USA > Ohio > Hardin County > The history of Hardin county, Ohio > Part 22
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The archaeologist has found the territory embraced within the limits of Ohio a most excellent one. It is probably the most interesting field for the scientist and antiquarian in the United States. It was once, and, perad- venture, continued to be through many passing centuries, the most favored locality of this mysterious people. The extent, variety, elaborate, and labyrinthian intricacies of their works, still found in many sections of the State, clearly indicate the plausibility of this view. Here they dwelt for ages, erected their works, and made a long chapter of history, although yet unwritten-a history whose leading features and general characteristics can be gathered only from those of their works that yet exist. It must be col- lected scrap by scrap and item by item, after a thorough examination and patient investigation of their works, and by careful, laborious, faithful study
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of their wonderful remains. The principal events and leading incidents in the strange career of this mysterious and apparently now extinct people, can be traced out and recorded only so far as they are clearly indicated by those of their works which yet remain, but which, it is to be regretted, are, to a large extent, in a state of mutilation and partial ruin, and rapidly tend- ing to utter extinction under iconoclastic wantonness and the operations of the agriculturist; also from the devastating effects of the elements, and the destructive tendencies of the great destroyer-Time.
There is little reason to believe that the Mound Builders ever had a written language, and, if they had not, it must be manifest that very few authentic facts pertaining to their domestic and local history can be verified by reliable testimony, other than that deduced from their works, which are the sole memorials left by them to enable us to work out the problems of their origin, their history, habits, manners, customs, general characteristics, mode of life, the extent of their knowledge of the arts, of husbandry, their state of civilization, their religion and its rites, their ultimate fate, and the manner and circumstances of their final disappearance, whether by process of absorption from intermingling and intermarrying with other and more vigorous races, by dispersion or captivity, or by extinction through war, pestilence, or famine.
Although generation after generation of Mound Builders here lived and flourished, and, peradventure, reached the acme of their glory, then passed through age after age of decadence and decrepitude into " the recep- tacle of things lost upon earth," without leaving anything that may properly be called history ; and though no records of their exploits have come down to this generation through the intervening centuries, yet their enduring works furnish the laborious student some indications, even though they be slight, of the characteristics of their builders, and afford some data as to the probable history they made during the unknown, perchance barren, uneventful cycles of their indefinitely long career as a nation or race.
As the history of the Mound Builders is yet unwritten, it is certainly a matter of gratulation that so many way-marks and traces of this race yet remain within the boundaries of Ohio. Their works in the State, still existing in a tolerably perfect condition, are approximately estimated at ten thousand, but they, doubtless, far exceeded that number at the time of the first permanent white settlement here, in 1788.
Only such monuments or remains of ancient works can be properly ascribed to the Mound Builders, as were really regarded by the Indian tribes, at the period of the first settlement at Marietta, as antiquities, or as the ruins and relics of an extinct race, and "concerning the origin of which they were wholly ignorant, or only possessed a traditionary knowledge." These consisted of mounds, effigies and inclosures, which are known and designated as the three general classes of ancient works that can be appro- priately regarded as belonging to the Mound Builders. Mounds are sub- divided into sepulchral, sacrificial, temple, or truncated ; also of observa- tion, and memorial or monumental. Effigies are sometimes called animal mounds, sometimes emblematic, and frequently symbolical. Inclosures are of several kinds, one class being known as military or defensive works ; another as parallel embankments or covered ways; and the third as sacred inclosures.
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Under the general title of inclosures are also walls or ramparts con- structed for military or defensive works, while others were doubtless walls surrounding the residence of the reigning monarch ; perchance others were erected for the performance within them of their national games and amuse- ments, while, perhaps, many also served a purpose in the observance of their religious rites and ceremonies, and facilitated indulgence in some superstitious practices. Most of the above-named works were constructed of earth, a few of stone, and, perhaps, fewer still of earth and stone combined. The title each bears indicates, in a measure, the uses they are supposed to have served.
