1. Obsidian from Middle Woodland sites in the Illinois River Valley
Michael D. Wiant
Illinois State Museum—Dickson Mounds
Richard Hughes
Geochemical Research Laboratory

2. Obsidian artifacts (n=176) from Napoleon Hollow sample grouped by artifact class

3. Example of some of the observations recorded for obsidian artifacts found in the Illinois River Basin

4. Obsidian artifacts (n=432) from Illinois River Basin sample grouped by artifact class

5. Preliminary distribution of sites with obsidian artifacts

6. Barnhill site blade core

7. Number of obsidian artifacts from Illinois River Basin sample in each artifact class assayed by Hughes

8. Sources of obsidian artifacts from Illinois River Basin subsample

9. Obsidian Cliff, WY
Bear Gulch, ID
Teton Pass, WY
Black Rock, UT

10. Sources of obsidian artifacts from Illinois subsamples

11. Context of obsidian artifacts from Illinois River Basin sample grouped by artifact class

13. The Sources of Obsidian Found at Middle Woodland sites in Illinois
Michael Wiant
Illinois State Museum—Dickson Mounds
Richard Hughes
Geochemical Research Laboratory
Photograph by Doug Carr

14. Structure 1 post mold pattern at Napoleon Hollow (11PK500)
Structure 1 post mold pattern at Napoleon Hollow (11PK500). The orange spot marks the location of a hearth.

15. Obsidian flakes, Napoleon Hollow

16. Context of obsidian use: individual/group/community/society, specific/general ritual

17. Mississippi and Illinois river basins
Barnhill site blade core?
Obsidian artifacts from Illinois: surface collected specimens estimated age circa BP excavated specimens circa 1800 BP

18. Background

19. Squire, E. and E. Davis. 1848. Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley. Smithsonian.

20. E. Squier and E. Davis 1848. Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley. Smithsonian.
“Some spear-points of obsidian have been found, which, judging from the fragments, must have been of large dimensions. The ready fracture of this mineral, upon exposure to strong heat, has been exceedingly unfavorable to the recovery entire of any articles composed of it. This is the more to be regretted, from the fact that it is believed to be found in place only in Mexico and the volcanic regions of the South-west, and a comparison of the articles found here with those of the same material obtained from that direction, might serve to throw some degree of light upon the origin and connections of the race of the mounds.” (page 212)

21. Moorehead, W. K. 1922. The Hopewell Mound Group of Ohio
Moorehead, W. K The Hopewell Mound Group of Ohio. Field Museum of Natural History Publication 211.

22. Moorehead, W. K. 1922. The Hopewell Mound Group of Ohio
Moorehead, W. K The Hopewell Mound Group of Ohio. Field Museum of Natural History Publication 211.
Frederic Ward “Putnam informed me that the obsidian came from Yellowstone Park, not from New Mexico or California. If such was the case, it must have been brought by canoe at least three thousand miles down the Yellowstone, thence down the Missouri, up the Ohio, and up the Scioto to the Hopewell group. …The objects were not made on the Hopewell site, for no chips have been found there, or anywhere in the Ohio Valley.” (page 133).

23. Perino excavations

24. Obsidian point (notched flake) Bedford Mound 12 , primary log tomb Ken Farnsworth

25. Struever lowilva surveys
Collector interviews
Pedestrian reconnaissance of Illinois River valley and its tributaries
Excavation of Middle Woodland settlements

26. Meredosia core 25 – 30 pounds Collected by Bob Jenkins Hildebrand site Ken Farnsworth photo

27. Griffin. J. B. 1965. Hopewell and the Dark Black Glass
Griffin. J.B Hopewell and the Dark Black Glass. Michigan Archaeologist.

28. Griffin. J. B. 1965. Hopewell and the Dark Black Glass
Griffin. J.B Hopewell and the Dark Black Glass. Michigan Archaeologist.
Summary of inventory of obsidian artifacts from Illinois: by artifact category

29. Summary of Griffin 1965 inventory of obsidian artifacts from Illinois: by context

30. Griffin conclusions
…groups characterized as Hopewellian acquired obsidian between A.D. 100 and A.D. 200;
…the Rocky Mountain region was the most likely source of obsidian;
…when compared to Ohio, there are considerable regional differences in obsidian use; and,
…the quantity of obsidian in the Midwest suggests that “Hopewellian obsidian was obtained, distributed, and consumed within a relatively short span of time.”

