Ouartz, Crystal, and Obsidian 



131 



length. As there is considerable waste in the manufacture of an imple- 

 ment, a crystal of large size must have been required. No quartz of 

 this size occurs in the Ohio Valley, except perhaps in upper Tennessee 

 or Cumberland, where crystals may occur large enough for the manu- 

 facture of points 8 or 9 cm long. The Hopewell people must have 

 either known of deposits of crystal now exhausted, or have obtained 

 them by trade from some Indians, who lived in mountainous regions, 

 where large crystals occurred. Fragments of slender drill-like objects 

 were found, also plummets and cones. One object is about 8 cm long 

 and 1 cm in diameter. The ends have been polished, and there is a 

 groove around one end similar to the groove at the head of a plummet. 

 Another slender crystal has been worked into plummet form and drilled 

 from opposite sides, the 

 perforation being 3 mm in 

 diameter at the openings 

 and * 2 mm wide in the 

 centre. In regard to the 

 cones, shown in Fig. 24, 

 Willoughby says, "These 

 two cones, taken from 

 Altar 1, were cut from 

 transparent quartz. They 

 had been cracked into many 

 fragments, but these were 

 matched, and the outlines 

 of both specimens are now 

 perfect. Some of the cracks 

 of the large cone are stained 

 with green carbonate of copper, but the small one shows little staining. 

 From the same altar was taken another quartz crystal, practically 

 perfect (Fig. 25). It appears to have been originally a core from which 

 quartz knives were thrown off by pressure. It has been partially ground 

 down, and evidently was to be worked into a form similar to the others 

 described. From Altar 1 was taken also a portion of a large crystal of 

 brown or black tourmaline." It seems to me that the delicate work in 

 quartz adds emphasis to the high character of Hopewell art. Crystal 

 is much more difficult to work than either quartzite or hematite, 

 although all these are hard and refractory materials. 



An inspection of the obsidian implements from the Hopewell group 

 now in Field Museum of Natural History indicates that there are 262 

 blades, knives, spear-heads, etc., together with a great number of frag- 



Fig. 25. 

 Cone of Ouartz Crystal. 



