494 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1916. 



apparently a frontlet is illustrated in o. Two of these were taken 

 from one of the altars of the Turner group. So far as we may judge 

 from specimens thus far recovered, the great earthwork builders of 

 this region had not attained a proficiency in embossed work which 

 equaled that of some other sections. Overlaying, however, was fol- 

 lowed in making a considerable variety of objects. One of the most 

 elaborate examples of this work is shown in two of the head 

 dresses on plate 4. The antlers of the largest of these are made 

 from carefully selected branches of wood, covered with thin sheets 

 of copper. The cores of the sprouting antlers on the second head 

 dress (<?) are also of wood, very neatly covered with thin sheets of 

 the same metal. Some excellent examples in overlaying are shown in 

 the ear ornaments, bracelets, beads, and button-like objects where the 

 foundation is of clay, wood, or copper, and the overlaying is of thin 

 sheets of silver, meteoric iron, or selected copper. Bracelets of 

 metal occur frequently with burials and are sometimes found upon 

 altars, and while the form varies somewhat, they are usually of the 

 simplest construction. Some of these are of copper, very neatly 

 overlaid with thin silver. 



One of the most common personal ornaments of metal is the ear 

 plug, illustrations of which appear on plate 5. These are often 

 found Avith skeletons and also occur in considerable numbers on the 

 altars. A part of the head of a terra-cotta effigy from an altar of 

 the Turner group is shown in /?, ?, which illustrates the manner 

 of wearing these ornaments. Another fragment showing the per- 

 foration in the lobe of the ear for the insertion of the ornament is 

 illustrated in o. Unusually fine specimens of these ornaments are 

 shown in n and f. A pair of each of these was found with the ex- 

 tensive copper deposit in the great mound of the Hopewell gi'oup. 



Various methods of constructing these objects are shown in a-g^ i, 

 A hollow rivet, made by rolling together a strip of copper, usually 

 connects the inner plates of the two disks. One of these is shown in 

 e. Their relative positions are illustrated in the cross sections «, r, 

 dy f. Another less common method of joining the disks is illus- 

 trated in g and i. Here the ends of the pulley-shaped piece of cop- 

 per are much expanded, and to these the disks are secured by turning 

 under the edge of the outer plate. In g the upper disk has been re- 

 moved to show the construction. In most of the specimens each of 

 the two disks which are joined by the rivet is made up of two or three 

 plates, the outer of w^hich is of carefully wrought copper, silver, or 

 meteoric iron. Sometimes, to assist in keeping the plates in their 

 proper positions, the space between them is filled with clay {d 4), 

 which upon drying adds much to the firmness of the ornament. 

 Sometimes the rivet is reinforced by hammering a piece of metal 



