Hematite. An iron ore much used by the 
native tribes for implements, ornaments, 
and small objects of problematical use. 
It is found in many parts of the country 
and in. great abundance in the Iron 
Mountain district of Missouri and in the 
Marquette region of Michigan. It occurs 
as a massive ore, as nodules, and in other 
forms, distributed through rocks of vari- 
ous classes, and is usually dark in color, 
showing various shades of gray, brown, 
and red. The specular varieties are gen- 
erally rather gray, and have a metallic 
luster. The red, earthy varieties, when 
compact, are known as red chalk, and 
when much disintegrated and pulveru- 
lent, as red ocher. They were, and are, 
much used as paint by the aborigine#, 
and small quantities, either in lumps or 
as powder, are commonly found in ancient 
graves, placed there for personal embel- 
lishment in the future existence. The 
highly siliceous varieties are often very 
hard, heavy, and tough, and make excel- 
lent implements. They were used espe- 
cially in the manufacture of celts, axes, 
scrapers, etc., and for the rudely shaped 
hammers and sledges that served in min- 
ing work, as in the iron mines at Leslie, 
Mo. (Holmes). Many of the celts and 
celt-like implements are quite small, and 
in some cases probably served as amulets. 
Grooved axes of this material are of some- 
what rare occurrence, but objects of prob- 
lematical use, such as cones, hemispheres, 
and plummets, are common, and on ac- 
count of their high finish, richness of 
color, and luster, are much prized by col- 
lectors. Hematite objects are found in 
mounds and on dwelling sites in the 
middle Mississippi valley region, in the 
Ohio valley, and extending into e, Ken- 
tucky and Tennessee to w. North Caro- 
lina, and to a limited extent in the S, ,. in 
the Pueblo country, and on the Pacific 
coast. A small, well-shaped figure of 
this material, representing a bird, and 
neatly inlaid with turquoise and white 
shell, is among the collections obtained 
by Pepper from the Pueblo Bonito ruin, 
New Mexico. Hematite is not always 
readily distinguishable from limonite 
(which is generally yellowish or brownish 
in tint), and from some other forms of 
iron ore. See Mines and Quarries. 
References to hematite objects are 
widely distributed throughout the liter- 
ature of American archeology. Among 
others the following authors may be con- 
sulted: Douglass in Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. 
Hist., vin, 1896; Fewkes (1) in 17th Rep. 
B. A. E., 730, 1898, (2) in 21st Rep. 
B. A. E., 77, 1903; Fowke in 13th Rep. 
B. A. E., 1896; Holmes in Smithson. Rep. 
1903, 1904; Moorehead, Prehist. Impls., 
1900; Pepper in Am. Anthrop., vii, 195, 
1905. (w. H. H.) 
