Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-lrblm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-13T13:24:27.784Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Ohio Hopewell Trophy-Skull Artifacts as Evidence for Competition in Middle Woodland Societies Circa 50 B.C.. A.D. 350

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Mark F. Seeman
Mark F. Seeman*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

During the Middle Woodland period in eastern North America, modified human skulls are interjected into a broader pattern of "trophy"-artifact manufacture. Interpretations of these human trophies have resulted in a polarity of opinion-that they are the remains of (1) revered ancestors, or (2) defeated enemies. Both previous investigations of the problem support exclusively the "revered-ancestor" interpretation. Results of the present study, which makes use of a six-site Ohio Hopewell sample and stylistic and biological analyses, do not support this position, and are seen as reflecting a competitive component in Hopewell society.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 53 , Issue 3 , July 1988 , pp. 565 - 577
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Baby, R. S. 1948 Field Notes, Ohio State Museum Archaeological Expedition, Raymond Ater Mound : Ro63. Ms. on file, Ohio Historical Society, Columbus.Google Scholar
Baby, R. S. 1956 A Unique Hopewellian Mask-headdress. American Antiquity 21 : 303–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baby, R. S. 1961 A Hopewell Human Bone Whistle. American Antiquity 27 : 108–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bender, B. 1985 Prehistoric Developments in the American Midcontinent and in Brittany, Northwest France. In Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers : The Emergence of Cultural Complexity, edited by Price, T. D. and Brown, J., pp. 21–57. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Bowers, A. W. 1950 Mandan Social and Ceremonial Organization. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Bowers, A. W. 1965 Hidatsa Social and Ceremonial Organization. Bulletin 194. Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Braun, D. P. 1986 Midwestern Hopewellian Exchange and Supralocal Interaction. In Peer Polity Interaction and Sociopolitical Change, edited by Renfrew, C. and Cherry, J., pp. 117–126. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Braun, D. P., and Plog, S. 1982 Evolution of “Tribal” Social Networks : Theory and Prehistoric North American Evidence. American Antiquity 47 : 504–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Braun, D. P., Griffin, J. B., and Titterington, P. F. 1982 The Snyders Mounds and Five Other Mound Groups in Calhoun County, Illinois. Technical Reports 13. University of Michigan, Museum of Anthropology, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Brothwell, D. R. 1972 Digging Up Bones : The Excavation of Human Skeletal Remains. British Museum, London.Google Scholar
Brown, J. A. 1979 Charnel Houses and Mortuary Crypts : Disposal of the Dead in the Middle Woodland Period. In Hopewell Archaeology : The Chillico the Conference, edited by Brose, D. and Greber, N., pp. 211–219. Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio.Google Scholar
Brown, J. A. 1982 Spiro Art and Its Mortuary Contexts. In Native North American Art History, edited by Mathews, Z. and Jonaitis, A., pp. 459–484. Peek Publications, Palo Alto, California.Google Scholar
Brown, J. A., and Baby, R. S. 1966 Mound City Revisited. Ms. on file, Department of Archaeology, Ohio Historical Society, Columbus.Google Scholar
Budinoff, L. C. 1986 Bioarchaeology of the Drew Cemetery : A Non-elite, Non-mound Burial Site at the Adena-Hopewell Transition in Southwestern Ohio. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, State University of New York, Binghamton.Google Scholar
Buikstra, J. E. 1976 Hopewell in the Lower Illinois Valley : A Regional Approach to the Study of Human Biological Variability and Prehistoric Behavior. Scientific Papers 2. Northwestern University Archeological Program, Evanston, Illinois.Google Scholar
Buikstra, J. E. 1979 Contributions of Physical Anthropologists to the Concept of Hopewell : A Historical Perspective. In Hopewell Archaeology : the Chillico the Conference, edited by Brose, D. and Greber, N., pp. 220–233. Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio.Google Scholar
Cantwell, A. -M. 1980 Dickson Camp and Pond : Two Early Havana Tradition Site's in the Central Illinois Valley. Reports of Investigations No. 36. Illinois State Museum, Springfield.Google Scholar
Chamberlain, V. 1982 When Stars Came Down to Earth : Cosmology of the Skidi Pawnee Indians of North America. Ballena Press, Los Altos, California.Google Scholar
Dalton, G. 1984 The Kula, Past and Present. American Anthropologist 86 : 943–953.Google Scholar
