ANCIENT AMERICAN ©

Archaeology of the Americas Before Columbus

A Mysterious
Discovery
Beneath the
Serpent’s Head

Burrows Cave
Marble Stone
is
Is Recently
Carved

Copper Ingots
Manufactured
in Louisiana

Stonehenge
Compared to the
Earthworks of
the Ohio

Burial Mounds
of the Upper
Mississippi

Glozel
Tablets

DDwarfism
warfism
Reviewed

Ancient Waterways
Revealed on
Burrows Cave in Ancient
Mapstone
MesoAmerica
V
Vol.ume
ol.ume14
14•• Issue
Issue Number
Number 89
89 •• $7.95
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Mystic Symbol
Mark of the Michigan
Mound Builders
The largest archaeological
tragedy in the history of the
USA. Starting in the 1840’s,
over 10,000 artifacts removed
from the earth by pioneers
clearing the land in Michigan.
Stone, Clay and Copper
tablets with a multitude of
everyday objects, tools and
weapons. An unknown lan-
guage which has only been
partially deciphered. See here
a portion of this vast find that
Ancient American has continued into our day.
P.O. Box 370
Colfax, WI 54730 $19.95 ea. plus 2.50 post
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 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

A Mysterious Discovery
Beneath the Serpent’s Head
by Ross Hamilton

N
estled in a cozy margin between
the western cliffs and a special
path fit for those with strong legs
and good balance is one of the most inter-
esting landmarks in the entire Serpent
Mound Park acreage. What appears to be
a megalithic-type standing stone has laid
on its side, partially buried beneath the
Stone Serpent Head, for an untold num- In Adams County, Ohio, Serpent Mound is
ber of years, perhaps many centuries. It is a 1370 foot long effigy composed of three
nine feet four inches (2.84 meters) long mound structures overlooking the Brush
and about 24 inches wide and deep with Creek. Alongside the coiled tail to the head
some consistency, and it tapers to a nar- end of the earthwork is a sheer cliff, the
row, thin end with what appears to be cut center part of which diminishes to a sharp
marks in the lower part. The opposite end declivity defined by a walking path. It is by
this way that both the famous Stone Ser-
is a square formed by a large notch out of
pent Head and the long stone are to be
the right side. seen, as shown on the next page. (Picture
A core of what is identified as cal- courtesy of the Cincinnati Enquirer)
cite crystal runs through the center of the
stone. On a hunch, we tapped softly on The stone Serpent Head serves as the base
one end with a dime while someone touch- for a lookout accessible from the west-most
ing his ear listened on the other. The re- end of the Serpent Mound. It has often
sult was that the outwardly imperceptible been regarded as a sculpting depicting a
tapping was quite audible through the guardian reptilian bust facing nearly due
length of the stone. west.
The long rock is tentatively recog-
(3500-1500 B.C.E.) precedes by at least
nized by local geologist and fossil expert
300 years the commonly accepted dates
Tom Johnson of nearby Locust Grove as a
(1200-1000 B.C.E. C-14) for the earliest
very hard form of Greenfield dolomite
mound-building society in Ohio, the
(limestone in combination with conductive
Adena People, i.e., the Lenni Lenape (later
magnesium), apparently differing from the
Delaware). However, the famous Serpent
brittle surface rock called Peebles
Mound’s design may now be reasonably
dolomite found atop the isthmus on which
fixed to about 3000 B.C.E. by a method of
the serpent effigy rests. The Peebles
star dating, among other proofs, lending
dolomite has been subject to millennia of
us the tantalizing prospect of this stone
rains percolating through it and has be-
having been used as either a celestial
come brittle. This corruption of the sur-
marker of some type, a special sort of
face layer is due to the creation of sulfuric
earth current capacitor, or both.
acid through water interaction with
In 1995, the science team of
minute amounts of iron found in the
John Burke and Kaj Halberg discovered a
dolomite’s chemical composition, explain-
high degree of telluric (silica-based) cur-
ing the presence of large sinkholes and
rent activity at the Serpent Mound. The
caves right in the park area. Because this
park is well known to have both gravita-
long stone may be identified with the
tional and magnetic anomalies, as hand
harder Greenfield variety of dolomite, the
compasses at the site give unusually in-
stone would possibly have been brought
correct readings. The magnetically
from a distance away.
charged positive energies are believed
The main problem with any effort
piezoelectric in origin due mainly to the
to identify this stone as being of the same
highly faulted rock extending an esti-
function or purpose as the British menhir, Megalithic standing stone lies partially mated 3-4 kilometers beneath the surface.
or standing stone, is a dearth of support- buried beneath the Serpent Head out-
Almost needless to say, the Serpent
ing evidence throughout the Ohio Valley cropping as it was about eight years ago
prior to the removal of the moss on its Mound Park is on the western margins of
or, for that matter, the entire North Amer-
lower half and the removal of the earth a 240 million year old meteor impact
ican continent. The Megalithic Period fea-
about its margins. crater about five kilometers across. It is to
turing menhirs in the Insular Celtic region

