dis-
integrate. The shale was extensively
used by the dwellers of
the Feurt village, large slabs of it
often being found in a single
tepee site. On a piece of this black
shale, roughly shaped into
the form of a spear head, seven inches
in length, was drawn
a grotesque mythical conception of a
water serpent, with pro-
nounced canine teeth and protruding
spines.
HISTORICAL DATA CONCERNING THE SITE.
The peoples who constructed the Feurt
mounds and lived
in the village site belonged to the
great Ft. Ancient culture, as
attested by the mode of burial of their
dead, and by the artifacts,
found in profusion over the entire site.
The land has been in
possession of the Feurt family for many
years and the site has
always been known to local collectors as
a very prolific field for
their favorite pastime of hunting Indian
relics.
Of the local collectors, Mr. Chas. V.
Wertz of Portsmouth,
perhaps has the largest collection found
upon this site. Mr.
Wertz very kindly permitted the survey
to make use of his col-
lection, which was picked up from the
surface from year to year
as the land would be freshly plowed. The
finds of Mr. Wertz
present many interesting features when
compared with those
made below the plow line by our survey.
Specimens of grooved
stone axes found on the surface were not
met with in any part
of the village below the plow line;
pestles found by Mr. Wertz
were not found by our survey, yet we
were able to find many
excellent examples of mortars and flat
stones used in preparing
meal; specimens made of cannel coal were
abundant in Mr.
Wertz's collection, especially the
effigy canines of the various
carnivora, but below the plow line not a
single specimen
of cannel coal was found; again the
survey found but few pieces
of cut and decorated shell ornaments but
Mr. Wertz found many
such.
308 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Mr. Wertz also found numerous pieces of
copper, on some
of which an attempt had been made to
destroy their identity by
hammering the finished product into a
mass. The finding of
the masses of bent and battered copper
implements by Mr. Wertz
led me to make the examination to
determine, if possible, whether
the Feurt peoples were contemporaneous
with the Tremper
mound peoples just across the river.
Only two burials showed friendly contact
with some tribe
of the Hopewell culture. One of these
was a splendid necklace
made of shell and copper beads, and the
other a necklace con-
sisting of bear teeth, and imitation
bear teeth made of wood and
covered with copper. However, Mr. Wertz
found a number
of copper pieces corresponding in type
to those found in the
Tremper mound which were hammered and
bent out of semblance
and resembling in many respects the
cache of copper implements
and ornaments found at Ft. Ancient. The
specimens found by
Mr. Wertz were taken from the edge of
the bank where refuse
from the village was dumped and where
doubtless they were
thrown away after being captured and
their identity destroyed.
The specimens found by our survey were
no doubt secured by
barter, and were very likely highly
prized.
EXPLORATIONS MADE BY PROF. MOOREHEAD.
During the year 1896, Prof. Moorehead,
on behalf of the
Society made a very limited examination
of the three mounds.
His report appears in vol. 5 of the
Society's publications, as
follows: "The afternoon of the 13th
(July) we went up the
Scioto five miles to Mr. Feurt's farm,
where there are three
mounds and an extensive village site. We
opened the smaller
mound and dug the large ones the
following day. They are
located upon the second terrace. The
small one is two by twenty-
five feet, the next four by fifty feet,
the largest six by sixty
feet in size. See Figure XV. The village
site must cover at
least five acres. Many interesting
specimens were collected from
it, while the men dug, by Cowen,
Loveberry and myself.
"The mounds are all sand and
gravel. This is rather un-
usual. The burials numbered five in the
smallest, nine in the
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 309
next and 19 in the large one. No relics save
mussel shells ac-
companied the remains. The pottery of
the village site is very
like that found along the Ohio. We find
a difference in the
character of the pottery after reaching
Higbys in Ross county
as one ascends the river. It may be that
all the people from
Higbys or Waverly on down used different
clay, different forms,
or were another tribe. Future study will
determine that.
"Mr. Feurt's farm is five miles up
the Scioto on the east
bank and seems to have been a remarkable
village site. Field
searching resulted in the finding of
many pottery fragments and
other material common to village sites.
The pottery is peculiar
to the lower Scioto and Ohio river
valleys. There is no mica or
copper found.
"In the mounds there were more
burials above the base line
than upon it, yet the place does not
seem modern, for no
European relics were found. Nearly every
skeleton was doubled
up, lay in every direction and several
were on top of each other.
Some were found within ten inches of the
surface, but this is
due in part to long cultivation lowering
the height of the mounds.
"Some war points were found between
the ribs of a skeleton
and several awls and needles lay near
the heads of three skeletons.
One skeleton was that of an old man
whose teeth were worn
away.
"Nine feet below the surface was
found charcoal in the
large mound. This was followed to near
the edges and yielded
nothing as usually is the case with
charcoal layers. The excava-
tion in the large mound was thirty-five
by twenty feet. There
was a layer of ashes above the charcoal.
Sand above this to top
of mound. None of the others were
stratified."
EXPLORATION OF THE MOUNDS.
On the 5th of July, 1916, was begun the
present exploration
of the Feurt mounds and village site.
The examination had
as its purpose the exposing to view of
unexplored portions of
the three mounds, comprising the group,
and certain parts of
the village site surrounding them; the
recording of all finds both
in the mounds and village site and the
photographing of all im-
310 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
portant features in connection with
mortuary customs; to de-
termine, if possible, whether or not the
Feurt inhabitants were
contemporaneous with the Tremper mound
peoples on the op-
posite side of the Scioto; and to
compare the mortuary customs
and artifacts found with the dead and in
the village site with
other sites of the same culture
previously explored in Ohio and
Kentucky.
The surveyor of the party, Mr. Hugh L.
Waugh, made a
complete survey of the mounds and the
village site and prepared
a topographic map, which is shown as
Fig. 1. He then established
secondary traverse points around the
mounds and in the village
site, and from these located the various
finds both in the mounds
and the village site, and from his notes
prepared Fig. 2, which
shows the amount of the village site dug
over.
Mound No. 1.
Mound No. 1 is the smallest of
the three mounds, having
a maximum length of seventy-five feet, a
maximum width of
sixty feet, and height at the center of
two and three-fourths
feet. From this mound 102 burials were
removed by our survey.
According to his report, Mr. Moorehead
took from the center
of the mound five skeletons, making a
total of 107 skeletons
buried in this small mound.
The mound was begun by placing bodies
upon the original
surface and then carrying earth from the
surface nearby and
covering them over. The soil used for
covering the bodies was
frequently filled with animal bones, and
often implements and
ornaments were present, showing that the
earth had been gathered
up from around a tepee site. This
condition prevailed through-
out the mound.
Of the 102 burials, seventy-three were
adults, eleven ado-
lescents and eighteen children. The
adult and adolescent burials
were practically all flexed and only a
single instance was found
where the body had been extended at full
length. Fourteen
burials were of special interest and
will be described.
Burial No. 4 had trunk lying on right
side with shoulders
slightly elevated, head on chest, humeri
alongside the trunk, the
|
(311) |
|
(312) |
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 313 elbows at the pelvis, the femurs vertical, with the lower leg bones closely flexed against them. The tibias were greatly enlarged, showing a diseased conditon. Upon the chest was found a large molar from the lower jaw of the elk. One of the roots of this tooth was perforated for attachment. The tooth is shown as No. 1 of Fig. 87. Burial No. 24 comprised only parts of a skeleton, the skull, with lower jaw widely separated from it, and the right leg, complete, being the bones present in the grave. Associated with |
|
these parts was the skull of a very large black bear and the pelvis of a wild turkey. The burial is shown in Fig. 3. There seems to have been no disturbance of the bones after they were placed in the grave and no evidence is forthcoming to determine why only a part of the body was buried, and these parts associated with animal and bird bones. Burial No. 25 lay on its left side, the skull bent forward resting upon the chest; the right humerus lay alongside the trunk while the left lay beneath the body with the forearm and hand near the face. The legs were closely flexed to the trunk with the feet resting near the pelvis. The burial is shown in |
314 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. Fig. 4. A long and slender arrow point that had pierced the body, plainly indicates the tragic death of this individual. The arrow entered the body from the left side, striking the seventh rib and cutting its way through the bone, the point being found in the region of the heart. Another arrow entered the body from the right side, striking the arm bone near the socket joint, no doubt while the individual |
|
had his arm raised, in the act of striking a blow with an axe, or was in the act of using his bow and arrow. This wound probably would have caused death by severing the circumflex arteries. The arm bone containing the arrow point firmly embedded in the bone is shown in Fig. 5. The bone presents no indication of repair. Burial No. 28 was the largest individual taken from the mound, measuring six feet and five inches. The skeleton was |
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 315 that of a male of mature years which had been placed in the grave on the left side, both arms flexed in front of the body, and the lower leg bones flexed to the back of the femurs. The burial is shown in Fig. 6. Near the pelvis was found a few |
|
serrated arrow points and beneath the trunk were two well- wrought bone awls. Burial No. 33, adult female; placed on left side, arms flexed to trunk, hands in front of skull, femurs flexed closely to the |
316 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. trunk, with lower leg bones drawn closely to them. The body had been wrapped in bark and the grave lined on sides and bot- tom with a coarse bark. Burial No. 58; adult female, placed in center of mound. |
|
The arms and legs were closely flexed to the trunk. At the foot of the grave, flat sandstones, approximately eighteen inches long by twelve inches wide were placed on edge, and formed one end and part of one side of the grave. This was the only instance |
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 317
in which stones were used in the mounds
of this group, although
the use of flat stones for sides and
ends of graves is a common
occurence in this culture, in southern
Ohio.
Burial No. 67; child, about ten years of
age, placed two feet
from the surface of the mound; head bent
forward upon the
chest. A necklace, made of ten
perforated canines of the black
bear, was found around the neck.
Burial No. 72; adult male, lying on right
side with the arms
and legs closely flexed to the body.
Near the right elbow were
found three well-wrought serrated arrow
points.
Burial No. 75; child of perhaps seven
years of age. The
body was placed on its left side and the
arms extended parallel
with the body, but the legs were flexed
closely to the body. The
head was surrounded by fine gravel and
sand. Around the neck
was a necklace made of a perforated
canine of the gray wolf,
three effigy bear canines, made of wood
and covered with copper,
and a large shell gorget. Fig. 7 shows
the shell gorget and the
effigy teeth.
Burial No. 84; child, of perhaps five
years. The burial was
twelve inches from the surface and was
no doubt disturbed by
recent plowing, as the bones were badly
broken. The grave was
practically round, and the arms and legs
were closely flexed to the
body. A necklace made of small shells
(Marginella apicina) was
found around the neck.
Burial No. 85; adult male, flexed on
right side. Around the
hips was the remnant of a belt, to which
were attached parts of
the lower jaw of the gray squirrel.
(Sciurus caralinensis).
Burial No. 86; adult male, with enlarged
tibia.
Burial No. 94; adult male, arms
horizontal with trunk, the
lower extremities closely flexed and
slightly to the right. A fine
necklace, made of shell and copper beads
strung alternately, was
found around the neck.
Burial No. 97; adult male, near north
side of mound;
skeleton flexed, on right side. Two
large shell discs, perforated
at the center and having a diameter of
one inch, were found
around the neck. The left tibia and
fibula were stained with cop-
per, but the object, whatever it may
have been, had long since
changed to the carbonate of copper.
318 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 319
Mound No. 2.
After the first mound was finished, our
working force hav-
ing increased to eleven men, I decided
to divide the men, and
placed six with H. C. Shetrone, my
assistant. With these work-
men, Mr. Shetrone examined the second
mound of the group.
With the other five men, I commenced the
examination of the
village site on the south side of the
plateau and not far from the
third mound of the group. Mr. Shetrone
during his examination
of Mound No. 2, secured 137
burials. Of these 121 were adults,
ten adolescents and six children, and
all were placed in the gravy
with the arms and legs more or less
flexed to the body.
Mound No. 2 was the highest mound of the
group, and was
located near the west edge of the
plateau, about one-fifth of the
mound having fallen down the
embankment. The actual
measurements show the mound to be ninety
feet north and
south, forty-five feet east and west and
about eight feet high.
On the north and east sides of the mound
the burials were very
close together and were arranged in four
tiers. Near the cen-
ter of the mound, as shown by the
absence of burials (Fig. 2),
is where Prof. Moorehead removed nine
skeletons. The south
side was again very plentiful in
skeletons, as shown in Fig. 2.
Burials were also found below the base
line. A photograph
is shown of a cut in this mound showing
a burial below the
base line, Fig. 8, as well as burials at
various heights in the
mound.
One of the interesting features as shown
by the burials in
this mound, was the absence of artifacts
placed with the dead,
for only four burials of the 137 had any
objects placed in the
grave. This condition is very unusual in
this culture, for, while
graves are seldom prolific in artifacts,
a few objects are fre-
quently placed with the dead.
Burial No. 5; adult male, arms and legs
closely flexed to the
body. This burial was forty-two inches
deep. Near the right
arm were two very finely chipped arrow points
of the triangular
type. The points were so placed as to
lead one to believe they
were attached to arrow shafts when
placed in the grave.
