APPENDIX 20.1
DESCRIPTION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES FROM WHICH
SILVER ARTIFACTS OR PIECES HAVE BEEN RECOVERED
The series of silver samples from archaeological proveniences is discussed below, organized by state or province and by site. For site locations, see Figure 20.1. The numbers in brackets here are the sample numbers. A brief description of the silver recovered from each site is presented, with special reference to the nature of the items sampled for analysis and their intrasite proveniences.
In some cases, silver samples have not been assigned sample numbers. As discussed in the text, we used three separate methods of analysis. Some samples were analyzed only with the earliest method that we applied,
Spark Source Mass Spectrometry. They have thus not been included in the numbering system developed in the course of the later analyses. The GE Mound samples were analyzed after the completion of the project, and so also went unnumbered.
Serpent Mounds Site, Ontario [12]. On the north shore of Rice Lake, in south-central Ontario, the Serpent
Mounds site is a cluster of several Middle Woodland mounds and Late Woodland ossuaries (Johnston 1968b;
Anderson 1968). Excavations in Mound E revealed a number of burials. One of these, Burial 1-2 (an adult male and an adolescent), was associated with three silver beads - - the only silver found at the site (Johnston 1968b:21;
Anderson 1968:2-3). The three beads (Appendix 20.3, Figures 1b, 2a, 2b) are similar in construction, made from thin pieces of sheet silver with somewhat irregular edges that had been rolled to form tubular beads 8-15 mm in length by 3-4 mm in diameter. One of these provided sample 12 (Appendix 20.3, Figure 2b).
Cameron’s Point Mound C, Ontario [6].
The Cameron’s Point site is a cluster of four mounds near the east end of Rice Lake, on its north shore (Spence and Harper 1968). The burial of a child in Mound C included, among other items, a silver panpipe band and a string of 53 silver and 26 copper beads (Spence and Harper 1968:22,
37, plate VI 7, 9). The silver beads are of rolled sheet, but are shorter and more globular, and of thicker sheet, than those of the Serpent Mounds site. They average 6 mm in length by 4.5 mm in diameter. One of the beads supplied sample 6 (Appendix 20.3, Figure 1c; catalogue no. ROM 952.200.79).
LeVesconte Mound, Ontario [11]. The LeVesconte Mound is located on the north shore of the Trent
River, at Percy Reach, some distance east of the river’s juncture with Rice Lake (Kenyon 1986:24-40). A considerable amount of silver, in a variety of forms, was recovered in the excavation by Walter Kenyon. One elderly woman was accompanied by three copper and one silver panpipe covers (Kenyon 1986: plate 22). A small bit of silver may have been placed with an infant, but the association is uncertain (Kenyon 1986:39).
Two children, buried on opposite sides of a single pit, had several silver items. Each had a bivalve ( Unio ) shell filled with erythrite (cobalt-bloom), a colorful weathering product of cobalt. In addition, one child had a silver panpipe cover and a small piece of silver that, to judge by the matrix still adhering to it, had not yet been completely processed (Kenyon 1986:36). The other child had three panpipe covers, a nugget weighing 94.7 grams, five small pieces of sheet silver (perhaps remnants from cutting sheet silver into artifact forms), two semi-worked pieces, and three small pieces of ore with a lot of silver showing in each.
Two samples were taken. One was from silver exposed in one of the pieces of ore (Kenyon 1986: plate 37
A-C), but it was not assigned a sample number because it was not retained for the later analyses. The other sample
[11] was from a piece of one of the panpipe covers (Kenyon 1986: plate 37 D), catalogue number ROM - L.M.170.
Nicholls Mound, Wisconsin.
Several silver items have been found in mounds of the Trempealeau Focus in
Wisconsin (Thomas 1894:67; McKern 1931:217-218). The specimen selected for analysis is from the Nicholls
Mound, but it was not given a sample number because it was used only in the earliest analysis. It is a rounded item of sheet silver formed over a wood core (Appendix 20.3, Figure 3; McKern 1931: 305, lower-left corner). Despite some damage, the dimensions can be estimated at 18 mm long, 17 mm wide and 12 mm high. A small hole had been neatly punched through the silver near one edge. The catalogue number is MPM 33068.
Converse Mound Group, Michigan [5, 14, 17, 23, 27, 30].