Sepulchral mounds are generally conical in form, and are more numer- ous than any other kind. They are of all sizes, ranging from a very small altitude to about eighty feet in height, and always contain one or more skele- tons, or parts thereof, or present other plausible indications of having been built or used for purposes of sepulture, and were unmistakably, memorials raised over the dead. By some archaeologists it is maintained that the size of these mounds bears a certain relation to the importance, when living, of the person over whose remains they were erected.
In this class of mounds are often found implements and ornaments, supposed to have been buried with the person or persons there interred under the superstitious and delusive notion still entertained by some tribes of American Indians who indulge in similar practices, that they might be use- ful to them in the happy hunting grounds of the future state. The prac- tice being one common to both the Indians and Mound Builders, apparently connects the former with the latter, and raises the presumption that the Indians may have descended from the Mound Builders. That fire was used in the burial ceremonies of the Mound Builders is manifest from the fact that charcoal is often, if not always, found in close proximity to the skeleton. The presence of ashes, igneous stones, and other traces of the action of fire in these tombs, renders it quite probable that this element was employed in their burial ceremonies. Mica is often found in proximity to the skeletons, as well as specimens of pottery, bone and copper beads and animal bones. The name given to this description of tumuli clearly indicates that they were erected chiefly for burial purposes. They generally contain but a lim- ited number of skeletons, indeed, often but a single one ; but Prof. Marsh, of the Sheffield Scientific School, connected with Yale College, a few years ago opened a mound in Licking County, Ohio, which contained seventeen skeletons in whole or in part.
The most remarkable of all mounds in the State was one in Hardin County, in which were found about three hundred skeletons. A doubt has, however, been expressed that these were all Mound Builders' skeletons, some antiquarians entertaining the belief that they were Indian remains, as it is . well known that the Indians frequently buried their dead on or near these mounds. About one mile southeast of Miamisburg, Montgomery County, on the east side of the Miami River, is located the largest mound in Ohio. The elevation of the land at this point is more than 150 feet above the Miami. The mound measures 800 feet around the base, and about 65 feet in height, though archaeologists claim that this mound was originally more than 80 feet in height as about twenty feet has been cut from the cone by explorations, and the wear and tear of the elements to which it has been
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exposed for centuries. In the first settlement of the Miami Valley this great mound was covered with forest trees, a large maple growing from its summit. It is supposed to be the sepulcher of a chief or ruler of the Mound Builders. In July, 1869, a shaft five or six feet in diameter was sunk from the top to two feet below the base. At eight feet from the top, a human skeleton in a sitting posture, facing due east, was discovered. A deposit of vegetable matter, bones of small animals, also wood and stone, were surrounding the skeleton, while a cover of clay several feet in thick- ness, with a layer of ashes and charcoal, seems to have been the burial. At the depth of twenty-four feet was discovered a triangular stone planted per- pendicularly in the earth, with the point upward. Around this stone at an angle of forty-five degrees, and overlapping each other like the shingles upon a roof, were placed rough stones averaging about one foot in diameter, of nearly uniform size, and similar to those quarried in the neighboring hills.
Sacrificial mounds are usually stratified, the strata being convex layers of clay and loam, alternating with a layer of fine sand. They generally contain ashes, charcoal, igneous stones, calcined animal bones, beads, stone implements, pottery and specimens of rude sculpture. These mounds are frequently found within enclosures, which are supposed to have been in some way connected with the performance of the religious rites and ceremo- nies of the Mound Builders. An altar of stone or burnt clay is usually found in this class of mounds. These altars, which sometimes rest upon the surface of the original earth at the center of the mound, are symmetrically shaped, and are among the chief distinguishing characteristics of sacrificial mounds. Upon these altars sacrifices of animals, and probably of human beings were offered, the fire being used to some extent in the performance of that religious rite. Some of this class of mounds seem also to have been used for purposes of sepulture as well as sacrifice ; the presence of skeletons, in some of them at least, suggest their sepulchral, as well as sacrificial char- acter. In common with sepulchral mounds, these likewise contain imple- ments of war, also mica from the Alleghanies, shells from the Gulf of Mexico, obsidian, and, in some instances, porphyry from Mexico, as well as silver and copper articles, both for use and ornament.
