Ohio History Journal

A HOPEWELL SCULPTURED HEAD

 

By RICHARD G. MORGAN

 

During the excavation of Seip Mound No. 1, Ross County.

Ohio, in 1927, a sculptured human head was found.¹ It was in

a fragmentary condition due partly to its having been subjected

to fire and partly to an accident in its removal; hence an adequate

description was not possible at the time the report was written.

The specimen has now been restored from dozens of small frag-

ments and due to its unique character it has been considered

worthy of a complete published description.

The restoration is accurate as most of the pieces make exact

contact with one another. It should be noted, however, that the

position of the ears had to be approximated as their points of

contact were missing. In addition, the pupil of the left eye was

completely reconstructed as was the nose. The width of the nose

was indicated at the root and at the nostrils but its contour is

hypothetical.

The head was modeled from an un-tempered clay and fired.

It is indicative of exceptional skill on the part of the craftsman.

The ears, from all appearances, were fashioned separately and

attached to the head before firing, and the same may have been

true for other portions of the object. The specimen is 81mm. in

height, 65mm. in width above the ears, and 53mm. in width from

the point of the chin to the back of the head at the base. The

surface is black in color on the right side, back, and top, and is

a light buff to a mottled brown on the left side. Traces of red

pigment are present on the ears, lips and bottom of the object.

Fine lines caused by the modeling tools may be seen at various

places on the surface.

The base of the object is broad, the back is flattened from

side to side, and there is a decided tapering of the head toward

 

1 H. C. Shetrone and E. F. Greenman, "Explorations of the Seip Group of

Prehistoric Earthworks," Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, XL

(1931), 426.

(384)

386   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

able detail and apparently each contained three perforations about

.5mm. in diameter along its outer margin. The right ear has

a pair of these holes near the top and one 10mm. from its base.

The margin of the left ear is broken but there are indications that

it was pierced in like manner.

Above the forehead, 12mm. from the top of the head, and

parallel to it, there is a deeply incised line 39mm. in length.

Starting about 7mm. above the end of this line on the right side

there is an incised line which curves upward and then downward

behind the ear to the base of the object; there is a similar line

on the left side. On top of the head there are two holes spaced

11mm. apart. These are 7.5mm. in diameter and extend down

toward the base at least 57mm. They have the appearance of

being molded rather than drilled. In the base there is a circular

opening 20mm. in diameter which from indications was about

9mm. in depth. It is in line with the two holes in the top of

the head. In the base near the left border of this opening there

is a hole 3mm. in diameter extending upward about 10mm. In

about the same position on the opposite side there is a small pro-

jection. On account of shattering of the interior, it could not

be determined whether or not the two holes in the top of the

head connected with the basal opening, although they may have

been so connected.

The specimen was found with Burial No. 36, a cremated

skeleton of an adult which had been placed on a burial platform

made of puddled clay. Above the cremated bones was a layer

of bark which in turn was covered by a layer of gravel. This

burial, and Burial No. 39 adjacent to it, were covered by a primary

mound which contained two gravel layers. Several large post-

moulds occurred to the west and southwest of the burial. Asso-

ciated with the cremation were the sculptured head, a miniature

copper breast-plate, two very small copper spool-shaped ear orna-

ments, and four copper-covered stone "buttons."2

This specimen seems to be unique in the Hopewell Culture

although human figurines of pottery ware were found at the

 

2 H. C. Shetrone, Seip Mound Field Notes, Ohio State Museum, 86-7.

HOPEWELL SCULPTURED HEAD: MORGAN                  387

 

Turner Mound Group in Hamilton County, Ohio.³ The head

may have been a part of a complete human figurine made of some

perishable material. The opening in the base and the small per-

foration near it, as well as the two holes extending toward the

base, may have functioned in attaching the head to a body. The

fact that the head was associated with miniature artifacts may

also be significant.

Four stone sculptures of the human head were found at

the Mound City Group, Ross County, Ohio.⁴ Three were bowls

of tobacco pipes while the fourth was a head which evidently had

a projection on the back portion for attachment. The ears of one

of the pipe specimens were pierced by four small holes along their

upper margins. Three human effigies, two of antler and one of

ivory, were recovered from    the Hopewell Mound Group, Ross

County, Ohio.⁵ One of those made of antler has four perfora-

tions in each ear. The pierced ear margins are also analogous

to those of the human head pottery vessels of Arkansas.⁶

The incised line on the forehead and the deep incisions curv-

ing down behind the ears may represent portions of a headdress.

The holes in the top of the head, if not for attachment, may also

have been related to a headdress. The elongated appearance of

the head gives the impression of representing artificial deforma-

tion.

This sculptured human head is one more noteworthy example

of the high degree of artistic skill achieved by the craftsmen of

the prehistoric Hopewell peoples.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 C. C. Willoughby, "The Turner Group of Earthworks, Hamilton County, Ohio,"

Harvard University, Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Papers

(Cambridge), VIII (1922), no. 3, 71-4.

4 E. G. Squier and E. H. Davis, "Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley,"

Smithsonian Institution, Contributions to Knowledge (Washington, D. C.), I (1848),

243-7.

5 W. K. Moorehead, "The Hopewell Mound Group of Ohio," Field Museum of

Natural History, Publication, no. 211, Anthropological Series (Chicago), VI, (1922),

no. 5, 163-5.

6 W. H. Holmes, "Aboriginal Pottery of the Eastern United States," Bureau of

American Ethnology, Twentieth Annual Report (Washington, 1903), 96-8.