Plummet Making & Hematite Grinding Stone Page 3

PAGE 3 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2
PLUMMET & RED OCHRE
GRINDING STONE
MID WOODLAND PERIOD
ST. CHARLES CO., MISSOURI
EST. 100 B.C. TO A.D. 450
PAGE 3 OF 3 PAGES
COPYRIGHT JULY 31, 2003 PETER A. BOSTROM

CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGE IMAGE
77 LB. RAW PIECE OF HEMATITE
CAHOKIA MOUNDS SITE
MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS
PRIVATE COLLECTION

This large piece of hematite was found several years ago along a fence row near the 103 foot tall Monks Mound on the Cahokia Mounds site in Madison County, Illinois. This piece is abnormally large and represents one of the largest and heaviest examples of transported raw materials into the area. Sites where hematite has been found in Illinois usually have produced only small pieces that were already altered by pecking and grinding. This hematite boulder may relate to the earlier Woodland culture that once lived in this area before the later and more developed Mississippian culture.
This piece of hematite measures approximately 11 inches (27.9 cm) across and it weights 77 lb. (35 kg).

The red ochre pigment on this grinding stone is the best evidence that this large tool was used to manufacture plummets. But further evidence was found in the form of three hematite objects found nearby. Two pecked and ground pieces were found in direct contact with the grinding stone. One is evidently a plummet "blank." The other hematite artifact is in the form of a finished Snyders plummet. It was found about 50 feet away from the grinding stone.

THREE HEMATITE ARTIFACTS FOUND NEAR THE LARGE HEMATITE GRINDING STONE
ST. CHARLES CO., MISSOURI
PRIVATE COLLECTION

The two pecked and ground hematite artifacts on each end in this picture were found in direct contact with the large grinding stone. The one on the right is tear-drop shaped and was probably intended to be a plummet. In this stage they are called "blanks." This one measures 2 5/16 inches (5.9 cm) long.
The Snyders Grooved plummet in the center was found no more than 50 feet from the grinding stone. These types of plummets were being made during the Middle and Late Woodland period. This example measures 2 3/4 inches (7 cm) long.

The plummet that was found near the grinding stone is called a Snyders Grooved plummet. They are the most common type found in this area. This diagnostic artifact may help give an estimated date for the assembly of artifacts discussed in this report. Several examples of Snyders plummets were found with burials on the Snyders site. They were named by Gregory Perino after the Snyders site in Calhoun County, Illinois. These types of plummets were being made during the Middle to Late Woodland period and possibly earlier. An estimated date for these artifacts may be somewhere between 100 B.C. to A.D. 450.

Close up view of abrasions on a piece of hematite.

Enlarged view of scratches on a piece of hematite.

TWO MAGNIFIED VIEWS OF ABRASIONS AND SCRATCHES ON HEMATITE SAMPLES
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
PRIVATE COLLECTION

These two hematite artifacts were found on Stone Age sites in southern Illinois. Neither specimen is a finished artifact. They are both irregular pieces of hematite that were being reduced by abrasion, possibly for the manufacture of red ochre pigment. The upper example shows abrasions from a rough surface and the lower example shows scratches in a small concavity.

Artifacts like the large grinding stone in this report are important for the study of primitive technologies, especially intact examples like this one. Experimental archaeologists who try and duplicate original ancient artifacts may copy these basic tools. Their study can provide a better understanding of how artifacts were being made and various types of materials, such as red ochre, were being processed.

"REFERENCES"

1912, Hodge, Weber Fredrick, "Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico," pp. 6-7, 407-408 & 942-945.
1961, Perino, Gregory, "Tentative Classification of Plummets in the Lower Illinois River Valley," Central States Archaeological Journal, pp. 43-56.

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