"(Hemispheres
are) Small objects, usually of
polished stones, the use of which has not been fully determined; they
are therefore classed with problematical objects."---1912,
Frederick Webb Hodge, "Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico" pp.
542-543.
"Hemispheric
stones, like the cones, can receive a name only from the form and not
from any known or imaged use to which they could have been applied."---1896,
J. W. Powell, "Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology,"
p. 114-115.
"Although rarely dated in Ohio, A hematite
hemisphere from a sub-plow-zone context was recovered adjacent to a Late
Archaic pit feature at the Ohio Horse Park site in southern Scioto
County that yielded a cal 3277 P.B. age."---2003,
Matthew P. Purtill, "Phase III Archaeological Investigations Of The Ohio
Horse Park Site" p. 56.
"This material (hematite)
was used to manufacture a range of artifacts, including plummets,
miniature celts, and hemispheres, all of which continued to be made well
into Woodland times."---2009,
Matthew P. Purtill, "Archaic Cultural Variation And Lifeways In
West-Central Illinois," The Ohio Archaic: A Review, p.
67.
HEMISPHERES
LATE ARCHAIC / WOODLAND
ILLINOIS
Hemispheres are enigmatic artifacts that have no clear identity. In
fact, they are often referred to as "problematical objects." Most
artifact types were identified many years ago. But hemispheres have no
distinguishing qualities that can be used to prove how they were used.
Large enough numbers of them have been found that it may be logical to believe they were utilitarian objects
rather than some type of ritual artifact.
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CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
HEMISPHERE
ST.
CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS
LATE ARCHAIC / WOODLAND
This picture shows all four sides of a hemisphere that was found
several years ago in a cultivated field in St. Clair County,
Illinois. It's a better than average example. It was uniformly
pecked into shape with a hammerstone the same way axes and celts
were made. The surface was then polished and further shaped by
grinding against an abrasive stone using water as a lubricant.
This hemisphere was made from granite and it measures 1 5/8 inches
(4.1 cm) long, 1 1/4 inches (3.2 cm) high and 1 1/16 inches (2.7 cm)
thick. |
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Hemispheres seem to date to the late Archaic period and well
into the Middle Woodland period. One example, made of hematite, was
excavated in Ohio on the Horse Park site in southern Scioto County. It
was discovered below the plow zone next to a Late Archaic pit that was
cal dated to 3277 before present. Hemispheres also seem to be reported
from Adena and Hopewell sites. |
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
HEMISPHERES
ILLINOIS
LATE ARCHAIC / WOODLAND
These
eighteen hemispheres were found in Illinois. Most of them were found
in either Madison or St. Clair Counties. They illustrate a wide
range of craftsmanship and materials. Most of them are made of
different types of hard stones. The hardest is granite and quartz.
The stone located in the second row and second from the left is made
of quartz. The hemispheres located at top left and the second one to
the right of it are made of hematite. A fairly large number of
hemispheres are reported to have been made of hematite.
All of these hemispheres have a generally round shape on top
with a flat side on the bottom. Their basic circular outline extends
slightly beyond the center point of a circle. Some are almost
circles. But they all have a straight flat surface on one side
that allows them to stand up very straight without leaning to one
side. The craftsman seems to have needed a steady base upon which
they could rest. The largest hemisphere in this group measures 2
1/32 inches (5.1 cm) long, 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm) high and 1 3/16
inches (3.1 cm) thick. The smallest, which is an unfinished example
located at left in second row, measures 1 9/16 inches (4 cm) long, 1
5/16 inches (3.3 cm) high and 1 3/16 inches (3 cm) thick. They range
in weight from 58 grams to 104 grams. The heaviest is made of
hematite. All of the weights are 2 @ 58 grams, 5 @ 60 grams, 61 gr,
2 @ 70 gr, 74 gr, 80 gr, 88 gr, 90 gr, 98 gr, 100 gr, 102 gr, and
104 grams. The average weight is 75.16 grams. |
|
Hemispheres are reported over a wide area in the Central
Mississippi Valley and states farther to the east. Many of them have
been found on Woodland sites in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Missouri. |
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
HEMISPHERE
ILLINOIS
LATE ARCHAIC / WOODLAND
This hemisphere was found
several years ago by Delmont Person, probably in Madison County,
Illinois. It's the smallest example in the group that is illustrated
in this report. There was no attempt to polish any of the surfaces.
The pecking marks are still very evident. It appears that this
example may not have been completed. Each side still has some
remnant of the original outer cortex of the pebble it was made from.
This example clearly shows that some of these hemispheres were
probably made from small pebbles that didn't need to much work to
finished them out. This hemisphere measures 1 9/16 inches (4 cm)
long, 1 5/16 inches (3.3 cm) high and 1 3/16 inches (3 cm) thick. |
|
Hemisphere
and loafstone are the terms most often used to refer to these artifacts.