Burial No. 6; adult male, legs closely
flexed to the body,
right arm parallel with body, left arm
flexed. Near the pelvis
320 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. was found an excellent example of the triangular serrated ar- row point, three inches in length. Burial No. 9 was that of an adult male. The body was flexed and lay on its right side. Near the left arm was found a slender bone awl, six inches in length. The awl is made from very heavy bone, presumably the leg bone of the deer. The im- plement is about one-fourth inch in diameter, square at one end, with a small crease around the bone, and the other end tapering to a fine point. |
|
Burial No. 43; adult male, the legs and arms flexed closely to the body. The posterior portion of the skull was partly crushed and badly decayed, and within the skull cavity was found a triangular arrow point. From the general position of the point in the cavity of the skull and the position of the skull with reference to the crushed part, one must believe the arrow did not drop into the cavity, but that it was very likely the fatal shot causing the death of the individual. |
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 321 Mound No. 3. The third mound of this group was interesting as show- ing that a dozen or more bodies had been buried elsewhere and finally brought to the mound and reburied. This was evi- denced by the absence of parts of the body, such as head, arms or legs, the burials showing no trace of disturbance after hav- ing been placed in the grave. Another interesting feature of |
|
this mound, was the finding of the fireplace of a tepee site on the base line or floor. The fireplace is shown in Fig. 9, and contains charcoal and pieces of various broken vessels made of clay. No burials were made within the tepee proper, but several were found directly above the site. Another very interesting feature is the finding of several double burials where two bodies were placed together in the Vol. XXVI-21. |
322 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
same grave. One of these double burials,
shown in Fig. 10, is
an excellent illustration of the general
appearance of the skele-
tons in practically all of the double
burials. In that shown,
however, in Fig. 11, the bodies were
flexed and placed one
above the other at right angles. The
four skeletons shown in
Figs. 10 and 11 are adult males.
Mound No. 3 was six feet high, ninety
feet north-and-
south diameter, and 112 feet
east-and-west diameter. It was
constructed of soil taken from the
surface, and contained 1O1
burials. Of these thirty-seven were
adult males, nineteen adult
females, ten adolescents and fifteen
children. Of the 101
burials, something less than twenty will
be described.
Burial No. 8; adult male, placed in the
same grave with
No. 4, a young adult male. The body was
closely flexed upon
the right side. Around the neck was a
necklace made of bone
beads cut from sections of the wing
bones of large birds like the
eagle and blue heron. The beads
comprising the necklace were
nineteen in number, about one-half inch
in diameter, from one
and one-half to two inches in length,
and highly polished.
This necklace is shown as No. 1, in Fig.
12, the smallest of the
four necklaces shown.
Burial No. 13; adult male. The skeleton
was in a good
state of preservation. The body had been
placed in the grave
closely flexed, with the exception of
the right arm, which lay
parallel with the body. Around the neck
was found a necklace
of bone beads composed of twenty-three
large and polished
sections cut from the wing bone of birds
like the eagle and
crane. The necklace is shown in Fig. 12, No. 2. Many of the
individual beads are decorated with
incised circles and all are
highly polished. Near the left arm was
found a fine example
of an arrow point made of antler.
Burial No. 14; adult male, very old. The
lower legs were
flexed to the femurs, and both arms were
so flexed that the
hands covered the face. A shell hoe made
from Unio plicatus,
was found with this burial.
Burial No. 23; adolescent, body closely
flexed, and the
skeleton in fine condition. Around the
neck was found a neck-
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 323 |
|
324 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 325
lace made of forty marine shells
(Marginella apicina). This
necklace is shown in No. 1 of Fig. 13.
Burial No. 28; adult male. The body was
placed in the
grave lying on the back, with the legs
flexed in front, and the
arms to the side of the body. Around the
neck was found a
necklace made of shell beads, twenty-two
in number. The
necklace is shown in No. 2, Fig. 13, and
was made of two dif-
ferent kinds of shell beads, round and
oblong.
Burial No. 29; adult male, legs and arms
closely flexed to
the trunk, and the skeleton in a fine
state of preservation.
Around the neck of the skeleton was
found a very large neck-
lace of bone beads made of the wing
bones of large birds. The
beads varied in length from one and
one-half inches to two
and one-half inches and were highly
polished. The necklace is
shown in Fig. 12, No. 3. Beneath the
skull was found a large
bone awl, six and one-quarter inches in
length, made of the
heavy bone of the deer. The awl is round
in cross section and
undecorated, and was perhaps used as a
hair pin or ornament.
Burial No. 31 was that of a child. The
burial was near
the surface and the plow had partly disturbed
the remains. A
necklace of shell beads was found around
the neck. The neck-
lace is shown in Fig. 13, No. 3.
Burial No. 33; adult male. The body had
been placed in the
grave upon the left side; the legs were
closely flexed to the
trunk. The right arm lay parallel with
the body and the left
arm at right angles to the body. A very
large necklace made
of forty perforated canine teth of the
mountain lion and the
gray wolf was found around the neck. The
necklace is shown
in Fig. 14. Many of the teeth are
decorated with incised lines.
Burial No. 38; adolescent. The burial
was near the plow
line and a part of the skeleton was
destroyed and the remainder
badly broken up. The body was flexed
when placed in the grave
and a necklace consisting of four
perforated Olivella shells was
placed around the neck. The shells are
shown in Fig. 15, Nos.
1, 2, 3 and 4.
Burial No. 40; adult female,
body flexed, with the exception
of one arm which lay parallel to the
body. Under the skull was
found a large bone awl, neatly made and
highly polished, per-
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 327 |
|
328 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 329
haps used in the hair. The awl was six
and one-quarter inches
in length, round at one end and having a
spatula-like enlarge-
ment at the other.
Burial No. 48; adult male, legs flexed
at knees and arms
flexed to face. Near the pelvis was
found a fine stone celt and
around the neck was a necklace of bone
beads, as shown in No.
4 of Fig. 12. This necklace is made of small wing bones of
hawks, owls, wild ducks and geese and
therefore very irregular
in size. Some of the small beads have
been telescoped by the
large ones, this condition being shown
in No. 4 of Fig. 12.
Burial No. 49 was that of a child, and
was placed one foot
under the surface, the bones of the
small skeleton being badly
decomposed. Upon the breast was found
three circular disk-like
beads perforated at the center, about
one-half inch in diameter,
and a small pendant of shell. The beads
are shown as 9, 11 and
12 of Fig. 15, and the pendant as 14 of the same figure.
Burial No. 77 was also a child. The
skeleton was in very
good condition and the bones for the
most part were in a good
state of preservation. With this
skeleton was found a perfect
triangular arrow point. The point had
evidently been attached
to an arrow, from the position in which
it lay in the grave.
With the point was also a large bone awl
made from the tarso-
metatarsus of the wild turkey. While
bone awls of this sort were
found in very large numbers in the
general digging of the
mounds and village site, this is the
only one made of this bone
found intentionally buried with the
dead.
Burial No. 94; adult male. The legs and
arms were closely
flexed to the trunk, and the body was
lying on the right side.
On each side of the head was a small
disk-shaped bead, one inch
in diameter which may have been used as
ear pendants. One of
the discs was pierced with one hole at
the center, while the other
had three perforations surrounding the
center of disk; one of
the holes is very small, while the other
two are larger and about
the same size. Around the neck was
suspended a shell disk one
inch in diameter. A large hole,
one-quarter inch in diameter,
pierced the shell at the center, while a
small hole for its sus-
pension was near the outer edge of the
disk. The discs are
shown in Fig. 15, Nos. 6, 7 and 8.
330 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
Burial No. 95; an adult female. The arms
and legs were
closely flexed to the trunk. Near the
left arm was found a well-
wrought arrow point, lying parallel with
the arm.
Burial No. 97; adult male skeleton,
closely flexed. Near the
pelvis was found a large bone awl made
of a splinter of the heavy
leg bone of the deer. The length of the
awl is five and three-
quarter inches.
THE VILLAGE SITE.
The examination of the village site was
begun by the writer
with a force of 5 men, after the first
mound was finished and
the examination continued during the
remainder of the time
devoted to the work at the Feurt farm,
except for a short time
consumed in examining the third mound.
The amount of the
surface of the hill examined is shown in
Fig. 2. This village
proved of exceptional interest when
compared with other ex-
p1ored sites of the same
culture (Fort Ancient culture) in Ohio
and Kentucky.
In Ohio, the Baum village site was
explored by the writer
during three seasons in the field, 1899,
1900 and
1902.
The site
is located in the Paint Creek valley,
Ross county, Ohio, and lies
about 12 miles west of Chillicothe. The report of Baum explo-
rations is found in Certain Mounds and
Village Sites in Ohio,
Vol. 1, pt. 3, and will be referred to
in this report as Baums'.
The Gartner Mound and Village Site is
located six miles
north of Chillicothe along the Scioto
river and is described in
Certain Mounds and Village Sites in
Ohio, Vol. 1, pt. 2, and will
be referred to as Gartners'. The
Kentucky site, written up as
"The Prehistoric Ethnology of a
Kentucky Site," is located in
Mason County, Kentucky, about 14 miles
southwest from Mays-
ville. The site was explored by Harlan
I. Smith in 1895 and
his report published in Anthropological
Papers of the American
Museum of Natural History, New York, in
1910,
and will be
referred to as the Kentucky site. The
three sites mentioned
above are about of equal distance from
the Feurt site and would
fall within a fifty mile circle of the
same.
From the very earliest settlement of the
lower Scioto the
Feurt site was noted on account of the
mounds, but after Mr.
Feurt's father cleared the land and
placed it under cultivation, it
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 391
became apparent that the entire spur of
the hill, shown in Fig.
2, was at one time a great camp site, as
evidenced by the pro-
fusion of animal bones, mussel shells,
implements and orna-
ments turned upon the surface after each
successive plowing,
thus forming a mecca for collectors of
prehistoric objects. One
of the most interested of the collectors
in this vicinity was Mr.
Charles V. Wertz, previously mentioned,
who has kindly placed
his collection at my disposal. This
collection shows many
forms of artifacts not found under the
plow line and therefore
is of special interest in comparing the
artifacts from the various
village sites.
The present extent of the village site
is not far from four
acres, but formerly the tableland
extended much farther out
into the valley and its extent when
occupied by early man would
perhaps be nearly five acres. Under the
surface soil of the
plateau containing the village site, is
found an excellent quality
of gravel, which for more than half a
century furnished the
road building material used in
constructing the pike for many
miles both north and south of the Feurt
farm. Day after day
at the season of the year when road
building and repair was in
progress, as the gravel was removed from
beneath, the top soil
containing the artifacts would cave off
and fall down to the
bottom of the bank. The various objects,
frequently broken,
were gathered up by gravel haulers and
by those interested in
collecting, but the great bulk of
artifacts were mixed with the
gravel and scattered on the road, soon
to be destroyed. Con-
sequently, an acre of rich-laden soil,
containing the very best
material of the site, was practically
lost to science. However,
on the south side of the spur, the
plateau had not been disturbed,
and as Mr. Feurt would often say,
"this condition prevailed at
the point where the gravel was
removed," and from this infor-
mation, I feel assured had we been able
to examine this part of
the village that many more objects of
special interest would have
been brought to light.
As before stated our object in making
the examination of
the village was twofold. First, to
determine if possible whether
or not the Tremper mound peoples living
on the opposite bank
and belonging to the great Hopewell
culture, were contempora-
332
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
neous with the Feurt peoples, belonging
to the Fort Ancient cul-
ture, and if so whether or not the two
cultures differing so
widely could live in peace in such close
proximity, separated only
by the Scioto river, and its
accompanying valley; second, a com-
parison of the Feurt peoples with
similar known sites in Ohio
and Kentucky.
RESULTS OF THE EXAMINATION.
Before beginning work in the village
site, I had fully sat-
isfied myself by a superficial
examination that the Feurt peo-
ples belonged to the great Fort Ancient
culture, characterized
by the mode of burial of the dead in
mounds; by the fact that
the mounds in this culture are seldom
surrounded by an earth-
work; by the entire absence of copper
objects made by them-
selves; and by the almost total absence
of the use of mica for
ornament. The Fort Ancient culture
peoples depended upon
the chase for a part of their living,
and from the bones of the
animals they killed for food they made
implements and orna-
ments to supplement those made of stone
and flint. They also
developed agriculture, for every village
of this culture examined
produced many specimens of the cereal
corn.
The Hopewell culture, to which the Tremper
mound peo-
ples living on the opposite bank of the
river belong, were char-
acterized by a very different mode of
burial, the dead for the
most part being cremated and the ashes
and charred bones
placed in individual or communal graves;
by the presence of
copper implements and ornaments in great
numbers; and by
the making of objects of personal
adornment in imitation.
For instance, if the supply of pearls
did not equal the de-
mand, they made them out of clay and
covered the fashioned
pearl with mica, rendered malleable by
heat, or if the supply of
bear teeth was not adequate, they simply
made them of bone.
These imitation bear teeth-and the same
is true of the imita-
tion eagle claws and other forms-varied
in size from that of
the natural object, to a much larger
size, representing a mythi-
cal animal or bird.
The development of sculpture in the
Hopewell culture is
quite marked, this appearing
particularly in the decoration of
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 333
their tobacco pipes, in the realistic
portrayal of bird and ani-
mal life, sculptured in full relief and
fashioned in minutest de-
tail. They also excelled in the art of
weaving, as well as in
ceramics.
The fashioning of awls from the
tarsometatarsus of the
wild turkey was entirely different in
the hands of the two cul-
tures. The Feurt peoples would use the
entire bone, while the
Hopewell would split the bone and make
two awls instead of
one; again the Feurt people in making a
needle would use a
flat and long bone, with an eye at one
end, and sharp pointed
at the other, while the Hopewell peoples
in making their
needles would use a strong, heavy but
small and short bone,
round in cross sections, an eye near one
end and the other end
sharply pointed. Accordingly, with such
known facts concern-
ing their artifacts, one can readily
distinguish between the cul-
tures inhabiting a given region. If an
exchange of commod-
ities were made no doubt the object,
whether implement or
ornament, was converted to their use,
but if an object was se-
cured in battle, it was frequently
destroyed or broken up and
then cached or thrown away. Here we find
a friendly contact
in the copper bead necklace and the
imitation bear teeth, cov-
ered with copper, neither of these
objects being made by the
Feurt peoples, but who certainly wore
objects secured in barter
from a culture versed in working copper.
Further, during Mr.
Wertz's various examinations of the
Feurt site he secured from
the edge of the bank several objects of
copper that had been
thrown in the refuse pile of animal
bones and broken pottery.