Work on a water supply system in 1885 in
Grand Rapids, Michigan, cut into one of the mounds of the Converse Group (Quimby 1941, 1944; Fitting 1971;
Harms and Halsey 1988). Among the material recovered were four silver items, now in the collections of the
Peabody Museum: two large nuggets, a panpipe cover and a piece of sheet silver (Fitting 1971: figs. 2, 3).
The larger nugget (3.5 kilograms - catalogue no. PM 38847) was sampled at two points, to provide samples
23 and 30. The smaller 2.3 kilogram nugget, catalogue no. PM 38848, was also tested at two points, for samples 17 and 27. The smaller nugget showed the characteristic coloring of cobalt-bloom, a weathering product of cobalt.

The panpipe cover (Appendix 20.3, Figure 2c; catalogue no. PM 38844) is only 54 mm in length. It has three tubes. The edges are wrapped around behind but do not meet each other. There are two holes punched through each edge (Fitting 1971: fig. 2). The cover provided sample 5.
The piece of sheet (Figure 2a; catalogue no. PM 38845) is believed by Fitting (1971:38) to be another panpipe cover. However, it seems rather to be a sheet that had not yet been fashioned into an artifact. It provided sample 14.
Liverpool Mound 77, Illinois [63, 67, 72].
Liverpool Mound 77, on the Illinois River, produced a string of
120 rolled globular beads of thick sheet silver (Cole and Deuel 1937:167). Two beads from the string were sampled.
One bead from the collection of Mr. Richard K. Meyer of Peoria Heights, Illinois, provided samples 63 and 67. The bead is 6 mm long by 7 mm in diameter. The other bead, which provided sample 72, is from the collections of the
Smithsonian Institution (catalogue no. USNM 331028). Very similar to the bead from the R. K. Meyer collection, it is 8 mm long by 8 mm in diameter. The bead in Appendix 20.3, Figure 1e, also from the R. K. Meyer collection, was not sampled, but is characteristic of the beads in the string.
Knight Mound 16, Illinois [40]. The Knight Mound Group is on the east side of the Mississippi River.
Burial 16 in Mound 16 was an adult male with a variety of grave goods, including a platform pipe, two copper earspools, a probable copper panpipe, items of bone and marine shell, and a copper pendant (Griffin et al . 1970:92-
95, plate 99a). The pendant is of thick sheet copper, but has two visible silver inclusions in it. These inclusions, one of which provided sample 40, are small pieces of formed sheet silver that had apparently been hammered together with the copper when the pendant was formed. They are not natural inclusions in the copper.
GE Mound, Indiana.
Near Mount Vernon in southern Indiana, the GE Mound had been extensively looted
(Tomak 1994; Seeman 1995). Among the recovered material were a variety of silver items, including silver covers for panpipes, earspools, ear disks, hemispheres, and possible headdresses. Two specimens were sampled, but were not assigned sample numbers in our series because our analyses had been completed by the time we received them.
One of these was catalogue number IDT-M453, a piece of the silver cover from a copper earspool illustrated by
Tomak (1994: fig. 27). The other sample is from catalogue number IDT-M454, a piece of silver foil (Tomak
1994:30).
Squawkie Hill Mound 2, New York [10]. The Squawkie Hill mounds are near the Genesee River and the town of Mount Morris in New York state. Associated with the burial of an adult female in Mound 2 was a gorget or breastplate of a wood core enclosed in copper and silver sheets (Ritchie 1938:12, plate 5 p, r). The silver cover provided sample 10 (catalogue no. AR 29456).
Lewiston Mound, New York [21]. The Lewiston Mound is above the Niagara Gorge in western New York state (Ritchie 1969:217-218). Among the material from the mound were two “button covers” of sheet silver
(Appendix 20.3, Figure 1a and d). Sample 21 was taken from one of these (Appendix, figure 1a; catalogue no.
NYSM A-73-16-#2). It is a raised oval, 15 mm long by 13 mm wide and 7 mm high. The lower sides have two small holes, one of which had broken through to the edge and so would have been ineffective.
Irvine Mound, Pennsylvania [43].
The Irvine Mound Group lies on the Alleghany River. Mound 1 produced a tubular length of cane decorated with a number of cut pieces of very thin silver sheet (Thomas 1885;
Carpenter 1956:90, plate 8c). The pieces had been cut into a variety of shapes; some raptorial bird talons are identifiable. One of the pieces provided sample 43 (catalogue no. USNM 113542).