Deuel, T. 1952 Hopewellian Dress in Illinois. In Archaeology of Eastern United States, edited by Griffin, J., pp. 165–175. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Essenpreis, P. S., and Moseley, M. E. 1984 Fort Ancient : Cidadel or Coliseum? Field Museum of Natural History Bulletin 55(6) : 5–10, 20–26.Google Scholar
Fenton, W. N. 1978 Northern Iroquoisan Culture Patterns. In Northeast, edited by Trigger, B., pp. 296–321. Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 15, Sturtevant, W. C., general editor. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Ford, R. I. 1979 Gathering and Gardening : Trends and Consequences of Hopewell Subsistence Strategies. In Hopewell Archaeology : The Chillico the Conference, edited by Brose, D. and Greber, N., pp. 234–238. Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio.Google Scholar
Fowler, M. L. 1974 Cahokia : Ancient Capital of the Midwest. Addison-Wesley, Menlo Park, California.Google Scholar
Fowler, W. R., Jr. 1984 Late Preclassic Mortuary Patterns and Evidence for Human Sacrifice at Chalchuapa, El Salvador. American Antiquity 49 : 603–618.Google Scholar
Greber, N. 1979 A Comparative Study of Site Morphology and Burial Patterns at Edwin Harness Mound and Seip Mounds 1 and 2. In Hopewell Archaeology : The Chillico the Conference, edited by Brose, D. and Greber, N., pp. 27–38. Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio.Google Scholar
Greber, N. 1983 Recent Excavations at the Edwin Harness Mound, Liberty Works, Ross County, Ohio. Special Paper 5. Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio.Google Scholar
Griffin, J. B. 1979 An Overview of the Chillico the Hopewell Conference. In Hopewell Archaeology : The Chillico the Conference, edited by Brose, D. and Greber, N., pp. 266–279. Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio.Google Scholar
Hall, R. L. 1977 An Anthropomorphic Perspective for Eastern United States Prehistory. American Antiquity 42 : 499–518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, R. L. 1979 In Search of the Ideology of the Adena-Hopewell Climax. In Hopewell Archaeology, The Chilloco the Conference, edited by Brose, D. and Greber, N., pp. 258–265. Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio.Google Scholar
Hall, R. L. 1983 Long-distance Connections of Some Long-nosed Gods. Paper presented at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Chicago.Google Scholar
Harn, A. D. 1975 Cahokia and the Mississippian Emergence in the Spoon River Area of Illinois. Transactions of the Illinois Academy of Science 68 : 414–434.Google Scholar
Hemmings, E. T. 1984 Fairchance Mound and Village : An Early Middle Woodland Settlement in the Upper Ohio Valley. West Virginia Archeologist 36(1) : 3–51.Google Scholar
Hough, W. 1908 Proceedings of the Anthropological Society of Washington. American Anthropologist 10 : 286–295.Google Scholar
Jef Teries, R. W. 1976 The Tunacunnhee Site : Evidence of Hopewell Interaction in Northwest Georgia. Anthropological Papers 1. University of Georgia, Athens.Google Scholar
Kinietz, W. V. 1940 The Indians of the Western Great Lakes, 1615-1760. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Konigsberg, L. W. 1985 Demography and Mortuary Practice at Seip Mound One. Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology 10(1) : 123–148.Google Scholar
Lovejoy, C. O. 1985 Dental Wear in the Libben Population : Its Functional Pattern and Role in the Determination of Adult Skeletal Age at Death. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 68 : 47–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lovejoy, C. O., Meindl, R. S., Pryzbeck, T. R., Barton, T. S., Heiple, K. G., and Kotting, D. 1977 Paleodemography of the Libben Site, Ottawa County, Ohio. Science 198 : 291–293.Google Scholar
Lowie, R. H. 1954 Indians of the Plains. Anthropological Handbook 1. American Museum of Natural History, New York.Google Scholar
Magrath, W. H. 1940 The Temple of the Effigy. Scientific American 163 : 76–78.Google Scholar
Mainfort, R. C, Jr., Shannon, G. W., Jr., and Tyler, J. E. 1985 1983 Excavations at Pinson Mounds : The Twin Mounds. Midcontinental Journal ofArchaeology 10(1) : 49–76.Google Scholar
Mensforth, R. P. 1986 Paleodemography of the Carlston Annis (Bt-5) Skeletal Population. Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.Google Scholar
Mills, W. C. 1907 Explorations of the Edwin Harness Mound. Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly 16 : 113–193.Google Scholar
Mills, W. C. 1909 Explorations of the Seip Mound. Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly 18 : 269–321.Google Scholar
Mills, W. C. 1916 Exploration of the Tremper Mound. Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly 25 : 262–398.Google Scholar
Moorehead, W. K. 1922 The Hopewell Mound Group of Ohio. Field Museum of Natural History, Anthropological Series 6 : 73–181.Google Scholar
Mortine, W. A., and Randies, D. 1978 The Martin Mound : An Extention of the Hopewell Interaction Sphere into the Walhonding Valley of Eastern Ohio. Occasional Papers in Muskingum Valley Archaeology, No. 10. Muskingum Valley Archaeological Survey, Zanesville, Ohio.Google Scholar