Temple mounds are less numerous, and generally larger than the pre- ceding classes, and in form are oftenest circular or oval; but, whether round, square, oblong, oval, octangular, or whatever form, are invariably truncated, having the appearance of being in an unfinished condition. They are frequently surrounded by embankments, and many of them have spiral pathways, steps, or inclined planes leading to their summits. They are generally of large base, and of comparatively limited altitude. The supposi- tion is, that the summits of these mounds were crowned with structures of wood that served the purposes of temples, all traces of which, however, have disappeared. They were also used to a limited extent for burial purposes, as well as for uses connected with their religion.
Mounds of observation are generally situated upon eminences, and were doubtless "observatories," "alarm posts," "watch-towers," "signal stations," or "look-outs," serving the purposes indicated by their title. They are said, by some writers, to occur in chains or regular systems, and that many of them still bear traces of the beacon fires that were once burning upon
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them. They are sometimes found in connection with embankments and in- closures, forming a portion, though greatly enlarged, of the banks of earth or stones that compose said embankments and inclosures. This class of mounds is numerous in some portions of the State.
Memorial or monumental mounds belong to the class that were erected to perpetuate the memory of some important event, or in honor of some dis- tingushed character. They are mostly built of earth, but some of the stone mounds found in some portions of the State probably belong to this not numerous class.
Effigies or animal mounds are simply raised figures, or gigantic basso relievos of men, beasts, birds, or reptiles, and in some instances, of inani- mate objects. They are on the surface of the earth, raised to a limited height, generally from one foot to six feet above the natural surface of the ground. Mr. Schoolcraft, a recognized authority on the mounds, and Mound Builders of Ohio, calls this class of ancient works emblematic mounds, and expresses the belief that they were "totems," or "heraldic symbols." Prof. Daniel Wilson, the learned author of " Pre-Historic Man," and other writers of distinction, call them symbolical mounds, and hold the opinion that they were erected as objects of worship, or for altars upon which sacrifices were offered, or that they served some other purposes connected with the religious worship of their idolatrous constructors.
Inclosures, defensive and sacred, have been briefly mentioned. Most of them are earthworks, though a few are of stone. Defensive inclosures are of irregular form, are always on high ground, and in naturally strong posi- tions, frequently on the summits of hills and steep bluffs, and are often strengthened by exterior ditches. The walls generally wind around the borders of the elevations they occupy, and where the nature of the ground renders some points more accessible than others, the height of the wall and the depth of the ditch at those points are proportionally increased. The gateways are narrow, few in number, and well guarded by embankments placed a few yards inside of the openings or gate-ways, parallel with them, and projecting somewhat beyond them at each end, thus fully covering the entrances, which, in some cases. are still further protected by projecting walls on either side of them. These works are somewhat numerous, and in- dicate a clear appreciation of the elements, at least, of fortification, and un- mistakably point out the purpose for which they were constructed. A large number of these defensive works consists of a line of ditch and embankments or several lines carried across the neck of peninsulas or bluff head-lands, formed within the bends of streams, an easy and obvious mode of fortifica- tion, common to all rude people.
Covered ways are parallel walls of earth of limited height, and are frequently found contiguous to inclosures, sometimes, indeed, connecting them by extending from one to another. One of their purposes, at least, seems to have been the protection of those passing to and fro within them.
Sacred inclosures are mainly distinguished from those of a military character by the regularity of their form, their different construction, and their more frequent occurrence. They are of all shapes and forms, and where moats or ditches exist, they are invariably found in the inside of the embankments. They are generally in the form of geometrical figures, of surprising accuracy, such as circles, squares, hexagons, octagons, ellipses,
.