The various objects of copper had been
hammered together
and the identity of the object
destroyed, and I have been led to
believe that these objects had been
captured as a prize from an
enemy and disposed of as such.
Therefore, upon the testimony disclosed
by our explora-
tions and the finds of Mr. Wertz, we must
conclude that the
Feurt peoples for a period of time were
living in peace with
their neighbors across the river, -the
Tremper Mound peo-
ples, as evidenced by the change of
commodities; that later the
two peoples became involved in conflict,
this being borne out by
the finding of skeletons pierced with
arrow points, and by the
334
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
finding of copper objects of the Tremper
peoples in the refuse
dumps of the Feurt peoples, with
unmistakable signs of their
having been mutilated.
EXPLORATIONS IN DETAIL.
The greater part of the village was
examined under my
direction, although Mr. Shetrone, with
his six workmen ex-
amined that part of the village north of
mounds No. 1 and 2,
where he unearthed fourteen burials and
ten tepee sites. The
second squad of workmen, under my
direction, working on the
south and west sides of the plateau,
unearthed forty-nine
burials. Twelve of the burials were
adults, three of which
were male and nine female, and the
remaining thirty-seven
were very small children and babies.
THE VILLAGE BURIALS.
The fourteen burials unearthed by Mr.
Shetrone north of
mounds No. 1 and No. 2 consisted of ten
adults, four of which
were male and six female, and four
adolescents. All of the
bodies were flexed when placed in the
grave. Three burials
out of the fourteen had objects in the
way of ornaments placed
with them, and these will be described.
Burial No. 3; adult female. The burial
was only about
12 inches deep, and being subjected
to freezing and thawing,
trampling by livestock and disturbed by
cultivation, practically
no part of it could be saved. At and
around the left knee was
placed a large strand of shell
disc-shaped beads, numbering 180.
These are shown in Fig. 16.
Burial No. 6; adult male. The body when
placed in the
grave was flexed, the arms over the head
and the legs drawn
up close to the body. A shell necklace
was found on the neck
which consisted of five disc-like beads,
one-half inch in diam-
eter; two cut pieces of shell and eight
long beads made of the
columella of an ocean shell. This
necklace, one of the most
interesting found in the village is
shown in No. 1 of Fig. 17.
Burial No. 10; adolescent. The body was
flexed and the
skeleton badly decomposed. Around the
neck of this individual
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 335 |
|
336 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 337
was found one of the finest necklaces
taken from the village.
It is made of both copper and shell. The
copper was ham-
mered into small tubular cylinders about
one-half inch long,
which were alternately strung with small
shell beads, as shown
in No. 2 of Fig. 17.
The burials on the south and west side
of the village site
numbered forty-nine individuals, only
one of this large number
having artifacts placed in the
grave,-that of a small child
less than one year of age.
As before stated out of the forty-nine
burials in the vil-
lage only twelve were adults, three of
which were males and
nine females.
All of the males were aged individuals,
while the females
mostly were old, with however several
who had not reached
middle life. The remaining thirty-seven
were very small chil-
dren or babies.
LOCATION OF THE BURIALS WITH REFERENCE
TO TEPEE SITES.
The adult burials for the most part were
not placed in
close proximity to the tepee site in
this respect, differing greatly
from the village site burials at Baum's,
where practically all of
the burials closely surrounded the tepee
site, representing a fam-
ily private burial where both adult male
and female, together
with adolescents and children were
found. The same condi-
tions prevailed at Gartner's. Smith
mentions no family burials
at the Kentucky site. However, he found
"the dead were de-
posited in the ground in graves, many of
which were grouped,
each group being covered by a low
dome-shaped mound."
Smith also found that many graves had
slabs of stone at the
sides and ends of the grave and some had
slabs over the top.
The conditions existing at Feurt's were
certainly similar
to those of the village site burials of
the Kentucky site, and no
doubt slabs of stone would have been
used had they been avail-
able. At the Tremper mound on the west
side of the river di-
rectly opposite Feurt's intrusive
burials of the Ft. Ancient cul-
ture were found in the top of the mound
in which slabs of
stone were used, as the slabs were
available near the mound.
Vol. XXVI-22.
338 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
On the east side of the river slabs of
stone are not procurable
in the immediate neighborhood of the Feurt side.
A very interesting phase of the Feurt
site burials was the
finding of so many children and babies.
These burials were
confined to the west side of the village
site and all were placed
in close proximity to tepee sites,
resembling in many respects
the burials at Baums' and Gartners'. The
thirty-seven burials
were attributed to 21 sites; ten sites
having one burial each,
six sites having two burials each, three
sites having three
burials each, and one site having four burials. With
only one of the thirty-seven burials
were objects placed in the
grave, which was that of a small child
not more than six
months of age. Around its neck was
placed an elegant neck-
lace of beads made of the columella of
ocean shell, with a
pendant in the form of a decorated shell
gorget. The necklace
is of special interest, as being buried
with a child too young
to understand and appreciate its
decorative features. Pos-
sibly the mother in her bereavement
bestowed upon her be-
loved child her finest ornament,
permitting it to be placed with
the body when it was lowered in the
grave.
The decorative feature of the shell
gorget of this neck-
lace is of interest, since it is the
only decorated gorget found
in the village. The specimen is circular
in form, three inches
in diameter and decorated on the edge with
scalloped indenta-
tions. One-fourth inch from the edge an
incised line encir-
cles the gorget, while between this
incised line and the edge
small circular indentations appear. The
center bears the in-
cised figure f what probably is intended as a spider. The
gorget is pierced with two holes near
the edge, and with one
hole at the center. The necklace is
shown in Fig. 18.
TEPEE SITES.
The tepee sites at the Feurt village
were in many respects
similar to those of Baum's and
Gartner's, but lacked a certain air
of permanence. At Baum's and Gartner's
the poles used in con-
structing the tepees were large, and the
tepee seemed to be more
of a permanent abode. At these sites the
fireplaces were very
often mended many times, while at
Feurt's only two instances
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 339 |
|
340
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
were found, one on the south side and
one on the west side of
the plateau, showing attempts to mend a
fireplace. This was done
by placing puddled clay in the bottom of
the fireplace to fill up
the deepened hole, caused by cleaning
out the ashes from time
to time, which process would
incidentally remove a portion of
the earth bottom. This condition of
impermanence seems to
have been due to the absence of the
empty subterranean store-
house, to receive the refuse which would
naturally accumulate
around a primitive home.
Instead of gathering up this refuse, the
Fuert dwellers
would cover it up with fresh soil, which
for some reason appar-
ently they found easier to dig up and
carry in than to gather
up the refuse and carry it out.
Consequently we found a suc-
cession of tepee sites, one over the
other. On the south side
of the plateau the surface had been
raised four feet by the
process of covering up instead of
cleaning up, and in this four
feet of surface accumulation were found
bones of animals used
for food in great profusion, shells of
the fresh water mussel
and implements and ornaments of bone,
stone and shell scattered
through the soil, which no doubt had
been lost and accidentally
covered up.
Some of the tepee fireplaces were well
made, one found
north of the two mounds and worked out
by Mr. Shetrone being
almost a circle in form (Fig. 19). This
fireplace is two and
one-half feet in diameter and had not
been in use very long, as
the ground in the center was not burned
to a great depth. The
circular ring forming the fireplace was
made of puddled clay
tempered with small gravel and broken
pottery. In many of the
tepee-site fireplaces were found broken
pottery in abundance, and
in two instances broken pots containing
charred corn were found.
At Gartner's broken vessels were found
in the refuse pits con-
taining charred corn still clinging to
the sides of the vessel.
The charring of the corn must have been
accidental, for no doubt
the corn had been placed in the pot to
cook and after receiving
plenty of water was placed over the
fire; but in the meantime,
forgotten, the pot became dry, the corn
was burned and the pot
broken, and all was lost. This accident,
while it worked a hard-
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 341 ship upon primitive man, tells a mute story of early domestic trouble. In several of the tepee sites large stone mortars were found, showing that the preparation of meal from corn and perhaps acorns was part of the domestic routine. Smith seems not to have found evidence of the remains of habitations in the Ken- tucky site, while at all the sites in Ohio the tepee was abundant. |
|
SUBTERRANEAN STOREHOUSE. The subterranean storehouse previously spoken of as abun- dant at both Baum's and Gartner's was practically absent from the Feurt site, only two being found. One was cistern-like in form, being small at the top, having a diameter of 20 inches, gradually tapering to an enlarged bottom three and one-half feet in diameter, and having a depth of four and one-half feet. The storehouse was filled with refuse consisting of animal bones, broken pottery and shells of the fresh water mussel, all mingled with soil and ashes. |
342 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
The second storehouse was small, being
about two feet in
diameter at the top and two and one-half
feet at the bottom,
with a depth of about three feet, and
was likewise filled with
animal remains. I see no explanation for
the sparseness of such
necessary appurtenances to a village of
barbarous Ft. Ancient
culture peoples.
The Feurt inhabitants were certainly
agriculturists, as evi-
denced by the finding of charred corn in
various parts of the
village. Perhaps their storehouses were
constructed of wood
and built upon the surface. At Baum's
two hundred and thirty-
four storehouses were examined, and at
Gartner's more than one
hundred were found. Smith makes no
record of these store-
houses at the Kentucky site, although
corn and cobs were fre-
quently met with.
FOOD RESOURCES.
From our examination of this village,
and the evidence sur-
rounding the tepee site, one must infer
that the presence of bones
of various animals in such profusion is
indicative of their use
as food and must have been one of the
principal sources of
supply. The presence of mussel shells,
and the bones of fish
and turtles in large numbers shows that
the river served as their
leader for at least a portion of the
year. The finding of the
bones of the wild duck, wild turkey,
hawks and eagles, indicates
that all the birds that could be secured
also were used for food.
The presence of charred corn in so many
of the tepee sites as
well as the shells of walnuts,
butternuts, hickory nuts and acorns
found so plentifully in the fireplaces,
would indicate their use
as food, and the profusion of seeds of
the wild cherry, black-
berry and wild plum in the fireplaces
show that they drew
heavily upon these for sustenance.
ANIMAL FOOD.
It is quite evident from the large
number of perfect and
fragmentary bones of various animals
scattered around the tepee
sites of the village, and in fact
wherever refuse could be thrown,
that these represent animals that were
used for food. The
animals identified were the deer, elk,
black bear, mountain lion,
The Feurt Mounds
and Village Site. 343
wild cat, raccoon, opossum, beaver,
otter, ground hog, musk-
rat, skunk, rabbit, mink, porcupine,
wolf, gray fox, gray squirrel,
Indian dog and fisher.
Virginia deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
was perhaps the an-
imal most sought for food, as its bones
constitute fully fifty
percent of all the bones found in the
village.
At Baum'sthe deer constituted fully
thirty-five percent of
the animal bones of the village. At
Gartner's the bones of the
deer were equal to all others combined.
Smith in the examina-
tion of the Kentucky site mentions the
Virginia deer among the
animals used for food, but does not
compare its bones as to
numbers with other animals.
Elk (Cervus canadensis) were not
abundant in the village,
but more plentiful than at either Baum's
or Gartner's. The elk
was also found in the Kentucky site by
Smith.
Black Bear (Ursus americanus) was more
plentiful than at
either Baum's or Gartner's. Smith found
the bear at the Ken-
tucky site.
Mountain Lion (Felis concolor). The
bones of this large an-
imal were very often met with and were
more abundant than at
Baum's or Gartner's; but this animal was
not found by Smith at
the Kentucky site.
Wild Cat (Lynx rufa). The bones of this
animal were not
abundant in the village, but at Baum's
and Gartner's they were
found in numbers. Smith mentions finding
the bones of this
animal in the Kentucky site.
Raccoon (Procyon lotor). The bones of
the raccoon were
not very abundant in the village, and in
this respect resembled
the Gartner site, but at Baum's the
raccoon was found in abun-
dance. Smith mentions the raccoon in the
Kentucky site.
Opossum (Didelphs virginianus). The
bones of the opos-
sum were found in abundance in the
village, as they were at both
Baum's and Gartner's. Smith mentions
this animal as found in
the Kentucky site.
Beaver (Castor canadensis). The bones of
the beaver
were not abundant. Greater numbers were
found at Baum's
and Gartner's. Only the incisors of the
beaver are used for
cutting tools and ornaments. The bones,
on account of their
344 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
form, are seldom used for making into ornaments, conse-
quently they are usually found perfect;
but not many were
found. Smith mentions the beaver in the
Kentucky site.
Otter (Lutra canadensis). Only a few
bones of this ani-
mal were found in this village, but its
remains were plentiful
at Baum's though not so many were found
at Gartner's. Smith
does not mention finding the bones of
the otter at the Kentucky
site.
Ground Hog (Arctomys monax). The bones
of this ani-
mal were fairly abundant and resembled
the Gartner finds, but
at Baum's the bones of the ground hog
were especially abun-
dant. They were also found at the
Kentucky site by Smith.
Musk Rat (Fiber zibethicus). The bones
of the musk
rat were not abundant in the village
site, but their distribution
resembled both Baum's and Gartner's.
Smith does not men-
tion the finding of the bones of the
musk rat in the Kentucky
site.
Skunk (Mephitis mephitica). The bones of
this animal
were more plentiful in the Feurt site
than at either Baum's or
Gartner's. Smith did not find the skunk
at the Kentucky site.
Rabbit (Lepus sylvaticus). While the
bones of this ani-
mal were fairly plentiful in the
village, I am led to believe that
bones of such animals as the rabbit,
ground hog and raccoon
would be for the most part destroyed by
the Indian dog, primi-
tive man's only domestic animal. This is
more probable since
practically no subterranean storehouses
were in evidence for
the disposal of the refuse from the
village and bones scattered
over the surface would be readily
accessible to the hungry
dogs, as evidenced by the large leg
bones of the bear, deer and
elk showing that they had been gnawed.
