|
The Hopewell peoples of Ohio
Scientists at MU and other universities are analyzing obsidian
materials from volcanic sources all over the world to create
a comprehensive database for successful sourcing of obsidian
artifacts. Although all obsidian is formed from the same basic
material—magma, the molten rock beneath the earth's surface—there
are slight variations of various elements in each volcanic
eruption. It is often these minor variations that help differentiate
the chemical fingerprints. The obsidian database now has more
than 250 obsidian sources from the Western Hemisphere that have
been fully characterized, and it allows archaeologists to trace
an obsidian artifact to the precise outcrop from which the original
material was mined with nearly 100% confidence!
The ancient Native American culture known as the Hopewell
people was centered in the Ohio River valley more than
1500 years ago. Although there were no obsidian quarries in the
area—the nearest were more than a thousand miles away—obsidian
artifacts have been discovered in the Hopewellian excavations.
How did they obtain obsidian and where was the source? The graph
illustrates NAA data for four "nearby" obsidian sources
(quarries) located in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico
and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Samples from
these quarries have been characterized in MURR's Archaeometry
Lab and their chemical fingerprints are part of our extensive
database. By analyzing the obsidian artifacts found in the ancient
Hopewellian sites in Ohio and matching them against our database,
we are helping archaeologists determine the source of their interesting
find. Did the obsidian come from New Mexico or perhaps Wyoming?
If so, how? We eagerly await their results being published.
|
University of Missouri-Columbia