The word hemisphere seems to be used more often in archaeological
reports and the word loafstone seems to be used more often by
collectors. Both names are descriptive terms that describe their
shape. The "classic" shape of a hemisphere is a narrow stone that
has a circular outline on the outer edge except for one straight flat side. This is the general
shape, but like any other artifact type there are variations. They all
don't have the nice round shape and some are even reported to have
grooves on the ends or over the top. An 1896 Smithsonian Report
describes them as: "In all, the base is flat and varies in outline from
almost a circle to a narrow ellipse. A section of the stone parallel to
either axis of the base varies from a little more to a little less than
a semicircle." |
HEMISPHERES
MADE OF HEMATITE
ILLINOIS
LATE ARCHAIC / WOODLAND
Both of these hemispheres are
made of hematite which is a mineral form of iron oxide. This
material was used all over the world for tens of thousands of years
(even Neanderthals) to make red pigment. It's likely that these
hemispheres were made during the process of making red pigment in
the same way as the manufacture of plummets. Many hemispheres are
reported to have been made from hematite. This material is heavy and
would have provided a good amount of weight if its intended purpose
was for an atlatl weight. This picture also illustrates the
difference in quality of manufacture. The one above has a good
outline but a rough surface. The example below also has a nice
outline but the surface is finely polished. |
|
The quality of manufacture varies greatly in hemispheres. The most
impressive examples are made of hard stone that was pecked and polished
into a nice symmetrical form with sharp edges. But many hemispheres were
only roughly shaped with a hammerstone with no attempt to smooth the
surface. The wide margin of craftsmanship compares to such utilitarian
artifacts as axes and celts. Such a large number of rough
forms of hemispheres would argue that these artifacts may have been used
for some type of utilitarian rather than ritual purpose. |
HEMISPHERES MADE FROM
HEMATITE, QUARTZ AND GRANITE
ILLINOIS
LATE ARCHAIC / WOODLAND
Hemispheres were made from many different types of stones. They seem
to have been made from harder and heavier materials. Rather than
using lighter more fragile materials such as Catlinite or flint
clay, it seems that the preferred choice was harder and heavier
materials. The hemisphere at left, in the above picture, is made of
hematite. Hemispheres made from this heavy mineral form of iron
oxide are reported from several different states. At 104 grams, it's
the heaviest example of the 18 illustrated in this report. Some
hemispheres are also reported to have been made from galena (lead).
The example in the center is made of quartz, another hard stone. The
example on the right is made of granite. |
|
Some of the 18 hemispheres in this group appear to have been made from
small pebbles. In fact, one of them may not be quite finished because
the original outer cortex of the stone is visible on all sides. It's
easy-to-see that it was made from a small pebble that was symmetrically
shaped by pecking with a hammerstone. Further grinding and polishing
would have removed all surface evidence that it was made from a pebble.
But it's logical to believe that it would have been much easier to
select a small creek pebble, with a hemisphere shape, to make one of
these artifacts. |
HEMISPHERES
ILLINOIS
LATE ARCHAIC / WOODLAND
This picture shows two hemispheres
that have different surface finishes. The example at top was pecked
into shape with no attempt to smooth the surface. The lower example
has a smoother surface that was accomplished by grinding on an
abrading stone using water as a lubricant. |
|
Most hemispheres seem to have been made from harder
more durable stone and minerals. Large numbers of them were made from
hard stones such as granite. Some were made from quartz and a few have
been reported to be made from galena (lead). A good percentage of them are also made of
hematite. The hemispheres made from galena and hematite would have
produced white (galena) and red (hematite) pigments during their
manufacturing process. It's interesting to note that these heavier
minerals would produce a heavier weight in a small artifact that might
argue for its use as an atlatl weight. Most hemispheres seem to be made
from the more durable stones that might also be an indication they were
used as atlatl weights. |
HEMISPHERES
STANDING ON FLAT BASE
ILLINOIS
LATE ARCHAIC / WOODLAND
This picture shows a view from above
of nine hemispheres resting on their flat bases. Producing a flat
base during the manufacturing process seems to have been a desired
trait of the finished product. All 18 of the hemispheres illustrated
in this report stand very straight on their bases without leaning to
one side. If it was so important to produce a straight flat base
this might suggest that they were attached to another flat surface,
possibly as an atlatl weight. |
|
The most common suggestion of how hemispheres may have been
used are as atlatl (spear thrower) weights. Although most all of them
have no drilled holes, grooving or notching they could have been held in
place with hide material. Plains Indian's war clubs held stone balls
securely in place with hide wrapping. Because hemispheres are usually
much smaller than most bannerstones they might also have been used for
children's "learning toys." If hemispheres were used as atlatl weights,
they would have been much easier to make without the drilled hole that
bannerstones traditionally have. |
EARLY HEMISPHERE ILLUSTRATION,
1896
SMITHSONIAN BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY
BRACKEN
COUNTY, KENTUCKY
LATE ARCHAIC / WOODLAND
This may be the earliest illustration
of a hemisphere. It was published in 1896 in the 13th Annual Report
of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution. The report describes Hemispheres as: "Hemispheric
stones, like the cones, can receive a name only from the form and
not from any known or imagined use to which they could have been
applied. In all, the base is flat and varies in outline from almost
a circle to a narrow ellipse. A section of the stone parallel to
either axis of the base varies from a little more to a little less
than a semicircle." |
|
Hemispheres have been identified as a type of artifact since the late
1800's. We have an understanding of how old they are, how they were made
and what types of stones they were made from. But it may be a long time
before archaeologists can prove how they were used. Until then, like
cones and
plummets, they're still "problematical objects." |
"REFERENCES"
1896, Powell, J. W., "Thirteenth
Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology," p. 114-115.
1912, Hodge, Frederick Webb,
"Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico" pp. 542-543.
2003, Purtill, Matthew P., "Phase III Archaeological Investigations
Of The Ohio Horse Park Site" p. 56.
2009, Purtill, Matthew P., "Archaic Cultural Variation And
Lifeways In West-Central Illinois," The Ohio Archaic: A Review, p.
67.
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