2
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
the margins having cliff faces that much
of the generated current finds its way by
any evidence. Burke and Halberg au-
thored Seed of Knowledge, Stone of Plenty,
wherein they describe a controlled growth
experiment using seeds exposed upon the
coils of the Serpent Mound during the
overhead passage of a thunderstorm. The
results were rather dramatic as the ion-
ized atmosphere produced an internal
change in the seeds that showed a nearly
three-fold improvement in growth and dis-
ease resistance over identical seeds left in
their car.
The Serpent Mound peninsula
also attracts an extraordinary number of
lightning strikes, and many trees on the
hillsides surrounding the mound are dead
or in a stage of dying from the perceived
overload of thunderbolt receptions. So the
idea of a strategically placed long stone to (Above) The Serpent Mound impact zone
be used as a gathering point of positive stretches about 5 kilometers with the ef-
electrical forces from the body of the effigy figy on the western edge denoted by the
and the outcropping in general has re- star. (Top right) At least 15 similar struc-
tures exist in seven other states as well as
Ontario. Speculation is that a monstrous
comet broke up before it pelted the ancient
Earth about 240,000,000 years ago. Fault
lines (right) believed to be associated with
the generation of powerful earth energies
and the attraction of lightning are found
prominently within the structure. As can
be seen, one of the larger fault lines runs
in the immediate area of the Serpent
Mound Park with many smaller ones be-
lieved extending from it. (Subsurface Ge-
ology of the Serpent Mound Disturbance,
State of Ohio, 2003)
ceived much present attention.

T
he gentlemen explorers Squire and
Davis wrote in 1847 of the oval fea-
The star dating of the Serpent Mound to ture at the head end of Serpent
about 4,850 years ago was discovered Mound: ”A small circular elevation of large
when the effigy was matched with a very stones much burned once existed in its cen-
large asterism of the constellation Draco. ter; but they have been thrown down and
The Serpent is seen as rotating around the scattered by some ignorant visitor...The
last Pole Star—Draconis- (Thuban), the lo- point of the hill within which this egg-
cation of which can be seen as the geo- shaped figure rests seems to have been ar-
physical or geometric center of the tificially cut to conform to its outline,
earthwork, i.e., beneath the first coil from leaving a smooth platform, ten feet wide…
the head. The current Pole Star, Polaris, ” This ten-foot wide “platform” becomes a
touches neatly on the outside of the circle, sharp cliff from where such large stones
suggesting the designer of the Serpent ge- could have been thrown. (Right) The lower
oglyph possessed the insight to under- end of the long stone shows what appears
stand the position of the next Pole Star, to be cut marks, the action of which may
implying advanced precessionary knowl- explain the narrowing of the stone to a rel-
edge. The diameter of the circle is very ap- atively thin blade-like end about 4 inches
proximately 680 feet: 250 times the or less thick from a 24-inch thick center.
Megalithic Yard and 100 times the Mega- Note the notch-like feature on the upper
lithic Rod (6.8 feet). right of the stone.