O. Shea, J. M. 1984 Mortuary Variability : An Archaeological Investigation. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Owsley, D. W., Berryman, H. E., and Bass, W. M. 1977 Demographic and Osteological Evidence for Warfare at the Larson Site, South Dakota. Plains Anthropologist, Memoir 13 : 119–131.Google Scholar
Parmalee, P. W. 1959 Use of Mammalian Skulls and Mandibles by Prehistoric Indians of Illinois. Illinois Academy of Science 52(3-4) : 85–95.Google Scholar
Parmalee, P. W., and Stephens, D. 1972 A Wolf Mask and Other Carnivore Skull Artifacts from the Palestine Site, Illinois. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 42(1-2) : 71–75.Google Scholar
Parmalee, P. W., Paloumpis, A. A., and Wilson, N. 1972 Animals Utilized by Woodland Peoples Occupying the Apple Creek Site, Illinois. Reports of Investigations 23. Illinois State Museum, Springfield.Google Scholar
Phillips, P., and Brown, J. A. 1984 Pre-Columbian Shell Engravings From the Craig Mound at Spiro, Oklahoma, pt. 2. Peabody Museum Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Powell, M. L. 1977 Prehistoric Ritual Skull Burials at the Crenshaw Site (3M16), Southwest Arkansas. Bulletin of the Texas Archeological Society 48 : 111–118.Google Scholar
Proulx, D. A. 1971 Headhunting in Ancient Peru. Archaeology 24(1) : 16–21.Google Scholar
Putnam, F. W. 1886 The Marriott Mound, No. 1, and Its Contents. 18th and 19th Annual Reports (1884-1885). Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Redmond, B. G. 1982 Drilled Skulls and Eyes of Clay : Late Woodland Burial Ceremonialism in the Western Lake Erie Basin. Paper presented at the 54th Annual Midwest Archaeological Conference, Cleveland.Google Scholar
Ruff, C. B. 1981 A Reassesssment of Demographic Estimates for Pecos Pueblo. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 54 : 147–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seeman, M. F. 1977 Stylistic Variation in Middle Woodland Pipe Styles : The Chronological Implications. Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology 2 : 47–66.Google Scholar
Seeman, M. F. 1979a Feasting with the Dead : Ohio Hopewell Charnel House Ritual as a Context for Redistribution. In Hopewell Archaeology : The Chillico the Conference, edited by Brose, D. and Greber, N., pp. 39–46. Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio.Google Scholar
Seeman, M. F. 1979b The Hopewell Interaction Sphere : The Evidence for Interregional Trade and Structural Complexity. Prehistory Research Series 5(2). Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis.Google Scholar
Shetrone, H. C. 1926 Exploration of the Hopewell Group of Prehistoric Earthworks. Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly 35 : 1–227.Google Scholar
Shetrone, H. C, and Greenman, E. F. 1931 Explorations oftheSeip Group of Prehistoric Earthworks. Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly 40 : 343–509.Google Scholar
Simms, S. R. 1979 Changing Patterns of Information and Material Flow at the Archaic-Woodland Transition in the Northeastern U. S. Pennsylvania Archaeologist 49(4) : 30–44.Google Scholar
Skinner, A. B. 1915 Societies of the Iowa, Kansa, and Ponca Indians. Anthropological Papers Vol. 11, pt. 9. American Museum of Natural History, New York.Google Scholar
Snow, C. E. n. d. Unpublished Notes on Ohio Hopewell Osteology. Ms. in possession of author.Google Scholar
Struever, S., and Houart, G. L. 1972 An Analysis of the Hopewell Interaction Sphere. In Social Exchange and Interaction, edited by Wilmsen, E., pp. 47–80. Anthropological Papers 46. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Swanton, J. R. 1946 The Indians of the Southeastern United States. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 137. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Taylor, C. 1975 The Warriors of the Plains. Arco Publishing, New York.Google Scholar
Trigger, B. G. 1969 The Huron : Farmers of the North. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York.Google Scholar
Trowbridge, C. C. 1939 Shawnese Traditions. Occasional Contributions 9. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Ubelaker, D. H. 1978 Human Skeletal Remains. Aldine, Chicago.Google Scholar
Webb, W. S. 1946 Indian Knoll, Site Oh 2, Ohio County, Kentucky. Reports in Anthropology and Archaeology 4(3). University of Kentucky, Lexington.Google Scholar
Webb, W. S., and Baby, R. S. 1957 The Adena People— No. 2. Ohio Historical Society, Columbus.Google Scholar
Webb, W. S., and Snow, C. E. 1945 The Adena People. Reports in Anthropology and Archaeology 6. University of Kentucky, Lexington.Google Scholar
Weltfish, G. 1965 The Lost Universe. Basic Books, New York.Google Scholar
Willoughby, C. C, and A. Hooton, Ernest 1922 The Turner Group of Earthworks, Hamilton County, Ohio. Peabody Museum Papers 8(3). Harvard University, Cambridge.Google Scholar