Mink (Putorius vison). A number of lower
jaws and
portions of broken skulls of this animal
were obtained. The
mink was found at Baum's and Gartner's.
Smith also records
the animal from the Kentucky site.
Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatus). The
bones of this ani-
mal were found in the Feurt site, and
might be considered the
first record of the porcupine in a
prehistoric Ohio village. Al-
though the bones of this animal were
found at Baum's, they
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 345
had not been properly identified when
the published report
upon the Baum village was made.
However, a record was made of the
finding of the bones
of the porcupine at Baum's in my report
upon the Tremper
Mound. At the Tremper mound the first
and only sculpture so
far unearthed of this animal was found.
The bones were not
found at Gartner's and Smith does not
mention them at the
Kentucky site.
Wolf (Canis occidentalis). The bones of
this animal
were sparingly found throughout the
village, and this same
condition prevailed at Baum's and
Gartner's the bones not be-
ing plentiful but a few being present
throughout the village.
Smith found the bones of the wolf in the
Kentucky site.
Gray fox (Urocyon virginianus). The
bones of the gray
fox were very abundant in this village
as well as at Baum's
and at Gartner's. Smith did not find the
gray fox at the Ken-
tucky site, but mentions finding the
bones of the red fox. In
Ohio the remains of the red fox have not
been found in any
prehistoric village site of record, but
the bones of the gray fox
have always been found in large numbers
in practically all of
the sites.
Gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis).
Found everywhere
in the village. The gray squirrel was
also present at Baum's,
but was not found at Gartner's. Smith
did not find the bones
of the gray squirrel in the Kentucky
site, but found the red or
fox squirrel.
Indian Dog (Canis). The bones of the dog
were very often
met with and resemble the dog found at
the Baum site and at
Gartner's. Smith did not find the dog at
the Kentucky site.
Fisher (Mustela pennanti). The bones of
this animal were
sparingly found in the village. It was
also found at Baum's and
recorded from there as the first record
of its presence in Ohio.
The bones of the fisher were not found
at the Gartner site, and
Smith does not mention the animal as
present in the Kentucky
site.
346 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
TURTLES USED FOR FOOD.
Snapping Turtle (Chelydra
serpentaria). Found abun-
dantly in this village. At Baum's the
snapping turtle was present
everywhere in the village.
Box Turtle (Cestudo virginea). Found in
abundance in the
village. The bones were also very
abundant at Baum's and at
Gartner's. Smith found at the Kentucky
site two specimens of
turtles.
MUSSELS AND FISH USED FOR FOOD.
Everywhere in the village the shells of
the fresh water
mussel were found, and these were
certainly a great source of
food supply. At Baums' the mussel shells
were abundant, and
at Gartner's the remains of large mussel
bakes were found in
several instances and these bakes
contained many thousands of
shells. Smith found the mussel abundant
at the Kentucky site.
Fish bones were found everywhere in the
village; those
identified were catfish, perch, suckers,
buffalo, gar and fresh
water drum. Bones of fish were found in
abundance at Baum's
and at Gartner's and Smith found fish
bones in the Kentucky
site.
BIRDS USED FOR FOOD.
The bones of birds found in the village
site were numerous,
especially those of the wild turkey,
which predominates among
bird bones. Others noted were the
trumpeter swan, Canada
goose, great blue heron, bald eagle,
great horned owl and several
species of ducks. The bones of various
birds were found at
Baum's and at Gartner's. Smith found the
bones of the great
blue heron, wild turkey, duck, owl and
eagle at the Kentucky
site.
PLANT FOOD.
Corn (Zea mays) was the most important
agricultural prod-
uct raised by the dwellers in the Feurt
village, for charred corn
was found in many tepee sites and
fireplaces in the village.
However, as far as noted, only the
eight-rowed variety was grown
Since but few subterranean storehouses
were found, no doubt
surface granaries were constructed of
wood to care for the sup-
ply of corn. The tepee was all too small
to store any amount
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 347
of food products. At Baum's and at
Gartner's it was found that
for a time after the grain had been used
out of the subterranean
storehouses, they were used for the
storage of nuts and dried
fruit, and doubtless for the storage of
meat, both fresh and
dried.
The charred corn so frequently found in
the fireplaces at
Feurts, was due, I am sure to accident,
either the spilling of the
corn into the fire, or the breaking of
the pot in which it was
cooked. Fig. 20 shows the lumps of corn
taken from the half-
broken earthen pots. At the Gartner
village site broken earthen
vessels were found in the refuse pits
with lumps of charred corn
still clinging to the sides of the
vessel. At Baum's the charred
remains of the ears were found in the
bottom of the subterranean
storehouse, where the ears had been
placed in regular order, and
at Baum's two varieties were found - an
eight-rowed and a ten-
rowed variety. The eight-rowed variety
found at the Feurt site
resembles in every way the eight-rowed
variety found at Baum's.
The grains of corn, together with the
cobs are shown in Fig. 21.
Smith at the Kentucky site found an
eight-rowed and a twelve-
rowed variety. As far as we know, the
twelve-rowed variety
has not been found in Ohio.
Kidney Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) were
found sparingly in
the fireplaces, and were no doubt used
for food, as it is well
known the kidney bean grew wild over the
state, as recorded by
the early botanists. Beans were found at
Baum's and Gartner's
and Smith records the finding of the
beans at the Kentucky site.
The presence of the shells of
hickorynuts, walnuts, butter-
nuts and acorns in so many of the
fireplaces indicate their exten-
sive use for food by the Feurt peoples.
All these were found at
Baum's and Gartner's except the acorn.
Smith found at the
Kentucky site only hickorynuts and
walnuts.
The charred remnants of wild plum seeds,
wild cherry
seeds and seeds of the blackberry found
in the fireplaces, is evi-
dence that these fruits, of which no
doubt the country would
produce a bountiful supply, also were
used for food in season.
At Baum's wild plum, wild grape and the
seeds of the papaw
were found, while at Gartners' only the
seeds of the papaw were
348 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 349 |
|
350 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
in evidence. Smith found at the Kentucky
site papaw seed and
wild plum seed.
SECURING OF FOOD.
Man's greatest necessities are food and
water, and the se-
curing of food to meet his needs must
often have been a very
severe problem. As for water, he could
locate his primitive
home near a stream or spring where there
was always a con-
stant supply. Again, we often find
within fort walls large res-
ervoirs for preserving the water supply,
such as those at Ft.
Ancient, but we find no evidence of the
digging of anything like
wells; and no doubt dependence for the
most part was placed
upon natural supply from streams and
springs.
The securing of the necessary food would
certainly tax the
ingenuity of primitive man, with his
primitive implements and
methods.
Hunting evidently was the principal
means of securing food,
for no doubt all animals and birds had
to be hunted. The
weapons used, as indicated by our finds,
were the bow and arrow.
Arrow points chipped from flint were in
evidence everywhere in
the village, as well as arrow points
made from tips of the horns
of the deer. Perhaps other weapons used
in the chase were the
stone axe and celt, also found in the
village site.
Fishing was another means of securing
food, as indicated
by the fish-hooks made of bone; and it
is not improbable that
many of the finely serrated arrow points
found were used for
spearing fish.
Agriculture. The finding of corn in so
many places in the
village, together with shell hoes in
abundance, would indicate that
agriculture was an important source of
food supply.
Wild Fruit. The presence of wild cherry
seeds, wild plum
seeds, blackberry seeds and the seeds of
the papaw, would indi-
cate that wild fruits were much used for
food.
Wild Nuts. The shells of walnuts,
hickorynuts, butternuts
and acorns found in the fireplaces
indicate the use of nuts as
food.
PREPARATION OF FOOD.
After food was secured the next
important step was to ren-
der it more palatable by cooking.
Certainly there must have been
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 351
a time in the course of human progress
when man did not know
the use of fire in the preparation of
food, and flesh of animals
he killed for food no doubt was eaten in
the raw state. But
when man became acquainted with the use
of fire, naturally the
home would become established and the
cooking of food would
mark an important step in his
advancement from the lowest
stages of savagery.
Knives played a very important part in
the preparation of
food.
These implements were usually made of
flint, as shown in
Fig. 22, Nos. 1, 2 and 4, and
were very abundant in all sections
of the village. Knives similar to those
shown in the cut were
found at Baum's, as also were long
knives flaked from jasper
cores. These flaked knives were not
found at Gartner's, nor
did Smith find them at the Kentucky
site.
Hammerstones, as shown in Fig. 23 were very
abundant
in the village, and were most useful in
the preparation of meats,
being used to break the large bones of
the deer, elk, bear and
mountain lion. Hammerstones were
plentiful at Baum's and
at Gartner's and also in the Kentucky
site. Grooved axes, as
shown in Fig. 25 are of special
interest, because of their pres-
ence near the surface only, or rather in
the upper six inches of
the soil of the village site. Our own
examination did not
disclose the grooved axe, but Mr. Wertz
found a number of
these axes in the village two of which
are shown in Fig. 25.
The axe might be considered one of the
necessary tools in the
primitive home, and would no doubt be
useful in conjunction
with the hammerstone, in the preparation
of meats. No
grooved axes were found at the Gartner
site, nor by Smith at
the Kentucky site.
Celts. One of the best known implements
of the Ft. An-
cient culture is the celt, made of flint
or granite, and found
everywhere in the village. When attached
to a handle they
would no doubt serve in cutting up the
meat preparatory to
cooking. A typical collection of celts
is shown in Fig. 26.
Celts were found at Baum's and at
Gartner's and by Smith oc-
casionally at the Kentucky site.
352 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 353 |
|
Vol. XXVI-23. |
354 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 355 Stone mortars were not abundant in the village, al- though a number were found in various sections of the site. Good examples of these are shown in Fig. 27. They are made of slabs of the waverly sandstone found in the hills to the east. At Baum's stone mortars were found in all parts of the vil- lage, which in every way resembled those found at Feurt's. At Gartner village mortars were found, and from their number, |
|
they must have been universally used. Smith did not find mortars at the Kentucky site. Pestles made in the form shown in Fig. 28, and known as bell-shaped pestles, were not abundant in the Feurt village, al- though quite a number were found by Mr. Wertz on the sur- face of the site. Our survey was unable to find any bell- pestles below the plow line, but the ordinary round and flat grinding stones were abundant. At Baum's and at Gartner's |
356 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 357 |
|
358 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. the pestle was found, but Smith makes no record of its pres- ence in the Kentucky site. COOKING OF FOOD. Roasting. Meat was very likely fastened on sticks and roasted before the open fireplace, as was the custom of the early Ohio Delaware and Shawanese tribes. Boiling. If broken utensils afford any testimony, one |
|
would be led to believe that food was cooked in pottery vessels, broken parts of which are found everywhere in the village, especially around the fireplaces. The pots used for cooking seem to have been placed directly over the fire, for many of them were found in place. In two instances during the ex- plorations on the west side of the village, pots were found upon the fireplaces broken, with the charred remains of corn cling- ing to their sides. The charred lumps of corn are shown in Fig. 20. |
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 359 DESCRIPTION OF POTTERY USED FOR COOKING FOOD. The pottery found in the Feurt village differs but little, if at all, from the pottery found both at Baum's and Gartner's in Ohio, and by Smith in Kentucky. The clay used was no doubt secured just beneath the surface in the village and the tem- pering material used was broken shell and in a few instances small pieces of quartzite. Several instances were noted in the tepee sites where a quantity of prepared clay properly tem- |
|
pered with broken shells and ready to be used in making ves- sels had been left upon the floor unused. No perfect pieces of pottery were found by our survey, but Mr. Wertz found along the bank of the south side of the village a perfect vessel, which is shown in Fig. 29. The pot is undecorated, would hold about one and one-half quarts, is symmetrically made, and might be considered a typical plain piece, though the majority of the vessels of this type were made somewhat larger. The decorated parts of broken ves- |
360 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
sels were more in evidence than the
plain, although found to-
gether in every part of the village.
Practically all the forms of decoration
are shown in Figs.
30 and
31. Many very large pieces of broken pottery were dec-
orated similarly to No. 1 of Fig. 30,
which shows a free-hand
decoration by incised lines about
one-eighth inch apart. No. 2
of Fig. 30 shows another familiar
decoration, made by remov-
ing about one-eighth inch of the surface
to the depth of about
one-sixteenth of an inch. The decoration
usually is in straight
lines, as in No. 2, or in curves as
shown in No. 6 of Fig. 30.
Another form of decoration much met with
is shown in Nos.
3, 4, of Fig. 30 and No. 2 of Fig. 31.
This is made by inden-
tation. Decorations of this sort usually
are found on small
vessels.
A very pleasing decoration is shown in
No. 5 of Fig. 30
and No. 4 of Fig. 31. This decoration is
made by the use of a
paddle around which cord had been
wrapped. No. 6 of Fig.
31 is a combination of indentations,
both dots and lines. Nos.
9 and 10 of Fig. 31 show two kinds of
indented rims, both
of which are very pleasing.
Practically all of the broken pots found
at Feurts' had
handles, either for suspension over the
fireplace, or for remov-
ing from the fire after the food had
been cooked, or for carry-
ing. The principal varieties are shown
in Figs. 32 and 33.
Nos. 1 to 8 inclusvie of Fig. 32
represent all the different forms
of lugs found in the village. No. 9 of
Fig. 32 represents a
duck head, which is carried above the
rim. The specimen does
not show to advantage in the cut, but is
a very good represen-
tation of a duck's head. No. 12 of Fig. 32 represents a
rac-
coon in the act of climbing over the rim
of the vessel. Per-
haps these life forms were symbolic,
having definite relations
to their use.
In Fig. 33 the handles are shown. No. 7
of Fig. 33, is a
handle detached from the rim, which
shows the manneer of at-
tachment. A hole is bored through the
body of the vessel at
a point suitable below the rim, and the
handle, freshly made,
is thrust through the hole and properly
clinched on the inside.
