The Turner Group of Earthworks; Hamilton County, Ohio (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1922 Excerpt: ...obtained from this altar. A group of the best preserved teeth of the bear is illustrated in plate 12, f. These are black with the confined smoke of the altar fire, and many others were destroyed by burning. Most of these large teeth were perforated by drilling two holes upon one side, at an angle to each other, until they met near the center of the tooth. Through this angular perforation, the cord or thong which fastened the tooth to the garment doubtless passed. They were probably used as ornaments or toggles, and where found in graves were usually in one or more pairs, as will be seen by referring to plate 6. Sometimes they have an additional lateral perforation near the root end, and some are without the diagonal drilling. A few neatly cut bear teeth were also taken from the altar, two of which have holes for a pearl inset. Several artificial bear teeth made of shell, and one or two of bone, were also recovered. A large number of the canine teeth of small mammals, perforated near the root end, for use as ornaments or for stringing as necklaces, are shown in e, of the above plate. Among the various animals represented are the dog, fox, raccoon, bay lynx, badger, and opossum. Mica Objects. In addition to the three large crystals of mica which capped this sacrificial deposit, there were many ornaments or ceremonial objects cut from thin sheets of this mineral. The more important of these are illustrated on plate 15. There were two grotesque human heads, one of which is shown in c. These are duplicates of each other, both in outline, and in the incised lines upon the surface which indicate the hair, the eyebrow, the lips, and the circle about the eye. At least a portion of the profile was painted, for traces of red paint still adhere to the neck. There are f...