Esch Mounds 1 and 2, Ohio [25].
The Esch Mounds are located in northern Ohio, near the south shore of
Lake Erie (Greenman nd). The Ohio Historical Center collections from the site include two silver earspool covers, one silver panpipe cover, and one silver-covered wood item. The silver is very thin sheet. The panpipe cover provided sample 25, which is actually one of four small bits of foil that had become separated from the rest of the cover (catalogue no. OHC 1176/31).
North Benton Mound, Ohio [44].
In eastern Ohio, the North Benton Mound produced a tubular wood item decorated with very thin sheet silver (Magrath 1945). There was a silver sheath, 46 mm long, wrapped around one part of the object and a series of teardrop-shaped pieces spaced around another part. Sample 44 is a piece that had previously become separated from the one of the teardrop forms (catalogue no. OHC 1834/15).
Marietta Group, Ohio [9, 31].
The Marietta Group was located by the confluence of the Muskingum and
Ohio rivers, in southern Ohio (Atwater 1820:168). A burial in one of the mounds produced a silver panpipe cover
(Appendix 20.3, Figure 2b), a silver over copper earspool (Figure 2e) and a copper plummet with a piece of thin sheet silver hammered into it. The panpipe (Figure 2b) provided both samples 9 and 31. It is 135 mm long, with three tubes. The edges, each with three holes, have been wrapped behind to meet at the back. The catalogue number is PM 72841.

Harness Mound, Ohio [45].
In the Scioto area, Harness is said to have produced several items of silver
(Mills 1907b). A silver-covered button provided sample 45 (catalogue no. OHC 7/10). The button is hemispherical and small, 16 mm in diameter by 9 mm high, with a silver foil cover over iron.
Mound City, Ohio [24, 35, 47].
Also in the Scioto area, Mound City produced a modest quantity of silver
(Mills 1922). The silver items, now in the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park collections, are one earspool and five beads. The earspool is a mixture of copper and silver, but it is not clear whether this is artificial or whether it represents a natural blend of the two materials. The silver part provided sample 47.
The beads are rounded or oval, with one end pinched and a hole punched in the opposite end. Two of the beads provided samples 24 and 35.
Robinson Mound, Ohio [41, 42].
An 1880 excavation in this mound in Lynn Township, Hardin County, produced several copper and silver items, which were donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1882 (Griffin 1984).
Two panpipes were sampled. One of these was a silver, three-tube panpipe with a partial copper overlay; it provided sample 41 (catalogue no. USNM 61174). The other panpipe, of silver, provided sample 42 (catalogue no. USNM
61176).
Hopewell Group, Ohio [26, 32-33, 36, 38, 46, 50, 54, 58-59].
The Hopewell Group of the Scioto area produced a large number of silver artifacts, including earspools, beads of rolled silver, and “button covers”
(Moorehead 1922; Shetrone 1926; Greber and Ruhl 1989). Because of the large quantity of material, it was decided to sample it widely. Also, samples were taken from three institutions: the Ohio Historical Center (OHC), the Field
Museum of Natural History (FM), and the Dayton Museum of Natural History (DM). Most of the samples are from
Mound 25, but the proveniences of two [26, 36] are not certain.
Sample 26 (catalogue no. OHC 283) is from an ovaloid button cover, 14 mm long by 12 mm wide and 6 mm high.
Sample 32 (catalogue no. FM 56203-1-lot) is from the silver cover of a copper earspool, very much like those illustrated by Shetrone (1926: fig. 93).
Sample 33 (catalogue no. FM 56601) is from a wide hemispherical button cover from Altar 2, 30 mm in diameter by 7 mm high.
Sample 36 (catalogue no. FM 56602-1) is from a small, irregular piece of sheet silver, about 47 mm in diameter.
Samples 38 and 50 are from a thick (2 mm) piece of hammered silver, blended together from thinner sheets. Each sample is from a separate component sheet.
Sample 46 (catalogue no. FM 56601) is from a slightly irregular hemisphere, a button cover, 14 mm long by 12 mm wide and 4 mm high.
