This booklet is issued by the Ohio State Archæological and Historical Society in response to a demand for a brief outline of the main features of prehistoric archæology in Ohio. While intended primarily for use of students in the elementary schools, it is hoped that visitors to the Museum, and the general public, as well as collectors of archæological material, and students of prehistory, may find the brief summary contained herein of interest and value. Since types of archæological specimens ar

White people had not been on Ohio soil very long before they began to notice peculiar mounds and fortifications built of earth and stone. Evidently these were very ancient, as they were overgrown by the forest. The Indian inhabitants were neither building nor using such structures, nor could they tell the white settlers anything about them. A bit of digging, here and there, soon showed that the mounds contained human burials and that with these were strange relics. Hence it was clear that they h

Fig. 2—The Miamisburg Mound. A glance at the outline map on page 4 shows the location of these ancient works. It will be noted that the southern one-half of the state was the favored region, especially along the courses of the streams and rivers flowing southward to the Ohio. An automobile trip through southern Ohio affords an excellent outing or vacation, and makes it possible to see the actual Mounds and other structures of the long ago. Some of them, the tourist will note, are merely heaps of

All that we have seen and learned of the Mounds and Earthworks, up to this point, is merely what anyone, by using his eyes, might see and learn; in fact, just what the pioneers observed. In other words we have looked at them from the outside, without knowing the secrets buried inside them. And now, since the Mound-builders left no written history behind them, we must get acquainted with another branch of science in order to obtain the information we desire. This new science is known as Archæolog

In Ohio alone there were three outstanding kinds or cultures of Mound-builders, besides several less important ones. These three are known as the Fort Ancient, the Adena and the Hopewell cultures, taking their names from the places where their Mounds were first examined and identified. The Fort Ancient peoples were the least advanced of the three, yet they were the most numerous and prosperous of the prehistoric peoples of Ohio. Their old village-sites are numerous in the southern half of the St

Fig. 7—Exploring the Seip Mound, Ross County, Ohio. No doubt every reader of this booklet would like to take part in the actual “digging” of a mound. This, of course cannot be, since the actual exploration of a large Mound requires months and even years. But perhaps we can do the next best thing; perhaps we can take part in an imaginary examination of a Mound, and in that way get an idea of how it is done and of what is found. Supposing we select a Mound of the interesting Hopewell culture. The

And now that we have had a look at the Mound-builders, it only remains to be said that still another people, closely related but somewhat different, lived in the Ohio country before the coming of white men. Archæologists, in exploring the ancient Mounds, have learned just what kinds of implements, ornaments and utensils the Mound-builders used. But this is not all. In plowing and cultivating the fields, and in shallow graves found here and there, great numbers of relics of kinds not used by the

Time and space will not permit us to discuss these queries very fully, but perhaps we can tell enough about them in a few lines for the present purpose. Archæologists are now pretty well agreed that the Mound-builders, the Indians and all other peoples who lived in the Americas before the coming of Christopher Columbus, belonged to a single great race, which we may call the American Indian race. They believe that the Western Hemisphere was first peopled directly from Asia, by way of Bering Strai

The Mound-builders, and all other peoples at some time during their existence, lived in the Stone Age period of human development. Throughout the countless centuries of the Stone Age, human beings did not know the use of metals, as such. Indeed, it is only during the past few centuries that men have known such things as iron and steel, to say nothing of other metals. Some of them made limited use of raw metals and minerals, believing them to be only peculiar kinds of stone, never dreaming that t

Fig. 11—Man’s First Tool, the Hammer Stone. Away back in the days when all human beings were simple Stone Age peoples, just beginning the long climb toward civilization, their first tool was nothing more than a Stone or Pebble, picked up along the stream, and used as a Hammer Stone or Hand Hammer. They would want to crack a nut for its kernel, to break a bone for its marrow, or to frighten away a cave bear or hyena that threatened them; and the Hammer Stone served their needs. Later, when they l

Fig. 16—An Arrowmaker’s Outfit. Primitive man used Stone a long time before finding what proved to be a very superior variety, Flint, a rough block of which is shown on the left in the picture. Possibly he chanced upon a piece of Flint and in using it as a Hammer Stone noticed that it broke into thin flakes with sharp edges, and with this knowledge he soon learned to make Flint Knives, Scrapers, Arrow-points, Drills, and other cutting and piercing tools. For example, from the rough piece of Flin

