My Scrapbook

Prehistoric Occupation in Ohio
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"Histories of the West: Native American and Borderlands History" By Mark A. McQuown, Bucyrus High School. Bucyrus, Ohio. Prehistoric occupation in Ohio is characterized by multiple time periods, though I have depicted artifacts in my scrapbook that primarily originate from the Paleo, Archaic, and Woodland time periods. Originally, these artifacts were a necessity for daily survival and considered to be important items in the "toolbox" of a prehistoric Ohioan. This assumption can be made due to the fact that most of these items are/were found in relativley high numbers in Ohio. However, many of the depicted artifacts were found in concentrated areas of inhabitation and should not be considered as typical finds throughout the state. Today, these artifacts are a celebration of Ohio's rich prehistory and are also considered to be some of the most exquisite art forms ever created by man. Many Ohio-found items are highly-desired and sought-after by collectors throughout the entire United States. Click on the pictures for additional information.

Clovis and Lanceolate Points

Ohio County: Unknown These points originate in the Paleo time period, which is considered the earliest period of occupation in Ohio. These points are 13,000 to 7,000 years Before Present(BP) and can be found throughout the state.

Full-Grooved Axes

Ohio county: Unknown Axes are extremely common in Ohio. They were fashioned out of any available geologic material and take on hundreds of different styles and forms.

Archaic Spear Point

Ohio County: Logan Adena points are a common Ohio artifact and are most often made from Vanport chert (Flintridge) deposits and Upper Mercer and Coshocton deposits.

Miami River Axe

Ohio County: Montgomery County This is another excellent example of an axe found in Ohio. Axes range in form from the crudely-made up to the highly-polished types that are made of the most spectacular materials.

Early Woodland Knife

Ohio County: Logan This is a common example of a knife form that can be identified as Adena in origin due to its basal makeup. Generally, they are considered to be an "exhausted" form of a once-larger artifact.

Adena Celt

Ohio County: Holmes The celt is considered to be of the Adena occupation and is usually highly-polished and lacking a groove that are found on earlier axes. They can be found in many different sizes and throughout the state.

Hopewell Cutout Rectangular Plate

Ohio County: Ross Co. The Hopewell peoples were known for creating some of the most beautiful artifacts made from materials that were "imported" from areas throughout the United States. This piece is made from copper that originates from the Upper Great Lakes region and was excavated from a mound at the Mound City earthworks in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Hopewell Obsidian Ceremonial Spear Points

Ohio County: Ross Co. This beautiful artifact is made from another non-local material (Obsidian) and was also found at the Mound City earthworks. This piece is considered "unused" and, quite possibly, ceremonial in nature.

Birdstones

Ohio County: Unknown This artifact is referred to as a Birdstone and originates during the "Glacial Kame" occupations of the Archaic time period. Not much is known about these people but they left behind extremely large burial grounds(dug into glacial formations or kames)with a few typical artifacts included. The birdstone is one of these typical items.

Duck Effigy Pipe

Ohio County: Scioto This pipe was one of many excavated from the well-known Tremper Mound. It is another example of a Hopewell culture artifact and is in the form of a duck. Almost all of these pipes were representations of wildlife native to the Ohio region. They were made from Ohio Pipestone.

Intrusive Mound Antler Comb

Ohio County: Ross Co. The Intrusive Mound culture tends to be a great mystery as not much is known about their occupation in Ohio. The artifacts, like this comb, were made out of bone, or antler and buried in the tops of already-existing burial mounds throughout Ohio.

Intrusive Mound Antler Harpoons

Ohio County: Ross Co. More fine examples of utilitarian artifacts associated to the Intrusive Mound culture. There are very few examples of harpoons found in Ohio. There is recorded evidence of a few that were found in Wyandot County in the 1940s. However, they were found in general association with glacial kame burials that had been disturbed by highway construction. Thus, their exact origin is unknown.

Fort Ancient Ceramic Jar

Ohio County: Butler The Fort Ancient culture was heavily concentrated in southern Ohio. However, remnants of their culture can be found throughout Ohio, as they are known for using small, elongated, triangular "arrow-heads" made of flint. The ceramic vessel pictured is a prime example of what could be found in a mound or on an inhabitation site. Scattered broken pottery pieces can be found throughout Ohio on many different sites, though not all should be considered Fort Ancient origin.

Tremper Mound Excavation Photograph

Ohio County: Scioto William C. Mills was one of the few early professionally-trained archeologists in Ohio. He was curator for the original Ohio Historical Society and responsible for many of Ohio's professional excavations of earthworks. The Tremper Mound contained many, many pipes representing native animals.