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 some particular station in life. The Mound-builders obtained their copper from the shores of Lake Superior, where it is found near the surface of the ground. Many of the pits they dug there are still to be seen. Silver was also obtained by them in the same region.
Besides Copper and Silver, the Mound-builders used Galena, or Lead-ore, and Iron, which they probably obtained from fallen meteors. The non-Mound-building Indians used copper to a lesser extent.
PERSONAL ORNAMENTATION
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 Pendants and Beads and other ornaments, some of which were sewed onto cloth, out of Copper, Mica, Tortoise-shell, Stone and Bone. Many Buttons about as large around as a dime, made of sandstone and covered with thin layers of copper or silver, have been found in the burial mounds. Some of the Mound-builders even wore rings of copper on their fingers.