The top is fastened to the rim, and when
the vessel becomes
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 361 |
|
362 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. . |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 365
dry and burned the handle is very strong
and firm. Fig. 34,
Nos. 1 to 7 are small objects made of
clay. No. 1 is a round
ball three-fourths inch in diameter. No.
2 is made in the image
of a child, head and legs broken off,
the specimen is decorated
by finger nail markings. No. 3 is the
head of a small animal,
perhaps the mink. No. 4 is a broken
ornament. No. 5 is a
small pendant covered with finger nail
markings. No. 6 is a
small crescent. No. 7 is a large
crescent, broken. No. 8 is the
modeled head of the mountain lion, from
the rim of a pot. No.
9 is also a modeled head, that of a
bird. No. 10 is a modeled
raccoon, on the side of the rim of a
vessel. No. 11, modeled
human head, from rim of vessel.
Practically all of the forms and
decorations of the pots
of the Feurt site were found at Baum's
and at Gartner's. So
similar are they that should the
fragments accidentally become
mixed, it would be impossible to
separate them, and the same
might be said of the pottery found by
Smith in the Kentucky
site. At Feurt's, no small miniature
pottery was found, while
at Baum's and Gartner's many examples of
this minature ware
were in evidence. Smith also found the
small pottery in the
Kentucky site, but no evidence of its
presence at Feurt's was
discovered.
USE OF POTTERY IN MORTUARY CUSTOMS.
The use of pottery in connection with
mortuary obser-
vances was not discovered at Feurt's
although more than four
hundred graves were examined. This lack
of any evidence of
placing pottery with the dead, although
practiced by this same
culture both at Baum's and at Gartner's
is of special interest.
At Baum's one hundred and twenty-seven
burials were found,
only six of which had pottery placed in
the grave. At Gart-
ner's a fine specimen of pottery vessel
was found in one grave,
while in others the prepared clay, ready
to be made into pot-
tery, had been placed in a niche made
near the head of the
grave. Smith did not find pottery with
any of the burials of
the Kentucky site.
366 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 367
IMPLEMENTS MADE OF STONE.
The Arrow Point. The most common of the
stone imple-
ments found in the Feurt village is the
arrowpoint, showing
that the bow and arrow was the most used
weapon of its early
inhabitants. The arrow points for the
most part are of the
triangular type, made of coal-measure
flint, with now and then
a specimen made of flint from Flint
Ridge, Licking county.
The triangular points are of two kinds,
serrated and plain.
Excellent examples of the serrated point
are shown in Fig.
35. This type of arrow point equals the
plain point in num-
bers, more than one thousand of the two
types being found in
the village. Fig. 36 shows fine examples
of the plain triangu-
lar type. The triangular type of arrow
point was found in
abundance at Baum's and Gartner's but
mostly of the plain
variety, and not a typical specimen of
the serrated form was
found at either Baum's or Gartner's.
Smith found the serrated
and plain at the Kentucky site.
The serrated type is found everywhere in
the region of
the lower Scioto and the Ohio rivers.
Spear points. The spear points found in
the village site
are of special interest, since the
greater number were found near
the surface. Those found below the plow
line are similar to
the arrow points in form, being of the
triangular type, only
larger, and vary in length from three to
four and one-half
inches. Those found on the surface are
shown in Figs. 37 and
38, and show wonderful development of
the art of flint chip-
ping. The splendid specimens shown in
Figs. 37 and 38 were
found by Mr. Wertz during his many years
of surface explor-
ing at the Feurt site. Flint spear
points were most plentiful
on all of the Ohio sites, and all show
excellent chipping, but the
specimens found at Feurt's were far
superior both in design
and workmanship. Smith found the spear point at the Ken-
tucky site, but the specimens were
inferior to those found in
the Ohio sites.
Flint Drills. Flint drills were very
abundant in the Feurt
site. A good selection of the various
forms is shown in Fig.
39. Any one of the ten forms was often
duplicated, of some a
dozen or more specimens being found.
Flint drills were plen-
370 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 371 |
|
372 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 373
tiful at Baum's but no specimens were
found at Gartner's, al-
though evidence of the use of the drill
was met with frequently
and they were no doubt in general use.
Smith found the drill
in the Kentucky site, but not in
abundance, and in less variety
as to form than found at Baum's and at
Feurt's.
HEMATITE IMPLEMENTS.
Objects made from hematite were
frequently met with in
the village. The celt was the most
abundant, and varied in size
from three-fourths of an inch in length
to two and one-half
inches, many of them showing usage. Good
examples of the
hematite celt are shown in Fig. 40, Nos.
1 to 4.
Hematite plummets also were found in
goodly numbers.
Nos. 5 and 6 of Fig. 40 show two forms
most commonly met
with. Hematite hemispheres also were
found, as shown in No.
7 of Fig. 40, as were hematite cones,
shown in No. 8 of Fig. 40.
An unfinished gorget made of hematite is
shown in No.
9 of Fig. 40. Gorgets made of hematite are very unusual, and
are of special interest when found in
the village sites of this
culture. Objects made of hematite were
not found either at
Baum's or at Gartner's and Smith does
not report it in the
Kentucky site.
Hematite nodules are found in abundance
within the limits
of Scioto county, at various places
where the hematite nodules
outcrop, and consequently the material
was very accessible to
the dwellers in the Feurt village. Small
hematite paint cups
were frequently found. These are shown
in Fig. 41, Nos. 1,
2, 3, which are good representations of
the various sizes found.
No. 4 of Fig. 41 is a round ball of
quartzite, finely polished
No. 5 of Fig. 41 is a diamond-shaped
unfinished specimen,
made of quartzite, evidently intended
for a bead, as an attempt
is made to perforate the piece by
drilling. No. 6 of Fig. 41 is
a limestone cone finely polished.
Fig. 42 shows two very interesting
specimens. The larger
is a spud-shaped implement made of
cannelcoal, and the other
a chisel of banded slate. These two
specimens were found by
Mr. Wertz. Cannelcoal objects were not
found by our survey,
374 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 375 |
|
376 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 377
but Mr. Wertz found many objects made of
this mineral upon
the surface of the village during the
years of his examinations
of the site.
ORNAMENTS OF STONE.
Fig. 43 shows a number of stone gorgets
found in the vil-
lage site.
Nos. 1 and 2 are almost alike, very
likely are unfinished,
and are made of waverly sandstone. No. 3
of Fig. 43 is un-
finished, as a hole had been started at
the center and left. The
specimen is made of black slate. No. 4
of Fig. 43 is a finished
gorget made of waverly sandstone and
pierced with one hole for
suspension. Fig. 44 shows several effigy
ornaments of unusual
interest. No. 1 is perhaps an effigy of
a mountain lion claw.
No. 2 is an ornament made of banded
slate and decorated with
a notched edge. No. 3 is a large bead
made of hematite. No.
4 is a gorget made of banded slate and
pierced with one hole.
No. 5 is the head of a bird made of
sandstone, and No. 6 is
the effigy of a bird, made of black
slate.
Fig. 45 shows one of the most
interesting and valuable of
the specimens found in the village site.
The specimen is of
black slate, is about six and one-half
inches long and one-fourth
inch in thickness, and is made in the
shape of a large spear
point. On the one face, that shown in
the cut, is plainly carved
a mythical fish-serpent with large
canine teeth and exaggerated
spines. The greater part of the body and
spines are decorated
with criss-cross lines. A zigzag line is
drawn from the eye to
the heart, which gives us some clew to
the petroglyphs found
along the Ohio river and in various
parts of the state. In prac-
tically all animals and birds cut upon
stone, a zigzag line is
thus drawn from the eye to the heart, and
one must infer that
the Feurt peoples were of, or
contemporaneous with, those who
carved the petroglyphs and that they
knew and understood the
meanings of such drawings.
ORNAMENTS MADE OF CANNELCOAL.
Cannelcoal objects were found in
abundance in the upper
six inches of the village site, and many
effigy canines of animals
378 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications, |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 379 |
|
380 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 381
and claws of birds were secured by Mr.
Wertz during his ex-
plorations in the Feurt village. These
are shown in Fig. 46.
Other objects made of cannelcoal were
also abundant, examples
of which are shown in Fig. 47. One
specimen, a broken gorget,
is decorated by an incised drawing of
some grotesque object.
Other specimens were in the process of
making. Our survey
did not find any of the cannelcoal
objects, which seem to have
been a late acquisition to the artifacts
of the tribe.
At Baum's and at Gartner's no objects
made of cannel-
coal were found, but Smith found in the
Kentucky site many
effigies made of cannelcoal similar to
those found at Feurts'.
DISCOIDAL STONES.
Discoidal stones or disc-like game
stones are of special
interest because of the large number
found in every part of
the village-upward of 300 specimens.
Many of them were
mere discs of waverly sandstone,
perfectly plain or decorated
with incised lines, and sometimes
perforated with a single hole
at the center. Other plain discoidals
are made of pottery frag-
ments, while still others are of
cannelcoal, as shown in Fig. 47.
Four specimens of the cannelcoal discs
are shown. No. 1 is
fairly well made. No. 2 is finely made
and highly polished.
No. 3 shows some chipping and No. 4, a
fairly well made
specimen, might be considered
representatives of the class. The
bi-concave type of discoidals found in
the village were of two
kinds, perforated and unperforated.
Either class may be plain
or decorated.
The plain bi-concave type, perforated,
is shown in Fig.
48, Nos. 1, 2 and 3. For the most part they
are made of granite,
quartzite or waverly sandstone, and are
highly polished, show-
ing much skill and a great amount of
patience in their manufac-
ture. None of the well-wrought specimens
would exceed two
and one-half inches in diameter and none
were less than one
and three-fourths inches in diameter.
The decorated bi-concave
type, perforated, are of special
interest because of the great di-
versity of decoration. Several were
found with a bird foot, per-
haps that of the wild turkey, carved
upon both faces, as shown
in Fig. 49, No. 2, while others
have plain lines running from the
382 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 383 |
|
384 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 385
central hole to the edge of the
discoidal as shown in Fig. 50,
No. 4. Still others have the lines
extending from the central
hole to the rim and the space betwen the
lines decorated with
criss-cross lines, as shown in Fig. 50,
No. 5. Another form of
this type is shown in Fig. 50, No. 6
where the concave part is
slightly raised, forming a ring around
the central hole. Only
a few of this type were found.
The plain bi-concave type were found in
all parts of the
village, and were perhaps as plentiful
as the bi-concave forms.
A good example is shown in Fig. 48, No.
5. Another form very
near to the plain is shown in Fig. 48,
No. 6, which has merely a
countersunk hole in each side of the
specimen as a decoration.
Another type of special interest is made
like No. 6, with lines
radiating from the center. This type is
shown in Fig. 50, No. 8.
Another form of the unperforated
bi-concave, which is
noteworthy, is shown in Fig. 49, No. 1.
This discoidal was not
found by our survey but was found in the
village site more than
a quarter of a century ago by a Mr.
Creighton, who disposed of
the specimen to Mr. S. P. Adams. It is
decorated on the con-
cave part on either side with a turkey
foot. The specimen is
unusually large, being three and
five-eighth inches in diameter
and three-fourths of an inch in
thickness, and is made of a close
grained granite rock. The specimen is
shown in Fig. 49, No. 1.
Another very interesting discoidal is
shown in Fig. 50, No.
1. It is decorated with two lines drawn at right angles directly
through the center of the specimen, and
the four quarters of
the stone so divided are further
decorated with lines forming a
geometric figure. Specimen No. 2 of Fig. 50
represents a wheel
in motion and is the only one of its
kind found during our work
in the village.
Another type of discoidal is shown in
Nos. 3 and 7 of Fig.
50. This type shows a convex center
instead of concave. The
convex part is marked in the center with
a small depression, and
radiating from this are four lines
dividing the disc into four
quarters. Another type which seems very
prominent and is fre-
quently met with is shown in Fig. 48,
No. 4. The specimen
shows a perfectly plain circular disc
divided into four parts, two
Vol. XXVI-25.
386 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 387 |
|
388 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
of which are of equal size and larger
than the other two which
are of unequal size.
Discoidal stones seem to have been of
unusual importance
with the Fort Ancient culture, but the
section near the Ohio
river region is more prolific in these
specimens than any other
part of the country. In many village
sites in Adams, Brown
and Hamilton counties this small size
discoidal has always been
met with. At Feurt site previous to our
examination, many
specimens were found. Mr. Charles V.
Wertz has more than
one hundred and fifty specimens in his
collection; Mr. S. P.
Adams of Portsmouth, more than one
hundred and twenty-five;
Mr. John Welty, Mr. Morris Hicks and Mr.
Paul Esselborn,
all collectors of Portsmouth have many
fine specimens in their
respective collections.
Discoidal stones were found at Baum's
resembling in gen-
eral form those found at Feurt's, but
were never so plentiful,
and might be considered of rather rare
occurrence. At Gartner's
one specimen only was found in a grave
of the mound, while the
village site did not produce a single
specimen. Their use in Ohio
seems to have centered around the Ohio
river region, and grad-
ually to have diminished toward the
north. Smith found the
discoidal stones in goodly numbers at
the Kentucky site, south
of the Ohio river region, but not in
such profusion as our survey
unearthed at Feurt's.
PIPES.
Pipes were found in the Feurt site in
every part of the vil-
lage, and seem to have been generally
used from the early be-
ginnings of the village. Many of the
pipes were broken while in
use and then discarded, if beyond
repair. Others in a perfect
state, were frequently found in the
tepee site, where they had
been mislaid and afterward covered up by
fresh soil carried in
by the inhabitants to make their
dwelling place more sanitary.
