WELCOME MOUND — SETZLER 455 



this skeleton could be identified, we would have more specific evidence 

 of the paraphernalia and garments— probably the skin of a cougar — 

 worn by this intermediary between his people and the spirit world. 

 Such an individual would be sufficiently important to justify the 

 arduous task of constructing a 14-foot high mound. 



Granulated pieces of charcoal found at the base of the mound and 

 in association with burials 2 and 3 were tested for Carbon-14 by 

 Michigan-Memorial Phoenix Project No. 6. Dr. James B. Griffin 

 of the University of Michigan has relayed the results of sample M-903 

 as 2300 plus or minus 200 years before the present, or about 341 B.C. 



Effigy Pipes 



The most unusual object recovered during the excavation of Wel- 

 come Mound was the straight-tubular, duck-effigy pipe (USNM 

 417000). One can readily see (plate 2) that the prehistoric sculptor 

 responsible for carving the duck effigy was gifted, as he reproduced 

 almost to scale the head, neck, and bill of a shoveler duck, Spatula 

 clypeata (Linnaeus). In using Ohio limestone, he had the advantage 

 of its softness when freshly dug. After it is exposed to the air, it 

 becomes hard and brittle. This peculiarity was noticed when I 

 cleaned the dirt from around the pipe. The bristles of the whisk 

 broom made slight scratches. I had to use a camel's hair brush in- 

 stead. Several days later the limestone was much harder. 



The pipe was found 5 inches from the right knee of skeleton No. 1 

 (plate 1), 6 feet beneath the crest of the mound and 8 feet directly 

 above burial No. 3 in square N18-W1. The body had been buried in 

 a north-south direction with feet pointing to the north. The bones 

 being articulated indicated that the body was buried in the flesh on its 

 back. It was surrounded by a greenish-grey oily clay, which was en- 

 closed with heavy bark. The acidity of these bark coverings (oak or 

 walnut) seems to have given the bones a reddish cast. On three sides 

 were imprints or molds 18 inches in diameter left by the decomposed 

 logs. The bones of the skeleton are heavy and are judged to be 

 those of a middle-aged male. 



The pipe measures Q% inches in length. The tubular end is 1 inch 

 in diameter on the outside, and the diameter of the drilled hole is 

 % inch. The widest part of the bill is IV 2 inches. Near the head 

 back of the eyes, it is 1% 6 inches wide. The narrowest part of the bill, 

 directly in front of the eyes is 1 %% inches wide. The 3 / 16 inch open- 

 ing in the bill or mouthpiece is elliptical. The eye sockets are % 

 inch in diameter and are 2% inches from the end of the bill. The 

 underside of the bill clearly suggests the lamellae characteristic of 

 shoveler ducks (plate 2). 