3
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

• UPCOMING EVENTS •
September 16-18, 2011
Ancient Artifact
Preservation Society &
Ancient American Magazine
at Marquette, MI
judyspapergoods@charter.net

October 7-9, 2011

Midwestern Epigraphic
Symposium
at
Westerville, OH
jmpleslie@gmail.com
The upper part of the stone is clearly square-like, giving an indication of possibly
Send us your e-mail being shaped by a cutting tool. Note this position of viewing the notch from the top
or phone A.A. down.
for notices
on all upcoming events.

All history and

archaeology enthusiasts
are invited
to attend.

Come and meet the

men and women
who write and research
for M.E.S. and
Ancient American Magazine.
Public is always invited to
attend these 2-to-3 day
meetings and outings.
For general infomation
contact Wayne May at;
877-494-0044

This is a New History

for a New Century!
The north side of the stone shows off its exceptionally straight line which nicely par-
allels the south side.
Be There! Star arrangement in accord with Cambridge University Astronomy Department. Ilus-
trations by Patricia Mason; photography by Patricia Mason and Jeffrey Wilson, M.S.
Professor of Astronomy. 

4
 2

ANCIENT
AMERICAN IN THIS ISSUE
The Voice of Alternative Viewpoints
Volume 14 Issue Number 89
WAYNE N. MAY...PUBLISHER
Features
ROSEMARY PALMER...EDITOR A Mysterious Discovery Beneath the Serpent’s Head.........2
LAWRENCE GALLANT...ASSISTANT EDITOR
MEG VOGEL...ASSISTANT EDITOR
Ross Hamilton
ROGER WALLER....ART DIRECTOR
EPHRAIM JAMES...PRODUCTION MGR.. Were Prehistoric Copper Oxhide Ingots Manufactured
KRISTINE MAY....CIRCULATION MGR..
ROGER A. GRAWE....FULFILLMENT MGR..
on the Mississippi Coast?................................................6
JOSHUA K. MAY...MARKETING MGR. Jay S. Wakefield
WAYNE N. MAY....ADVERTISING MGR..
STEVEN BRAKER...STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Archaeopetrography on a Burrows Cave Artifact.............14
ALEXANDER LUKATS...STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
DAVID A. DOANE...WEBMASTER Scott Wolter P.G.
FRANK JOSEPH...CORRESPONDENT
The purpose of Ancient American is to de- Stonehenge and the Ohio Earthworks............................18
scribe the true prehistory of the American Fritz Zimmerman
continent, regardless of presently fashion-
able belief systems, and provide a public
forum for certified experts and non-profes- Burial Mounds of the Illinois District..............................22
sionals alike to freely express their views Bureau of Ethnology Fifth Annual Report
without fear or favor.
....ADVISORS.... Waterways Map Stone Reveals Ancient Travel Routes.....34
WILLIAM DONATO, MA, PRESIDENT Lee Pennington
THE ATLANTIS ORGANIZATION
BUENA PARK, CALIFORNIA
Five Hundred Years of Injustice: Part Two........................39
ANDREW E. ROTHOVIUS
THE GUNGYWAMP SOCIETY Steve Newcomb
MILFORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Dwarfism as Indicative of Shaman Status.......................41
GLEN DE VLAMINCK
ANCIENT ARTIFACT PRESERVATION SOCIETY Michael Jay Asplan
MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN
DR. JAMES P. SCHERZ
ANCIENT EARTHWORKS SOCIETY News
MADISON, WISCONSIN Cultural Diffusionists Meet in Michigan.................10
DR. JOHN J.WHITE, III
MIDWEST EPIGRAPHICAL SOCIETY
Glenn Beck Boosts Newark Earthworks..................12
COLUMBUS, OHIO
Old Stone Head Sculpture Found in PA...........................17
•Manufactured and printed
in the United States of America• Mexico Documents Reveal Early Explorers’ Impressions....33
Ancient American ( ISSN 1077-1646 ) is U.S. Professor Gives Thumbs Up to Bosnian Pyramid......37
published quarterly by Wayne N. May,
PO Box 370, Colfax, WI 54730 U.S.A. Ancient Russell Burrows Responds to Fraudulent Stones............38
American is a for profit organization. “Applica-
tion to Mail at Periodicals Postage Prices is Wyoming Sword..............................................................40
Pending at Colfax, Wisconsin and at additional
mailing offices.” Subscription requests should Midwestern Epigraphic Society Meets in Ohio.................45
be mailed to Ancient American, PO Box 370,
Colfax, WI 54730. $32.95 for 4 issues. Canadian
subscriptions are $35.95. All other foreign sub- Columns
scriptions are $64.95. The purpose of this publi- Europe’s Glozel Tablets...................................................31
cation is to report on all ancient findings in the
Americas and to inform the general readership Ancient Birds from North America Colonized the South...36
of the variety of these findings. Articles and
viewpoints expressed herein do not necessarily 2010 and the Mayan Calendar: The Real Story................47
represent the viewpoints of the editorial staff.
Articles and photos published herein become

