An empirical evaluation of copper procurement and distribution: elemental analysis of Scioto Valley Hopewell copper
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ORIGINAL PAPER
An empirical evaluation of copper procurement and distribution: elemental analysis of Scioto Valley Hopewell copper Mark A. Hill 1
&
Mark F. Seeman 2 & Kevin C. Nolan 3
&
Laure Dussubieux 4
Received: 6 February 2017 / Accepted: 11 September 2017 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany 2017
Abstract In prehistoric North America, artifacts of copper occupy a position of prominence in the Hopewell societies of Ohio’s Scioto Valley. These artifacts also represent the social contacts and long-distance interactions that brought copper to the Scioto Valley. Yet, our understanding of Hopewell copper acquisition, and the movement of copper artifacts within the social networks of the Scioto Valley and beyond, has been limited due to the limited availability of geochemical data concerning provenance and variability. We begin to develop the foundation for understanding these important social issues by analyzing the elemental variability of Hopewell copper through the use of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. We analyze 24 samples from four known copper source regions and 52 samples from 6 prominent sites in the Scioto Valley. Results suggest that a majority of the artifacts are consistent with sources in the Great Lakes, with a plurality classified as Isle Royale. However, 21% of Scioto Hopewell copper artifacts were most consistent with southern Appalachian sources. High elemental variability argues against simple models of copper acquisition and suggests that different social groups had access to a variety of copper sources through varying social networks. Native copper regardless of source seems to have been channeled along similar social and symbolic pathways. Our results suggest that instead
* Mark A. Hill [email protected]
1
Department of Anthropology, Ball State University, Muncie, USA
2
Department of Anthropology, Kent State University, Kent, USA
3
Applied Anthropology Laboratories, Department of Anthropology, Ball State University, Muncie, USA
4
Elemental Analysis Facility, The Field Museum, Chicago, USA
of being derived from the struggle to access a specific source, value is derived from the social relationships represented by the copper and the connotation of exotic connection embodied in both style and material. Keywords Scioto Valley Hopewell . Copper . Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
Introduction The quantitative sourcing of exotic raw materials provides important insights into the pattern and intensity of social interactions in past societies, and in eastern North America has proven particularly important in our understanding of the Hopewell societies of ca. 25 to 350 AD in the Scioto River Valley, USA. Beginning with obsidian (Griffin and Gordus 1967; Hughes 2006), and followed by galena (Walthall 1981), pipestone (Emerson et al. 2013) silver (Spence and Fryer 2006), and ceramic temper (Stoltman 2015), understanding the relationships between geological sources and the flow of ideas and goods has provided great insight into the nature of
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