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parallelograms, and of various others. They are sometimes found within military inclosures, and evidently had some connection with the religious ideas and ceremonies of their builders. Frequently, there is situated in the center of this class of works a mound, or elevation, supposed to have served the purposes of an altar upon which sacrifices were offered, or which was, at least, in some way, used in conducting their religious services. Within these sacred inclosures were doubtless celebrated religious festivals, and upon those central mounds or altars, were undoubtedly performed the rites and ceremo- nies demanded by their religion. Some archaeologists, however, maintain that many works called sacred inclosures were erected for and used as places of amusement, where these ancient people practiced theif national games, and celebrated their great national events, where they held their national festivals, and indulged in their national jubilees, as well as performed the ceremonies of their religion. It may be that those inclosures, within which no central elevation or altar occurs, were erected for the purposes last men- tioned, and not exclusively (if at all) for the observance of their religious rites, and are, therefore, erroneously called sacred inclosures.
It is natural to indulge in speculations regarding these ancient works. Probably none of them have been constructed since Christopher Columbus reached America in 1492, as trees have been found growing on those works which were definitely estimated to be nearly six hundred years old. Au- thorities differ regarding many matters connected with the Mound Builders, but a few facts seem to be fully established by their works. There can be no doubt that they were a numerous people. Works so elaborate, so gigantic, could not have been erected by a people insignificant in numbers. This is the more apparent when it is considered that they were without iron, or any suitable metal instruments or tools with which to perform their herculean labors.
It could scarcely have been otherwise than that they were also the sub- jects of a single strong government, because, under any other, the perform- ance of such an immense amount of, probably, enforced labor could not have been secured. Very likely some sort of vassalage or servitude prevailed. There is abundant evidence that they were a warlike people, and probably, like some savage nations now existing, they made slaves of their prisoners. The number and magnitude of their works, with their extensive range and uniformity, prove that they were essentially homogeneous in customs, habits, religion and government. The general features common to all their remains identify them as appertaining to a single grand system, owing its origin to men moving in the same direction, acting under common impulses, and in- fluenced by similar causes. That they possessed military skill, and were not without some knowledge of mathematics, is quite evident. Building their defensive works in naturally strong positions, and constructing many of their other works in the form of various geometrical figures, show such to have been the case.
The construction of military works would indicate that they were, oc- casionally, at least, at war either among themselves, or with some other na- tion or tribe. Perhaps it was with the North American Indians, to whom the country may have belonged before the Mound Builders entered it. There are various scraps of history relating to the antiquity of the Indian. For instance, Sir Charles Lyell says : "A human cranium, of the aboriginal
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type of the red Indian race, had been found in the delta of the Mississippi, beneath four buried forests, superimposed, one upon another, implying, as estimated by Dr. Dowler, an antiquity of 50,000 years." Lyell, himself, estimated the age of the delta at 100,000 years.
It may be conjectured from many historical facts, that the Mound Builders were a foreign people who invaded the soil of America, as there is but little evidence that they spread themselves over the continent, but much, that they passed through it from northeast to southwest, covering a broad belt of country, on which they constructed their mysterious mounds. The time occupied by them in crossing the continent can only be conjectured. It is a well-known historical fact that the northmen reached the coast of North America from Greenland in 999, and from this it has been theorized, that, perhaps the mysterious Mound Builders were no other than these. They came in great numbers, attempted to conquer the country, found the Indians too strong for them, but conquered a certain portion of the territory, clung together, moved gradually southwest, protecting themselves on the way by forts and other carthworks, finally disappearing in Mexico, either conquering that country or intermingling with and becoming absorbed by that people.