Samples 54, 58 and 59 (catalogue no. DM A-5427) are from three silver-covered buttons, one sample from each (from, respectively, Appendix 20.3, Figure 4b, c, and d). The buttons are oval to circular, from 17 to 19 mm long and 5-10 mm high. At least two of the covers have a single hole punched through one edge.
Seip Group, Ohio [34].
Several silver items were excavated from the Seip Group of the Scioto area (Mills
1909; Shetrone and Greenman 1931). Sample 34 (catalogue no. OHC 957) is from the hemispherical silver cover of a ceramic button.
Fort Ancient, Ohio [68].
The undocumented collection of Clifford C. Anderson at the Ohio Historical
Center includes what is apparently a piece of raw copper with eight small silver masses embedded naturally in it.
One of the silver inclusions provided sample 68. At one point, this inclusion can be seen to transform naturally into the copper. Other parts of it show striations, perhaps the results of an attempt to remove it from the copper mass. A sample [69] was also taken of the copper, but is not discussed here.
Anderson owned the property in Warren county on which both the Anderson Village site (Late Woodland) and Fort Ancient (Middle Woodland) are located. He excavated in both sites (Suzanne Lime, personal communication, 1977), but the item tested here would presumably have come from the Middle Woodland component of Fort Ancient (Moorehead 1890; Connolly 1997; Griffin 1997:419-420).
Turner Mound 3, Ohio [8, 22, 49, 57]. Silver-covered copper earspools and bracelets (Appendix 20.3,
Figure 2d) were recovered from Turner Mound 3 in Hamilton County, Ohio (Willoughby and Hooton 1922). There are also some small cones or “tinklers” of rolled copper with silver covers, and two formed solely of silver. Several small fragments of sheet silver, apparently bits that had broken off the artifact covers, were sampled for analysis
(catalogue no. PM 29977). One piece provided samples 8 and 57, while another provided samples 22 and 49.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to say what artifacts they had been covering or even whether or not they came from the same cover.
Tunacunnhee, Georgia [13, 19, 29].
Mound C of the Tunacunnhee site in Georgia produced a three-tube copper panpipe with a silver cover. The central burial of Mound D had, among other things, a four-tube copper

panpipe with a silver cover and a smaller silver band, both associated with the adult individual 18F (Jeffries 1976).
Samples 13 and 29 were taken from the Mound D silver panpipe cover (catalogue no. UG 21662 9Dd 25 M124 E16
B-18F). The other samples were taken from some loose pieces of metal in the same feature, and are probably just bits of the panpipe that had become separated (catalogue no. UG 21662 9Dd 25). One of them, sample 19, is from a piece of silver that had at one time adhered to copper. The other, sample 60, is from a piece of copper, and is not considered further here.
Mandeville, Georgia [7, 53].
A copper panpipe with a silver cover was recovered from Mound B of the
Mandeville site in southern Georgia (Kellar et al . 1962:351). Two samples, 7 and 53, were taken from the cover.
Pharr, Mississippi [37, 55].
Silver items from the Pharr site are the silver-covered copper outer flanges of an earspool pair from Mound D and a silver panpipe from Mound E (Bohannon 1972:65-66, figs. 20, 21c). The earspools provided sample 55 (catalogue no. SEAC 8963) and the panpipe sample 37 (catalogue no. SEAC 8965).
McRae Mound, Mississippi [39].
The McRae Mound produced a silver-covered copper panpipe (Collins
1926). Sample 39 is from the silver (catalogue no. USNM 331028).
Terra Ceia, Florida [51].
The area of Terra Ceia Bay, in Manatee County, Florida, produced a copper earspool with a silver cover. No further provenience is available. The silver provided sample 51 (catalogue no.
USNM 419229).
Other Sites.
Silver has also been identified in several other sites, but for various reasons we were unable to run samples from them (Appendix 20.3, Figure 1). These include Schwert and Courtois in Wisconsin (McKern
1931; Thomas 1894); Cook Farm Mound 3 in Iowa (Farquarson 1876); Albany, Gibson and Bedford in Illinois
(Bluhm Herold 1971; Perino 1955, 1968, n.d.); Circleville and Snake Den in Ohio (Atwater 1820; Moorehead
1899); Caneadea in New York (Neal Trubowitz, personal communication, 1977); Helena in Arkansas (Ford 1963); and Pierce and Crystal River in Florida (Moore 1902, 1903; Bullen 1953).