Identifying animate stones and sacred landscapes: Twenty-five years of native pipestone-quarries research in the American midcontinent

Abstract

This paper assesses our current understanding of the native use of the major midcontinental United States pipestone quarries based on over two decades of research. Our studies indicate that combining chemical and mineralogical techniques such as shortwave infrared spectroscopy (SWIS), thin-section petrography, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) have identified pipestones with similar chemical compositions containing distinctive mineralogical suites (often including berthierine, kaolinite, diaspore, muscovite, and pyrophyllite). This research has identified unique mineral compositions at known quarries such as catlinite, Ohio Feurt Hill, Baraboo, and Barron pipestones, as well as identifying previously unknown quarries of Sterling Illinois pipestone, Cahokia Missouri flint clay, and Portsmouth Ohio Claystone. These discoveries have led to a major shift in interpretations of Cahokian and Hopewell pipe exchange. Further examination of native ethnographic quarry use identified the primary attraction of pipestone quarries lay in the perceived ritual and spiritual power of the stone rather than in its economic utility.

Havana Tradition Platform Pipe Production and Disposition: Implications for Interpreting Regional Variation in Midwestern Hopewell Ceremonialism

“…This study of Hopewell pipes is an integral aspect of our broader long-term geologic sourcing research investigating Native use of midcontinental pipestone quarries to identify the sources of Hopewellian stone platform pipes from sites in the Great Lakes Riverine area (e.g., Supplemental Text 2; Emerson et al 2005, 2013, 2021; Hughes et al 1998; Wisseman et al 2012; Figure 1). We seek to (a) identify the mineralogical signatures of the raw materials used, (b) tie those to geological source areas to examine Woodland regional Native interaction around 200 BC–AD 400 (c) record details of prehistoric pipe manufacturing, and (d) gather data on variation in pipe styles and context both regionally and over time.…”