Estimated Locations of Burials 01 and 02 under Mound 23
The locations of Burial 01 and Burial 02 in Mound 23 of the Hopewell site are not
shown on Moorehead’s (1922) map of the floor of the mound. They were excavated by
Shetrone (1926:53-55). On Moorehead’s map of Mound 23 provided in Appendix 7.2,
these locations have been estimated by R. Zinser, from Shetrone’s (1926:54) textual
description, as follows.
“Beginning at the western end [of Mound 23], exploration was carried forward the entire
width of the mound for a distance of 50 feet. At 40 feet in, the examination came upon
the disturbed area [i.e., Moorehead’s previous excavation]….Two burials only were
encountered by our Survey – the western end of the tumulus being almost destitute of
graves.
Burial Number 1, located near the north margin some 30 feet from the west end
was a cremation….
Burial Number 2 contained the uncremated skeleton of a middle-aged
individual….This burial lay within the primary mound, the greater portion of which had
been examined by Moorehead [i.e., it was near Moorehead’s previously excavated area in
the east-west direction (the length of the mound), but of unknown location in the northsouth direction (the width of the mound)].”
Renumbered Burials under Mound 23
Moorehead’s (1922) map of the floor of Mound 23 has been corrected here for
mistakes he made in numbering burials, as described by him later (Moorehead 1897:208):
“In engraving the ground plan, three mistakes have been made, which I desire to correct.
[Burial] Numbers 231 and 232 on the south side should be 201 and 202; 229 on the west
side should be 219, and 226 on the north should be 226A.”
In addition, Moorehead’s (1922) map does not have a skeleton labeled Burial 236,
although it is mentioned in the text of his report (1922:99) and in his field notes (October
9, 1891, page 19). The map does, however, show a skeleton that is near Burials 234 and
235 and that is unlabeled. We suspect that this unlabeled skeleton might be Burial 236,
given its proximity to Burials 234 and 235 and the fact that all these burials were found
and reported in Moorehead’s field notes on the same day.
The identity of Burial 226A on the map here, and referred to by Moorehead in his
verbal correction of the map (Moorehead 1897:208), is unclear. Other than this one
verbal reference to Burial 226A, it is not recorded elsewhere. It is not discussed in his
site report (Moorehead 1922), his field notes (Moorehead 1891-1892), or any other of his
writings on the Hopewell site (Johnston 2002:184). The skeleton could not be located by
Johnston in the osteological collections or catalog records of the Field Museum of
Natural History (Johnston 2002:184).
The unclear identity of Burial 226A leaves open the possibility that it, rather than
the unlabeled skeleton on Moorehead’s (1922) map, is Burial 236. In sum, on the map of
Mound 23 rendered here, either of the burials labeled “Burial 226A” and “Burial 236?”
might be the actual Burial 236.
It is likely that the skull for Burial 236 in the Field Museum collection (catalog
number 41607) actually belongs to Burial 226. Moorehead (1891:19) reports that none of
the bones from Burial 236 were saved, and that the individual was unaccompanied by
artifacts; yet the collection contains a well-preserved skull for Burial 236, with copper
staining of the temporal region indicative of the presence of copper earspools (Appendix
10.3). Therefore, this skull clearly does not belong to Burial 236. Copper staining of the
temporal region suggests that the skull belongs with another individual from Mound 23
who was buried with earspools at the ears. Moorehead (1891) reported only four
individuals in all of Mound 23 with earspools, and only two of these had earspools that
were not exclusively associated with the hands (Burials 213, 226). Skeletal remains were
not found in the collection for either of these burials, so the mislabeled skull could
potentially belong to either of them. However, the simplest error that might lead to
mislabeling Burial 236 would come from misreading Burial 226 as Burial 236 (i.e., a
handwritten "2" read as a "3"). Therefore, skull 41607 is assumed to belong to Burial
226 rather than Burial 236, and the age and sex information associated with skull 41607
is recorded under Burial 236 in the database.