31. Neutron activation

32. Griffin, Gordus, and Wright. 1969
Griffin, Gordus, and Wright Identification of the Sources of Hopewellian Obsidian in the Middle West. American Antiquity 34(1)

33. Obsidian Outcrops in Wyoming

34. Obsidian Cliff, Wyoming

35. Griffin et al. conclusions
“…elemental composition of Middle Western obsidian indicate very clearly that Obsidian Cliff and one unidentified source in Yellowstone Park provided the raw material to Middle Woodland Hopewellian populations.”
“The limitation of obsidian in the Middle West to a segment of the Hopewellian time period is important in understanding the presence of obsidian in the Middle West.”
The marked difference in the utilization of obsidian in Ohio and in the Upper Mississippi Valley is also of importance and should form the basis for another paper.” (page 13)

36. Current Research

37. Obsidian artifacts from Napoleon Hollow site (n=176) (Wiant and McGimsey 1986)

38. Obsidian Artifacts from Illinois Database
PK500
lamellar 1 n 27 14 3
prox lamellar w/converging arris, parallel sides, trapezoidal x-section, hinged 41 15 4 2
lamellar, central arris, arched, feathered, retouched margin 22 18
medial lamellar, central arris, triangular x-section, 20
medial lamellar, converging arris, snapped, retouched 12
medial lamellar, central arris, triangular x-section, hinged 26 5
prox lamellar, crushed platform, central arris, snapped
Obsidian Artifacts from Illinois Database

39. Unretouched obsidian artifacts from Middle Woodland sites in Illinois River Valley (n=359)

40. Retouched obsidian artifacts from Middle Woodland sites in Illinois River Valley (n=24)

41. Considerations…
With the exception of excavated material, the Illinois assemblage is largely a grab sample acquired through surface collecting;
Of note is what is missing. Production of a single biface or a lamellar flake core would generate hundreds of flakes;

42. Preliminary map of sites where obsidian have been found in lowilva

43. Research of Richard Hughes Director, Geochemical Research Laboratory
Energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence analysis
Analysis of rubidium, strontium, ytrium, zirconium, and niobium; also barium concentration and iron vs. manganese ratios
Previous Illinois research
specimens from American Bottom (Hughes and Fortier 1997, 2007); x + 10 specimens, x + 9 consistent with samples from Obsidian Cliff, one from Bear Gluch, Idaho source
Analysis of specimen from Upper Mississippi Valley (Stoltman and Hughes 2004) indicates acquisition of Obsidian Cliff material during Early Woodland Period. Conclusion buttressed by assay of blade core from Early Woodland midden in American Bottom (Hughes and Fortier 2007)

44. Obsidian artifacts from lowilva assayed by Hughes

45. Results of assay of obsidian artifacts from lowilva (Hughes n. d. )
Results of assay of obsidian artifacts from lowilva (Hughes n.d.). Note: unknown, samples too small for assay.

46. Obsidian Outcrops in Wyoming

47. Obsidian Outcrops in Utah

48. Obsidian artifacts from sources other than Obsidian Cliff
Bear Gulch, Idaho: Frost site, surface, medial Type 3 flake with multidirectional flake scars, biface production?
Teton Pass, Wyoming: Woodville site, surface, Type 2 flake with cortex and multiple dorsal scars, formation of more desirable form?
Black Rock, Utah: Koster site, surface, multiple multi-directional flake scars, generation of amorphous flakes?

49. Summary and Conclusions

50. Griffin Recapitulated
…groups characterized as Hopewellian acquired obsidian between A.D. 100 and A.D. 200;
…the Rocky Mountain region was the most likely source of obsidian;
…when compared to Ohio, there are considerable regional differences in obsidian use; and,
…the quantity of obsidian in the Midwest suggests that “Hopewellian obsidian was obtained, distributed, and consumed within a relatively short span of time.”