The Mound Builders cherished a belief in some religious system. The amount of labor bestowed upon those of their works that were erected in the interest of their religion shows a strong tendency toward a sacrificial faith. Some writers have not hesitated to assert that this race were worshipers of the elements ; that they also worshiped the sun, moon and stars; and that they offered up human victims as an acceptable sacrifice to the gods they worshiped. They deduced these facts from the charred or calcined bones that cover their altars. There are other high authorities who unhesitatingly assert that there is convincing proof that the Mound Builders were fire wor- shipers.
It may be well in this connection to notice, briefly, the implements made and used by this people, especially as far as investigation has revealed their character. Very few copper implements have been found in this part of Ohio, owing partly to the fact of the unexplored condition of many of the mounds in this portion of the State, and to the fact that little, if any, copper exists in this part of the United States. What does exist is in loose fragments that have been washed down from the upper lake region. When mounds are explored, great care is necessary lest these small utensils be lost, as they are commonly scattered through the mass, and not always in close proximity to the skele- tons. The copper deposits about Lake Superior furnished the pre-historic man with this metal, and, judging from the amount of relics made of this metal now found, it must have been quite abundant. The population of the country then must have been quite numerous, as occasional copper imple- ments, tempered to an exceeding hardness, are still found about the country. These implements are small, generally less than half a pound in weight, and seldom exceeding three pounds. There were millions of these in use during the period of the ancient dwellers, which must have been hundreds of years in duration. The copper implements left on the surface soon disappeared by decomposition, to which copper is nearly as liable as iron. Only a part of the dead Mound Builders were placed in burial mounds, and of these only
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a few were buried with their copper ornaments and implements on and about them. Of those that were only a small part have been discovered, and, in many instances, the slight depth of earth over them has not prevented the decay and disappearance of the copper relics.
Articles of bronze and brass are not found with the builders of the mounds. It is evident they knew nothing of these metals in the Ohio Val- ley, nor did they possess any of the copper that had been melted or cast in molds.
Stone relics are very numerous and well preserved. Stone axes, mauls, hammers, chisels, etc., are very plentiful yet, and were the common imple- ments of the pre-historic man in this part of the West. None were made with holes or eyes for the insertion of a helve or handle, but were grooved to receive a withe twisted into the form of a handle. Under the head of axes, archæologists include all wrought stones with a groove, a bit and a poll. They are found unpolished, partly polished, and polished. The bit was made sharp by rubbing, and the material is hard and tough, gener- ally of trachyte, greenstone, granite, quartz or basalt. Most of them are straight on one edge. In Ohio, it is very rare that stone axes are found in the mounds, indicating that they are modern, or were not so much prized by the Mound Builders as to be objects of burial. Occasionally, axes of softer material are found, such as slate, hematite and sandstone, but these are small in size and not common. They appear to have been manufactured from small, oblong bowlders, first brought into shape by a pick or chipping instrument, the marks of which are visible on nearly all of them. They were made more perfect by rubbing and polishing, probably done from time to time after they were brought into use. A handle or helve made of a withe or split stick was fastened in the groove by thongs of hide. The bit is narrower than the body of the ax, which is generally not well enough balanced to be of much value as a cutting instrument. It is very seldom that the material is hard enough to cut green and sound timber. The poll is usually round, but sometimes flat, and rarely pointed. It is much better adapted to breaking than cutting, while the smaller ones are better fitted for war clubs than tools. As a maul to break dry limbs, they were very effi- cient, which was probably the use made of them. In weight, they range - from half a pound to sixteen pounds, but are generally less than three pounds. The very heavy ones must have been kept at the regular camps and villages, as they could not have been carried far, even in canoes. Such axes are occasionally found in the Indian towns on the frontier, as they were found in Ohio among the aborigines. The Mound Builders apparently did not give them as much prominence among their implements as their sav- age successors. Double-headed hammers have the groove in the middle. They were made of the same material as the axes, so balanced as to give a blow with equal force at either end. Their mechanical symmetry is often perfect, and as a weapon in war they were indeed formidable, for which pur- pose they are yet used among the Indians on the Pacific Coast.
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