Fig. 20—Primitive Agricultural Implements. Although the Mound-builders, like all primitive peoples, drew freely on nature’s bounty for food supplies, such as hunting, fishing and gathering wild nuts, fruits, and roots, they had developed agriculture to a considerable degree. Tending their crops with rude Hoes made from clam shells (A) and shoulder blades of the deer (B), they produced corn, beans, squash, tobacco, etc. It is probable also that some of the burial mounds were built with the aid of

Fig. 21—Implements of Bone. Next to Stone and Flint, the Mound-builders prized Bone for making implements and ornaments. Above (B, C) are shown two Bone Awls, which served for piercing leather and bark, and also as “tableware” in eating their meals. Other things made from bone were Harpoons and Arrowheads (A), Fish Hooks (D), Scrapers (F), Hoes, Needles (E), and Ornaments such as Beads and Pendants. With some of the Ohio Mound-builders and prehistoric Indians, Bone was almost as important as Fli

Fig. 22—Vessels of Burned Clay. The Mound-builders and some of the Indians made their pots and pans out of clay, of which there is a great abundance in the river valleys of Ohio. They tempered or hardened the clay by mixing it with ground-up rock or shells, molded it into the desired shape, and baked the vessel in an open fire. Many of these ancient pots have designs like “B” and “C,” which were made with small sticks, or perhaps with pieces of flint or bone, before burning. In size, pottery ves

Fig. 23—Mound-builder Cloth. The Mound-builders wove serviceable cloth from the tough fibers of plants and the inner bark of certain trees. The sample shown as “A” resembles the homespun linen of the days of our pioneer grandmothers, and in “B” a piece of the same sample is magnified to show the weave. Cloth, as well as the skins of animals, was used for clothing by the Mound-builders, and they probably knew how to weave thick blankets to protect them from the cold in winter. There are many samp

Fig. 24—Implements and Ornaments of Copper. Although strictly a Stone Age people, the Mound-builders used Copper, Silver and other native metals. They had not learned to melt these, but pounded the metal into the desired shape, afterward polishing the objects by rubbing. The objects shown in the picture are all made of Copper. “A” is a Bracelet and “B” is a Celt, or ungrooved Axe. “C” shows two views of what are called Ear-spools. These were worn as ornaments in the ears, and probably signified

Fig. 25—Mound-builder Jewelry. Beads always have been popular with human beings as articles of personal adornment. The Mound-builders and other Indians used them in great numbers, samples of which are shown in the picture. From left to right there are: Beads made of fresh-water pearls, which are found in the mounds by the thousands; a “breast-pin” of sea-shell decorated with the effigy of an insect, and a Bear Tusk with a Pearl set in it, used as a pendant for a necklace. The Mound-builders made

Fig. 26—Mound-builder Designs. The Mound-builders were artists, carving and cutting a variety of patterns in Bone, Mica, Shell, Copper, Clay and Stone. Without doubt they worked in other materials too, such as Wood and Bark, but these, of course, have entirely disappeared along with other perishable materials. We have seen examples of their artistic ability in the great geometrical circles, squares and octagons which they built up of earth around some of their burial mounds. At the left in the p

Fig. 27—The Mound-builder Tobacco Pipe. The Mound-builders cultivated and smoked Tobacco long before civilized people knew of the plant. Above is a picture of one of their Tobacco Pipes, in which they have shown their artistic ability by carving it in the image of the Dog, their only domestic animal. Several hundred pipes like this one have been found in mounds in Ohio, representing many different animals and birds, and the human form has also been found. The American Indian not only taught the

Fig. 28—Charms, Badges and Talismans. Almost every collection of “Indian relics” contains one or more specimens, like those shown above, that are difficult to account for. They are called by the Archæologists “Ceremonial” objects, because they are believed to have been used in mysterious ceremonies of the Mound-builders and Indians. The specimen marked “A” is a pendant or Gorget, and was worn suspended from the neck. Specimen “B” is a Bannerstone, and “C” is a Crescent. They probably were mounte