Many kinds of stone were employed in the
manufacture of pipes,
such as Ohio pipestone, limestone,
sandstone, laurentian slate
and hematite, but the greater number
were made of the Ohio
pipestone, which was secured on the very
crest of the hill al-
most in sight of the village. Suitable
pieces for the making of
pipes were brought to the village, there
to be manufactured into
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 389
form. No large pieces were found in the
village site, indicat-
ing that the blocking out to the desired
size and shape was done
at the quarry.
This old Indian pipestone quarry was
known to the early
settlers in this section of Ohio, and
Mr. Feurt tells me that it
was exploited a number of years ago,
with the idea of using
the pipestone in the manufacture of
firebrick. It proved, how-
ever, to be unfitted for this purpose on
account of its high per-
centage of iron and the project was
abandoned. However, the
contained iron did not interfere with
its use by primitive man,
for the manufacture of pipes and
ornaments.
As before stated, the outcrop of the
pipestone lies high up
on the hills and gradually dips to the
south-east, causing the
outcrop in the eastern part of the
county to be near the base of
the hills. The pipestone stratum
varies in thickness from one
and one-half feet to eleven feet, with
perhaps an average of
three and one-half or four feet. In
color the pipestone varies
greatly, ranging from almost white
through yellow and brown
to dark red. The dark red variety was
used by the Feurt peo-
ples in preference to the other colors.
This red variety is very hard to distinguish
from the Min-
nesota pipestone and many pipes and
ornaments made of the
Ohio material have been attributed to
the Minnesota quarries.
The Tremper mound peoples, living
directly across the river
from the Feurt side, preferred using the
light grays, yellows,
and browns, although the largest plain
pipes found there were
made of the dark red variety. None of
this red variety was
used for their sculptures of birds and
animals, while at Feurt's
the red variety was used both in the
plain and sculptured forms.
THE PIPE IN ITS STAGES OF MANUFACTURE.
The pipe, as is true of practically all
types of artifacts, was
found in its various stages of
manufacture, and exceptionally
good examples were obtained both of the
plain and sculptured
forms. In Fig. 51 is shown a series of
specimens illustrating the
successive steps in the manufacture of a
pipe in the effigy of the
human face. Beginning with No. 1 is
shown the blocked out
piece as it is brought from the quarrys
and before pecking or
390 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 391
grinding has been started. In No. 2 the
pecking and polishing
has begun. In No. 3, the crude outline
of the face is apparent,
and in No. 4 the pipe is a finished
product. In row No. 2 is
another series of specimens, showing the
stages of manufacture
of the plain elbow type. No. 1 shows the
specimen being pecked
into form; No. 2 shows the general form
the pipe will be when
completed; No. 3 shows the pecking
completed and ready for
grinding and polishing, while No. 4 is
the finished product ready
for use. All of the specimens shown in
Fig. 51 are of the dark
red pipestone.
EFFIGY PIPES.
The sculptured pipes found in the Feurt
village differ
greatly from those of their neighbors,
the Tremper mound peo-
ples across the river. The portrayal of
life forms is not so
realistic and the sculptures lack
detail, so that outside of the
human face sculptures, it would be
difficult to determine what
kind of bird or animal the primitive
artist had in mind. On the
other hand, the Tremper mound peoples
were able to produce
sculptures with such realistic and
minute detail, that not only the
animal or bird is readily identified,
but its habits and character-
istics are fully portrayed.
The Feurt mound peoples had not reached
so high a stage
of development as is shown by the effigy
pipes in Fig. 52. No.
1 of Fig. 52 is a pipe made
in the form of a discoidal stone,
and represents one of the bi-concave
plain type, made of
waverly sandstone. Nos. 2 and 4 are made
in the image of
the human face. A study of the specimens
will soon convince
one of their similarity. No. 2 was found by Mr.
Wertz and
is made of a light gray pipestone, and
No. 4 is made of a dark
red pipestone. No. 3 of Fig. 52 is of a light
gray pipestone
and is perhaps intended for a bird. This
specimen also was
found by Mr. Wertz. No. 5 of Fig. 52 is
supposed to represent
an animal head, as the large tongue and
teeth are shown. The
specimen is made of hard black hematite.
Fig. 53 shows three more sculptured
pipes. No. 1 is made
of waverly sandstone and perhaps was
intended to represent a
bird of some kind. The pipe is well
made, is of unusually large
392 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 393 |
|
394 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
size and shows much use. No. 2 is a small
effigy pipe represent-
ing the head of a bird with a small
beak. The pipe is made of
a light gray pipestone and like No. 1
shows long use. No. 3 of
Fig. 53 is a very unusual pipe
representing the human form in
a kneeling position. The head and body
parts are missing, the
pipe having been broken while in use and
thrown away. The
specimen was found by Mr. Wertz on the
west side of the
village.
One feature of the sculptured pipes
found at Feurt's is of
interest when compared with pipes found
at Tremper's across
the river. In the Tremper pipes the
smoker would always face
the animal or bird, and in the Feurt
pipes the opposite is noted.
Fig. 54 shows four pipes, two of which,
Nos. 1 and 2, might
be classed as effigy pipes. These two
pipes are of the platform
type, with the platform made in the
effigy of the stemmed arrow
head or spear, and the bowls plain. In
the Tremper mound
effigies, the stem was always plain and
the bowls made into the
forms of animals and birds. Nos. 3 and 4
of Fig. 54 show a
type of pipe frequently met with in the
village, all of which
were made of the dark red pipestone.
Fig. 55 shows six specimens of the
L-shaped pipe, made
of the waverly sandstone so abundant in
the immediate vicinity
of the village site. All these show use
in smoking, No. 1 in
particular, which is half filled with
the charred tobacco. After
smoking, the owner doubtless misplaced
the pipe on the floor
of his tepee, where it became covered
with debris and in due
time with the fresh soil carried in.
This is the only record as far as we
know, of the finding
in our Ohio mounds and village sites of
a pipe filled with the
charred tobacco. No. 2 of Fig. 55 is a fine example of this
type of pipe although it has a longer
stem and a larger bowl
than is usual. Nos. 3, 4 and 6 show the
usual size of the pipes
of this type. The angle of the bowl to
the stem varies slightly
in different specimens from the right
angle. No. 5, shows an
extreme variation in the angle of the
bowl to the stem. Fig. 56
shows six more pipes of the same type as
shown in Fig. 55.
Nos. 1, 3 and 5 are made of red
pipestone. No. 1 is unfinished,
lacking the perforation in the bowl and
stem. Nos. 3 and 5
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 395 |
|
396 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 397 |
|
398 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
are fine examples of the perfectly
finished pipestone pipe. No.
2 is
a pipe made of pottery clay, tempered with pieces of broken
mussel shell. This pipe is the only one
of its kind found in
the village. No. 4 is made of limestone,
and No. 6 is of waverly
sandstone. The pipe is decorated with an
incised line near the
top of the bowl.
Another type of pipe found in the
village by Mr. Wertz
and not by our survey, is shown in Fig.
57, Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5 and
6. No. 1 is made of waverly sandstone;
No. 2 of dark red
pipestone; Nos. 4 and 5 of mottled dark
gray pipestone nd
No. 6 of light gray pipestone. Nos. 3,
7, 8 and 9 of Fig. 57
are very different from Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 of
the same figure,
although found associated with them.
Nos. 3 and 7 are made
of red pipestone; No. 8 of mottled red
pipestone and No. 9
of waverly sandstone.
Fig. 58 shows nine very interesting
pipes. No. 3 and No. 6
are square, instead of the round type so
frequently met with,
and Nos. 4 and 5 were repaired after
having the stem broken
and were no doubt used until lost. No. 8
is an unfinished pipe
of limestone of unusually large size.
No. 9 is a small platform
pipe made of steatite.
Our survey did not find the tubular form
of pipe, but Mr.
Wertz was successful in finding this
form. Fig. 59 shows two
forms of the tubular type, both made of
pipestone. No. I has
a very large perforation extending
almost its entire length, while
in No. 2 the perforation is large but
gradually tapers from al-
most the center to a small opening at
the stem end. Fig. 60
is an unfinished platform pipe of
unusual size found by Mr.
Wertz. The pipe is made of limestone and
shows that but little
work other than pecking has been done
upon it.
The pipes found in the village number
perhaps fifty, in-
cluding broken and perfect specimens,
and the number accessible
to us in Mr. Wertz's collection exceeds
twenty specimens, mak-
ing a total of seventy pipes from this
site. To this number
should be added the former collection of
Mr. S. P. Adams, num-
bering over thirty specimens,
representing all the types above
described. The collection of Mr. Adams
was well known to
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 399 |
|
400 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
|
Vol. XXVI-26. |
(401) |
402 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
the writer, as it was on deposit for ten
years in the Museum
of the Society.
Mr. John Welty of Portsmouth also
collected many pipes
at the Feurt site, and I have a record
in my note-book of twenty-
five pipes, which I readily identified
as coming from the Feurt
site, and I suspect, from what Mr. Welty
says, that twice that
number would be short of the actual
number he found at this
village. Mr. Paul Esselborn, Mr. Morris
Hicks, and I am
told other collectors, have specimens of
pipes from this vil-
lage site.
The few specimens of pipes found at
Baum's and Gartner's
if placed with the Feurt pipes, could
not be distinguished from
them, and the same is true of the pipes
found by Smith in the
Kentucky site.
COPPER OBJECTS FOUND IN THE VILLAGE.
Copper objects were not found by our
survey in the vil-
lage site, but we were successful in
securing copper in the form
of ornaments in two graves already
described, while Mr. Wertz
found a small copper necklace with a
burial. This necklace is
shown in Fig. 61, No. 6. Mr. Wertz also
found many pieces
of copper in the village site proper,
both upon the surface and
along the steep bank, which from time to
time would cave off
and expose to view parts of the rich
village site. Many of these
pieces were ornaments that had been bent
and hammered and
their identity destroyed. One of these
is shown in No. 3 of Fig.
61. This specimen represents a
reel-shaped ornament similar
to those found in the Tremper mound
across the river from the
Feurt site.
Mr. Wertz had at one time a large number
of copper pieces
from this site, all showing mutilation,
but these unfortunately
were lost in a fire that destroyed his
residence. In this fire an
excellent collection from this site was
entirely lost, and the col-
lection he now possesses has been
gathered since that time. S.
P. Adams, a local collector of
Portsmouth, who several years
ago disposed of his collection, made in
the lower Scioto and
along the Ohio in close proximity to
Portsmouth, had three
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 403 |
|
404 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
specimens of copper, having their
identity destroyed in the same
way as those found by Mr. Wertz.
The finding of so many destroyed copper
pieces, foreign
to this culture, is almost positive
evidence of unfriendly contact
with their neighbors across the river.
For a time perhaps the
contact of the two cultures was
friendly, as indicated by the
objects of copper found in the graves of
the burials in the
mounds, but apparently later this
contact was hostile and the
objects captured from enemies were
brought to the village, there
to be battered into shapeless masses,
and thrown into the refuse
heaps. In some cases they may have been
cached away in their
village, as was the case with finds in a
village of this same cul-
ture, just outside the walls at Fort
Ancient.* The examination
of the Feurt site made with the express
purpose of ascertaining
the extent of this unfriendly contact,
demonstrates that for a
time they evidently lived in peace and
had tribal trade between
them.
At Baum's a few copper beads were found
associated with
shell beads on the same necklace, the
only instance of copper
being found during the entire
exploration. At Gartner's no cop-
per was found, nor did Smith find copper
in the Kentucky site,
showing that in these three important
Fort Ancient culture sites,
copper objects were practically unknown.
BONE IMPLEMENTS.
Bone implements of certain kinds were
found promiscuously
scattered throughout the village in the
greatest profusion. The
most prominent were the awls or
perforators, and these were
made of practically every bone having
the proper length and
adaptability. Some of the awls were mere splinters broken
from the large leg bones of the deer,
elk and bear and sharp-
ened at one or both ends: others were
made of the same bone,
but handsomely decorated and polished;
still others were made
of the ulna of the deer and elk, of the
larger animals, while
the same bone of all the smaller animals
was used for the same
purpose. The tarso-metatarsus of the
wild turkey was used for
*Described in Explorations of the
Tremper Mound by Mills.
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 405 making awls, as were many of the wing bones of wading birds, like the blue heron. Polishing stones and whetstones used in the manufacture of bone awls were frequently met with in the tepee sites. An |
|
excellent example of these polishing stones is shown in Fig. 62. They are mere slabs of waverly sandstone, showing great use, some having grooves worn into their faces from use in sharpening the bone into the desired shape. |
406 Ohio Arch. and
Hist. Society Publications.
BONE AWLS MADE OF THE ULNA OF THE DEER.
Fig. 63 shows a typical collection of
the awls made from
the ulna of the deer. Some are long, as
shown in No. 1; some
are short, as in No. 6; some are sharp
and slender like that in
No. 7 and others are blunt, as shown in
No. 4. All four classes
were duplicated many times in every part
of the village. Some
of these awls may have been used for
making perforations
through which thread or sinew was
passed, when skins were
used for making clothing and moccasins;
some may have been
used in the making of pottery or in
weaving; others may have
served as forks in eating, while the
blunt and strong awls were
perhaps used for opening the mussel
shells found so abundantly
in the village.
A very interesting double-pointed awl,
frequently met with
was made only from this bone. It is
shown in Nos. 10 and 11.
The two points of this class of awls are
of unequal length, the
longer point being the side opposite the
joint. This form may
have been used in weaving or in
decorating pottery. A very
useful awl was made from the ulna of the
elk. Many of these
were from six to eight inches in length,
were very strong, and
most of them bluntly made. Very good
examples of this awl
are shown in Fig. 64. These implements
certainly were of im-
portance about the home and may have
been used for opening
the large mussel shells in order to
secure the mussel for food.
Very fine examples of awls made from
ulnas and other
bones of large and small animals are
shown in Fig. 65. No. 1
is made of the metapodial bone of the
deer. This specimen had
formerly been made into a scraper used
in dressing skins dur-
ing the tanning process, as were
practically all of these bones.