51. …groups characterized as Hopewellian acquired obsidian between A. D
…groups characterized as Hopewellian acquired obsidian between A.D. 100 and A.D. 200;
Obsidian artifacts from dated contexts at Napoleon Hollow confirm Griffin’s assessment
Obsidian artifacts found in Early Woodland contexts in Wisconsin and Illinois (Stoltman and Hughes; Hughes and Fortier) suggest acquisition by pre-Hopewellian societies

52. …the Rocky Mountain region was the most likely source of obsidian;
Continued research has confirmed Griffin et al (1969) assessment that Obsidian Cliff is the source of most of the obsidian in the Middle West, but improvements in assay technology and outcrop sampling demonstrate that Yellowstone was not the only source.
There is little, but interesting and perhaps important, evidence of other sources such as Bear Gulch, Idaho; Teton Pass, Wyoming; and Black Rock, Utah.
Unaddressed is obsidian acquisition, use, and exchange in the Rocky Mountains circa 2000 BP.

53. …when compared to Ohio, there are considerable regional differences in obsidian use;
“I trust you will observe that the majority of the finds, both in Ohio and elsewhere, are not with burials and by far the majority, up to at least 90%, of the obsidian in Ohio was in mound 25, and was not redistributed.” (James B. Griffin: personal communication, August 21, 1980.)
In Ohio, majority of obsidian found in mounds. In Illinois, obsidian rarely found in mounds. That said, more detailed analysis of context and use is necessary. For example…

54. Preliminary assessment of obsidian discard and presumably use context

55. …the quantity of obsidian in the Midwest suggests that “Hopewellian obsidian was obtained, distributed, and consumed within a relatively short span of time.”
Griffin (1965) proposed the “one-shot hypothesis”; however, the albeit nominal variety of material may be attributable to differences in acquisition and conveyance.
Quantity recovered to date noteworthy: outside of Meredosia core (25-30 lbs.), total weight less than 2 lbs. Substantial excavations at Apple Creek, Crane, Loy, Macoupin, Smiling Dan, and Moundhouse have yielded relatively little obsidian.

56. Did Hopewellians acquire unmodified raw material or finished goods?
The discovery of more than 10,000 obsidian flakes in Hopewell Mound 11 is evidence of local production.
In Illinois, three unaltered obsidian nodules from Albany Mounds, primary flakes and secondary flakes with cortex from Lowilva are consistent with the acquisition of raw material, and the large proportion of flakes in the Illinois assemblage is expected with local production.
A large, obsidian “Ohio-like” biface fragment from Kraske site suggests the possibility of the redistribution of finished goods from Ohio.

57. Why did Hopewellians acquire obsidian?
Elusive
An acquisition/accumulation model designed for highly theatrical public displays may be appropriate for Ohio;
A redistribution model for individualized/personalized display at a more interpersonal range may account for obsidian use in Illinois, or use in a particular ritual setting;

58. Relationship between ritual and resource?

59. Future research…
“…comparison of the articles found here with those of the same material obtained from that direction, might serve to throw some degree of light upon the origin and connections of the race of the mounds.” (E. Squier and E. Davis 1848:212)
“The marked difference in the utilization of obsidian in Ohio and in the Upper Mississippi Valley is also of importance and should form the basis for another paper” (Griffin, Gordus, and Wright 1969:13).

60. Obsidian artifacts (n=176) from Napoleon Hollow sample grouped by artifact class

61. Obsidian artifacts (n=432) from Illinois River Basin sample grouped by artifact class

62. Example of some of the observations recorded for obsidian artifacts found in the Illinois River Basin

63. Preliminary distribution of sites with obsidian artifacts

64. Number of obsidian artifacts from Illinois River Basin sample in each artifact class assayed by Hughes

65. Sources of obsidian artifacts from Illinois River Basin subsample

66. Obsidian Cliff, WY
Bear Gulch, ID
Teton Pass, WY
Black Rock, UT

67. Sources of obsidian artifacts from Illinois subsamples

68. Context of obsidian artifacts from Illinois River Basin sample grouped by artifact class