The heavy use to which these implements
were subjected caused
many of them to break at the center,
rendering the implement
useless. The distal end of the broken
scraper was frequently
made into a blunt awl. The perfect
scraper is shown in Fig. 73.
Nos. 2,
3, 4, 5 and 6 are made from the ulna of
the gray
fox, wild cat and gray wolf; No. 7 is
made of the ulna of the
black bear; Nos. 8, 9 and 10 are made of
the penis bone of the
black bear; Nos. 11 and 12 are made of the
heavy leg bone
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 407 |
|
408 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 409 |
|
410 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
of the elk; No. 13 is made from a part
of the shoulder blade
of the deer; and No. 14 is made of the
lower jaw of the deer.
Fig. 66 shows twelve awls made from the
tarso-metatarsus
of the wild turkey, six of which are
decorated with notches cut
upon the sides, and the other six plain.
Awls made of this bone
were very abundant in the village and
several hundred in per-
fect condition were found. In
practically every village site of
this culture the awl made from this bone
is present and very
frequently exceed in numbers all other
classes of awls. Another
class of awls so common to this culture,
and found in such large
numbers in the Feurt village, is shown
in Fig. 67. A careful
study of the specimens shown in this
figure in comparison with
those just described, is convincing
proof that they may have
been used as supports to feathers and
other objects worn in the
hair as ornaments. In support of this
theory is the finding of
several of those decorated awls placed
under or at the side of
the head of the skeleton. However, two
of the largest and finest
specimens shown in Fig. 67, Nos. 4 and
7, were found beneath
the body of the skeleton. These measure
nine and eight inches
respectively. All specimens in this
figure were made from the
strong heavy leg bones of the elk and
deer. Much time and
patience were required in fashioning any
one of these awls.
Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 8 were found isolated
in the village, and Nos. 4,
5, 6 and 7 were found with burials. The
eight specimens shown
in Fig. 68 are similar to those shown in
Fig. 67 and are made
from similar bones. No. 1 has a
decorated head, but no attempt
toward making an effigy of a bird or
animal, as was found at
Gartner's. Nos. 2, 5 and 7 are awls
having a spatula-like end;
Nos. 3 and 8 have the point end
decorated; No. 3 has an en-
larged end and No. 8 has five indented
lines circling the point.
Fig. 69 shows seven examples of large
awls made from
various bones of animals. Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 are
made from
bones of the bear; No 5 is round, and is
made from the heavy
leg bone of the deer; No. 6 is flat,
with spatula-like end and en-
larged head; No. 7 is made of a flat
heavy bone of the deer.
Fig. 70 shows nine large awls made from
various bird and
animal bones. No. 1 is perhaps that of
the radius of the blue
heron; Nos. 2 and 3 are made of the
bones of the bear; No. 4
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 411 |
|
412 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 413 |
|
414 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 415 |
|
416 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
is from the tarso-metatarsus of the blue
heron; No. 5 is made
from the ulna of the blue heron; Nos. 6
and 8 are made from
leg bones of perhaps the wild turkey and
No. 9 from the radius
of the gray wolf. Fig. 71 shows a number
of awls of special
interest. No. 1 is a broken flat awl
showing much labor in its
manufacture; No. 2 is the broken
spatula-end of one of the finest
awls found in the village; No. 3 is also
a broken awl, but shows
an unusual finish and an enlarged
decorated end; No. 4 is made
from a flat heavy bone with one end
finely sharpened, and the
other end brought almost to a point; No.
5 is one of the smallest
awls found, and could not be classed as
a pin, for these were
not found in the village. No. 6 is one
of the well-wrought double-
pointed awls frequently met with; Nos.
7, 8 and 9 are very small
thin awls requiring much patience and
even skill to manufacture,
as they were made from the thick heavy
bone of the deer.
From the number of types of awls found
by our survey,
this village certainly must have been a
great manufacturing
center for bone implements. The small
double-pointed bone awl,
or pin, was very abundant at Baum's, but
entirely absent at
Feurt's and but few were found at the
Kentucky site by Smith.
The larger bone awls shown in Figs. 67
and 68 were not found
by Smith at the Kentucky site, but were
found sparingly at
Baum's and at Gartner's in Ohio.
No. 6 of Fig. 69, the spatula-like awl,
was duplicated by
Smith in the Kentucky site. Practically
all other awls made of
the various bones of animals and birds
found in such profusion
at Feurt's were found both in the Ohio
sites and at the Kentucky
site.
BONE NEEDLES.
Bone needles having an eye are shown in
Fig. 72 which
exhibits the implement in the process of
manufacture, and the
perfect needle as well as those broken
in use. As is well known
the true needle with an eye is
considered a very rare implement,
because the awl would take its place for
sewing. The bone
needles shown in the figure were made
for the most part of the
rib bones of various animals and range
in length from three to
eight inches. Nos. 1, 4, 8 and 9 show
practically all the forms
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 417 |
|
Vol. XXVI-27. |
418 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 419
of needles found in the village. Nos. 5
and 7 show the needles
broken at the eye, the weakest part. A
number have been found
showing the repair of the needle when
broken at the eye by
boring a new hole for the same, this
making the needle a trifle
shorter. No. 6 shows the point broken
off, which is very unusual;
Nos. 2 and 3 are perhaps unfinished
needles, made from the
long leg bones of wading birds. This
form of bone needle was
found at Baum's and at Gartner's but not
in such large num-
bers at Feurt's, and Smith found in the
Kentucky site what he
considers a needle with an eye. This
needle is practically round,
while in the Ohio sites of this culture
the needles found are
always flat.
BONE SCRAPERS.
Bone scrapers made of various bones of
the legs of deer and
elk were found in abundance in the
village site. However, the
scraper for the most part had been
broken while in use and the
broken pieces were evidence of the hard
usage to which they
were subjected in the preparation of
skins. The broken pieces
of the scrapers were sometimes reworked
into awls, but for the
most part they were discarded.
Fig. 73 shows a perfect scraper made from
the lower leg
bone of the elk. Practically all the
metapodial bones of the elk
had been worked into this kind of
implement, as were the femurs
of the elk. In Fig. 73 are shown three
specimens of the lower
leg bone of the deer. This bone was
extensively used for this
purpose, although many were found that
had been broken to
extract the marrow from the central
cavity for food. The
specimen adjoining the cut of the
perfect scraper in Fig. 73 shows
the first steps toward making it into
this useful implement. The
next specimen shows a little more work,
the cutting being carried
to the cavity of the bone, while the
next shows that an accident
happened, and that the bone was broken
and then discarded.
Perfect scrapers were not found in
abundance at the Feurt site,
but their use was general, as broken
specimens were found spar-
ingly in all parts of the village. At
Baum's the scrapers were
very abundant, all being made of the
metapodial bone of the
deer and elk, while at Feurt's the
femurs very often were used.
420 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 421
At Gartner's also this implement was
found in abundance.
Smith found the scraper in the Kentucky
site, but not abundantly.
CELT-LIKE SCRAPERS.
One of the interesting types of
specimens found in the vil-
lage is the celt-like scraper, made for
the most part from heavy
elk horn. The part usually selected was
between the beztine and
the trestine, and required much labor in
manufacture, but when
completed would meet the needs of a
scraper perhaps better
than those described above. A very good
example of the scrap-
ers made from horn and bone are shown in
Fig. 74. Some were
notched for attachment to a handle,
others were plain. The
scrapers made of bone, are shown to the
right of Fig. 74. Fig.
75 shows a collection of narrow
chisel-like scrapers, which were
perhaps as abundant as the broader
scrapers shown in Fig. 74.
The celt-like scrapers found in goodly
numbers at the Feurt
village were also found at Baum's and
Gartner's and by Smith
at the Kentucky site. All are made in
the same general way.
CUT AND WORKED BONE.
The finding of many hundreds of cut and
worked bones in
the Feurt site showed how generally bone
implements were used.
Many of these bones show merely an
attempt to cut a hollow
bone in the form of a cylinder, or into
sections for beads. Bones
showing practically every stage in the
manufacture of imple-
ments were readily secured. Many bones,
after much labor had
been expended upon them, were found
defective and were re-
jected, while others were broken after
much grinding and polish-
ing had been done. Figs. 76 and 77 are
representative examples
of cut and worked bone found in the
Feurt site. At Baum's and
at Gartner's worked and cut bone was
found everywhere in the
village. Smith found in the Kentucky
site bones cut and worked
in the same way. The manner of cutting
and polishing the bone
was practically the same in all of the
Ohio sites as well as at
the Kentucky site.
422 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 423 |
|
424 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 425 |
|
426 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
ARROW AND SPEAR POINTS OF BONE.
Arrow and spear points made of bone were
numerous in the
village and were made for the most part
of the tips of deer
horns. The Feurt peoples not only
excelled in chipping the
arrow point from stone, but they made
excellent points from the
antler tips. Fig. 78 shows good examples
of antler arrow and
spear points. The arrow points are of
two kinds, those pierced
with a small hole for attachment to the
shaft by the use of a
string, and those unperforated. The
perforated specimens are
illustrated in the seven specimens shown
at the left of Fig. 78.
The second kind of arrow points were
more numerous than the
perforated type and are shown in the
five specimens directly to
the right of the perforated arrow points
in Fig. 78. The three
large specimens to the right in Fig. 78
were doubtless used for
spear points.
At Baum's and at Gartner's bone arrow
points and spear
points were found in abundance, both in
the perforated and plain
types, the process of manufacture being
exactly the same, as
shown by the number of unfinished
specimens found in the vil-
lage. Caches of deer tines ready for
making into points were
found at Baum's and at Gartner's and
many such caches were
in evidence at Feurt's. At Baum's and at
Gartner's deer toes
were made into arrow points, but not a
single specimen was
found in the Feurt site made from this
bone. Smith found ar-
row points made of the tips of deer horn
in the Kentucky site,
resembling those found in the Ohio
sites.
FLAKING TOOLS.
The flaking tools found at the Feurt
site were of two kinds,
both being found in great numbers, and
for the most part all
were made of deer and elk horn. Fine
examples of one kind are
shown in Fig. 79. All are cylindrical in
form and vary in length
from one and one-half inches to five and
one-half inches. One
end is usually cut at right angles,
while the other end is made
oval. Many of the specimens in Fig. 79
show use as flaking
tools, one end being usually battered,
from being struck by the
stone hammer in making the large flakes,
and in the manufac-
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 427 |
|
428 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 429
ture of the long knives and spear
points. The use of the flakers
shown in Fig. 79 requires two persons.
The process consists
in holding the flint to be flaked in the
palm of the hand, pro-
tected with a piece of buckskin and held
firmly by the fingers
of the same hand, while the other hand
was used to hold the
flaker in position. The second person
then would strike the
flaker with a stone hammer. The angle at
which the flaker is
held against the flint determines the
length of the chip. The
second kind of flaking tool, shown in
Fig. 80 was perhaps used
in the manufacture of small arrow
points. The large implement
in the center of the figure however,
possibly was used as a dig-
ging tool. This implement is made of elk
horn and is fourteen
inches in length. All the other
implements in Fig. 80 doubtless
were used for flaking the small arrow
point, and did not require
the assistance of a second person. The
process of manufacture
of the arrow point is very simple, all
that is required being the
flint blocked cut into form with a stone
hammer, a piece of
buckskin to protect the hand, and a tine
of deer horn slightly
worked at the point into a suitable
implement. The flint piece
to be chipped into form is held in the
left hand, protected by
the buckskin, by the fingers which serve
as a vise in holding the
flint. The flaking-tool is then taken in
the right hand and the
point placed against the under edge of
the flint at a point where
the artificer wishes to remove a chip. A
steady down and under
pressure will produce the necessary
conchoidal fracture. The
angle at which the flaker is held will
determine the length of
the chip.
Fig. 81 shows the way deer horn is cut
into suitable pieces
to be made into flakers. The process is
very laborious and re-
quires much grinding and cutting. During
the entire exploration
in the Feurt site not a single perfect
horn was found, all hav-
ing been worked into implements or the
cut pieces stored for
future use.
FISH-HOOKS FOUND IN THE VILLAGE.
Fig. 82 shows several fish-hooks
complete, several that were
broken in use, and several showing the
different stages in the
manufacture of this very important
implement. The hooks were
430 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 431 |
|
432 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 433
not so abundant as at Baum's and at
Gartner's, but the mode
of manufacture was exactly the same, for
a minute description
of which the reader is referred to the
report upon the Baum
village.* Smith found in the Kentucky
site fish-hooks similar
to those found at the three Ohio sites,
but evidently did not
secure specimens showing the various
stages in their manufac-
ture. However, from the general
appearance of the hook and
the bone used in making the same, one
must believe they were
similarly fashioned.
WHISTLE-LIKE OBJECTS OF BONE.
Whistle-like objects shown in Fig. 83
are of special interest,
since not a single specimen was found
either at Gartner's or at
Baum's, although these sites were of the
same culture as Feurt's.
Smith found the whistle in the Kentucky
site and many examples
have been found at various sites along
the Ohio river. Smith
suggests that perforated bones were
perhaps used "in religious
ceremonies rather than for animal
calls." The whistle-like
specimens shown in Fig. 83 were made of
the radius of various
large birds such as the eagle, hawk,
wild turkey and others; by
cutting off the ends, thus leaving a
hollow straight cylinder, as
shown in the first three specimens of
Fig. 83. Many specimens
similar to these were found and several
show where they had
been marked for drilling. The holes were
drilled with a flint
drill, and were usually three in number.
Now and then one
would be found with two holes, and
occasionally one with four
holes. The holes were usually round, but
a number show an
oblong hole. Frequently the oblong hole
would show that it
was enlarged from the round hole by
burning. The holes for
the most part were bored in a straight
line, usually equidistant
apart; however one specimen was found
(shown in the center
of the lower row in Fig. 83) where two
holes were in line but
the center hole was to one side. Smith
found a specimen in the
Kentucky site with seven holes,
complete, and the eighth hole
started, while others found by him
varied as to number of holes
and in irregularity as to distance from
each other.
*Certain Mounds and Village Sites in
Ohio. Vol. 1.
Vol. XXVI-28.
434 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 435
CUT LOWER JAW OF THE DEER.
Fig. 84 shows the cut lower jaw of the
deer, found in such
abundance in the village, and certainly
generally used, as sev-
eral hundred were found.
No. 1 of Fig. 84 represents one-half of
the lower jaw of a
mature deer, having the posterior
portions of the jaw broken
away which is usual in all the jaws
used. No. 2 shows a dis-
carded jaw, the anterior part of which
had been cut away and
found defective. The Indian method of
procedure was to cut
a bone on each side slightly, and then
break it off. Very often
the bone would be so splintered as to
render it useless. This
happened with No. 2 and the jaw was
discarded. No. 3 had a
double use as it would serve the same
purpose as No. 1, besides
being used as an awl formed by
sharpening the anterior part of
the jaw. No. 4 of Fig. 84 has both the
posterior and anterior
part of the jaw cut away. However, the
greater number of jaws
found were like No. 1, the object no
doubt being to use the
teeth as a grater for green corn,* for
which purpose they would
serve admirably. Cut deer jaws similar
to those described above
were found at Baum's and Gartner's, and
Smith found the jaw
cut in the same way in the Kentucky
site.
ORNAMENTS MADE OF BONE.
Ornaments made of bone were found in
great numbers over
the entire site, especially in the form
of beads. The beads were
of different lengths ranging from
one-half inch to three inches,
and for the most part were made of the
hollow wing bones of
large birds. They were usually plain and
undecorated, except
that now and then one would be found
having incised lines en-
circling it. Many of the beads show long
use, being worn and
highly polished
Other very important ornaments found in
the village were
cut jaws of various animals, such as
bear, mountain lion, gray
wolf, gray fox and wildcat. No. 3 of
Fig. 85 shows the pos-
terior part of the upper jaw of the gray
wolf. Nos. 4, 6 and 7
are parts of the lower jaw of the gray
fox, and No. 5 of Fig.
*Archaeological Report of Canada. 1913.
436 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 437 |
|
438 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
85 is the lower jaw of the wildcat,
having the posterior part cut
away. No. 8 of Fig. 85 shows a part of a
triangular bone per-
forated with holes. Nos. 12 and 13 of Fig.
85 are bone pendants
made from the shoulder blade of the
deer. No. 12 is plain, and
pierced with a counter-sunk hole for
attachment, as shown in
No. 13, which is decorated on the edges
with notches. No.
14 of Fig. 85 is a bone pendant made in the form of an
arrow
head and pierced with a small hole for
attachment.
ORNAMENTS MADE OF TEETH OF ANIMALS.
The black bear, and the gray wolf were
animals highly
prized by the people of the Feurt
village, judging from the
perforated canines found so abundantly
in the village. Fig. 86
shows a collection of canines
representing both the black bear and
the gray wolf. They were found
promiscuously in the village
site, especially in the tepee sites, and
were no doubt accidentally
lost, as practically all of the
specimens found were perfect. The
teeth of the deer were never used for
ornament, but practically
all of the teeth of the elk were used.
Fig. 87 shows the molars,
canines and incisors of the elk, pierced
with holes for attach-
ment and perhaps used as ornaments. The
other teeth shown
in Fig. 87 are the canines of the gray
fox, raccoon, opossum
and wildcat. Likewise, all these teeth
were abundantly found
in the perfect state, and like those of
the bear and wolf were
accidently lost.
Fig. 88 shows parts of broken fossil
molar teeth of the
mammoth and the mastodon. These specimens were found
promiscuously scattered throughout the
village. The perfect
fossil teeth were no doubt found by the
Feurt peoples and car-
ried to their village and there worked
into ornaments. The parts
shown in the figure doubtless were
rejected, being broken in
such a manner as to be unfitted to their
use. Nos. 2, 3 and 4
of Fig. 88 belong to the mastodon and
are broken pieces of
the V-shaped ridges covered with enamel.
Nos. 1 and 5 of Fig. 88 belong to the
mammoth, a true
elephant, the teeth of which are
characterized by plates of
enamel set upright in the body of the
tooth. No. 1 shows one
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 439 |
|
440 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 441 |
|
442 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
of these plates ready to be worked into
form. No. 5 shows two
of these plates still attached. The top shows the grinding
surface of the tooth. No ornaments
fashioned from the teeth
of the mastodon or mammoth were found in
the village, but
doubtless ornaments may be found at some
future time. No
evidence was found at Baum's or at
Gartner's showing the use
of fossil teeth, and Smith makes no
record of finding mastodon
or mammoth teeth at the Kentucky site.
However, objects
made of the fossil tusk of the mastodon
or mammoth have been
reported from various burials found in
Ohio, and the Museum
contains several specimens purporting to
come from these
burials.
ORNAMENTS OF SHELL.
Ornaments made of ocean shell as well as
of the common
mussel shell were found near the surface
of the village. Our
own survey was unable to find but few
ornaments made of shell,
but Mr. Wertz secured many examples of
cut shells, both plain and
ornamented, and perforated for
attachment as pendants. Fig.
89 shows a number of cut and ornamented
shell pendants and
gorgets. Nos. I, 2 and 3 are specimens made of mussel shells;
No. 4 a gorget made of ocean shell,
pierced with two holes;
No. 5 is perhaps part of a large
decorated gorget, which had
been broken and reworked into form; Nos.
6 and 7 are pendants
with enlarged ends, made from ocean
shell; Nos. 8, 9, 10 and
1 1 are pendants made of ocean shell, decorated and
provided
with perforations or incised lines for
attachment; No. 12 is
similar to No. 5, and made from a broken
decorated shell object;
Nos. 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 are shell
pendants; Nos. 19, 20
and 21 are unfinished shell
pendants; No. 22 is an unusual
pendant with two perforations near the
center for attachment.
No. 23
is an effigy of an eagle claw, made of
ocean shell.
Pendants made of the incisor of the elk,
(No. 24) were
frequently found, and all were
perforated for attachment.
No. 25
is a pendant made of the canine tooth of
the elk.
Specimens of this kind were not met with
in such numbers
as were found at Baum's.
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 443 |
|
444 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
No. 26 might be considered a bead of
unusual make, being
perforated at each end for attachment.
No. 27 is a cylindrical
bead made of ocean shell, and perforated
lengthwise for attach-
ment to a necklace.
HOES MADE OF SHELL.
Hoes made of shell were found in goodly
numbers in the
Feurt site. The hoes shown in Fig. 90 are
representative
specimens found in the site, and
resemble both as to kind of
shells used and in manner of
manufacture, those found at
Baum's and Gartner's. Smith found the
perforated shells at the
Kentucky site. On many sites along the Ohio and Scioto
rivers, a different form of hoe is
found. This hoe is made of
a ferruginous sandstone, which outcrops
along the Ohio river
and occurs in thin layers, and when
broken into the desired
form
and sharpened form a very
desirable implement. Of
these, however not a single specimen was
found in the Feurt
site.
SHELLS USED FOR SPOONS AND SCRAPERS.
The specimens shown in Fig. 91 were
doubtless used as
spoons and scrapers, or both. They were
abundant and were
no doubt a very useful implement. All
show use and many are
worn, as shown in the figure. The
majority of the spoons or
scrapers are plain, but many are
perforated with a small hole
for attachment to a handle or to
clothing.
Shell spoons are frequently met with in
the Ft. Ancient
culture sites in Ohio. At Baum's shell
spoons were found in
the village site as well as the graves,
but no specimens were
found at Gartner's. Smith found shell
spoons in the Kentucky
site and they have been reported from
many village sites along
the Ohio river.
CONCLUSIONS.
The examination of the Tremper Mound, in
1915, very
naturally led to the desire to know
something of the inhabitants
of the Feurt Mounds and Villagesite,
lying just across the
Scioto river to the eastward. The close
proximity of the sites,
as well as their relative size and
importance, was sufficient to
raise the question as to whether or not
there might have been
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site. 445 |
|
446 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. |
|
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 447
some connection between the two. It was
apparent without
detailed examination that the cultural
stages represented by
the two sites were extremely different,
and that if any connec-
tion were to be discovered it would be
due entirely to con-
temporaneity of occupation and the
consequent relationship
which, amicable or hostile, is bound to
exist where two peoples
are co-resident in a vicinity.
In the examination of the Tremper mound,
some objects
were found which seemed pertinent to a
culture other than that
of the occupants and builders; not many,
to be sure, for being
of the most advanced type of peoples
resident in prehistoric
Ohio, they doubtless were mainly
self-sufficient and found but
little among the treasures of their
lowlier neighbors which they
would deign to possess. Still, there
were a few things--some
flint arrowpoints, an object or two of
stone and bone-which
apparently belonged to the so-called
Fort Ancient peoples resi-
dent in most of southern Ohio.
And while not many objects having their
origin with the
latter people could be expected among
the relics of the esthetic
Hopewell culture, it was reasonable to
suppose that the com-
paratively elegant ornaments and
implements of copper and
other materials possessed by these would
be highly prized and
sought for by those who lacked the skill
to produce them.
It was therefore, an important
consideration in the ex-
ploration of the Feurt site, readily
attributable to the Fort
Ancient culture, to determine the
presence or absence thereat
of objects pertaining to the nearby
Tremper site, and from
this, to prove or dispose of the already
formed opinion that
the occupants of the two sites were not
unacquainted with
one another.
If it should prove that they were
contemporaneous in their
residence in the vicinity, it was patent
that their relations
might be either friendly or unfriendly.
If friendly, it was
reasonable to hope that we might find in
the Feurt site some
few of the finely wrought and obviously
desirable objects of
the Tremper people, secured and prized
by the less advanced
culture. In this case, it would
naturally be expected that such
valued possessions would be found with
burials.
448 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
If, on the other hand, the relationship
was hostile, such
objects might still be found, but under
very different conditions.
Observation has shown that the Fort
Ancient peoples, while
less advanced along esthetic lines, were
numerous, practical
and powerful, and instances are not
lacking to show that they
sometimes took indemnity from their
aristocratic neighbors. In
such case, the instinctive impulse,
noted even among the
historic Indian tribes, prevailed, and
instead of appropriating
the rich booty captured from the enemy
for use as their own,
their one thought seems to have been to
mutilate, batter and
destroy what pertained to the hated
opponent. This is well
illustrated in the find of copper, mica
and other objects at Fort
Ancient some years ago, which apparently
had been captured
by the residents from the higher
culture, then broken, baftered
and mutilated and hidden away in the
earth. In either event
- whether evidence pointed to a hostile
or a friendly acquaint-
ance,-it would, if forthcoming, prove
the contemporaneity of
the two peoples in question.
As it has been shown in the text that
objects of copper were
found with burials-thus indicating a
friendly barter or
interchange of commodities-and that,
further, objects of un-
doubted Tremper type were found
discarded after having been
destroyed or mutilated-pointing to
hostile relation between
the two-it seems reasonable to conclude
that the inhabitants
of the Feurt site and the Tremper site,
for a time at least,
were contemporaneous in their occupation
of this section of the
Scioto valley. Furthermore, the order of the changed con-
tact is apparent, since the objects
found with burials pertained
to the earlier occupation of the
villagesite, while those indicat-
ing hostile relations were identified
with the later occupation.
A possible explanation of this later
misunderstanding may
be found in the deposit of Ohio
pipestone, adjacent to the
Feurt site. Exploration demonstrated
that both the Feurt and
the Tremper peoples drew heavily upon
this material, the old
quarries of which are within a very
short distance of the Feurt
village. The working of these quarries
may have proved to be
the casus belli between the two
aboriginal settlements, and many
The Feurt Mounds and Village
Site. 449
account for the apparent change in their
relationship toward
one another.
Aside from this phase of the
investigation, the inhabitants
of the Feurt Villagesite are shown to
have belonged to the
great Fort Ancient culture. They were
very similar in prac-
tically every respect to the inhabitants
of the Baum Village
and the Gartner Village, in Ohio, and to
those of the Kentucky
site examined by Smith.
Vol. XXVI--23
THE FEURT MOUNDS
AND VILLAGE SITE.
BY WILLIAM C. MILLS.
The Feurt Mounds and Village Site are
situated about five
miles north of the city of Portsmouth,
on the east side of the
Scioto river, in Clay township, Scioto
county, Ohio. The land
upon which this group of mounds and the
village site is located
is a part of the estate of Mr. William
C. Feurt, which consists
of more than 400 acres of rich bottom
lands and sloping hill-
sides, and is considered one of the most
productive and well-
kept farms along the Scioto. Mr. Feurt,
who gives personal
attention to his farm, lives in a
commodious and stately mansion,
constructed in an early day by his
father and added to, as re-
quired, by the son until today it stands
among the most beautiful
farm residences in the Scioto valley.
The immediate location of the mounds and
village site is
a level plateau of less than five acres
in extent, elevated a little
more than forty feet above the bottom
land into which it projects,
promontory like, with steep and very
abrupt banks. Looking
south from the site of this village upon
the broad and beautiful
valley of the Scioto, and westward
across the river valley to
the foothills, where is located the
Tremper Mound, one is im-
pressed with the fact that early man in
the Ohio valley took
advantage of natural surroundings in
selecting a site for his
home.
The original top soil of this plateau
was a clay loam of
several feet in thickness, underlaid
with gravel. The present
top soil is from six inches to four feet
above the original surface,
as a result of the custom of the
inhabitants of the village in
carrying soil from the sides of the
abrupt bank and covering up
the accumulated debris in and around
their tepee sites. When
these places were uncovered, the story
of the primitive peoples,
who doubtless for a long period of time
made this site their
home, was revealed.
Vol. XXVI-20. (305)