Ancient American Magazine

the property of A.A. for reprinting rights.
Ancient American is published four times per
calendar year (4 issues equal one year subscrip-
tion). Books for review should be sent to the P.O. Box 370, Colfax, WI 54730
address above. POSTMASTER: Send all
address changes to :
715-962-3299 Central Time Zone
Ancient American E-MAIL: wayne@ancientamerican.com
C/O Kristine May,
P.O. Box 370, Colfax, WI 54730. URL: www.ancientamerican.com
Volume 14 Issue #89, December 2010. 1-877-494-0044

5
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

Were Prehistoric Copper Oxhide Ingots

Manufactured on the Mississippi Coast
Near the Mouth of the Mississippi River?
by Jay S.Wakefield

C
opper: According to American In-
dian oral tradition, Michigan cop-
per was mined in antiquity by “red
haired white-skinned ‘marine men’ who
came from across the sea.” Tens of thou-
sands of pits up to 30’ deep were mined
using fire setting and stone hammers,
with an estimated half a billion tons of
pure crystallized copper removed from
the glacier-exposed lava beds. From wood
timbers anaerobically preserved under
water in the ancient mine pits, this min-
ing has been radiocarbon dated to be-
tween 2400 BC and 1200 BC, a period of
more than a thousand years. During this
same period, Europe experienced the
Bronze Age, though historians and ar-
chaeologists now say they have no idea
where the copper came from. One of the Archaeologist Marco Giardino PhD, on the Claiborne site, pointing to areas saved under
more interesting finds in digging out one concrete slabs for future excavation. Behind him are the waterways of the Bayou, which
of these old mine holes (Drier and Du have served both the ancient ports and the modern port. Hurricane Katrina blew 23 feet
Temple, Prehistoric Copper Mining in the of water over the site where Marco is standing.
Lake Superior Region) was a walrus skin rifices may have been made prior to the Jean Hunt, then President of the
bag, indicating the miners had traveled perilous voyages loaded with copper down Louisiana Mounds Society, wrote in 1993
overseas in the north. If people came the rivers to Poverty Point, Louisiana. in Ancient American Magazine that “the
from overseas to mine copper in Michi- Poverty Point: Six huge earth Poverty Point archaeologist or curator
gan during the Bronze Age, there can be mounds and six enormous concentric talked about traces of large ‘spots’ of cop-
little doubt they transported it back over- earth rings characterize the enigmatic Ar- per on the surface, which he thought
seas for use in the manufacture of chaic period town of Poverty Point, for- might have represented places where raw
bronze. merly accessible only by boat from the copper from the Michigan mines was
Ancient routes for the transport Mississippi. The site is carbon dated to placed while awaiting trans-shipment.”
of Michigan’s copper have been traced 2400 BC, with the big mounds made Dexter and Martin (America’s Ancient
downstream from the mines on Isle around 1500 BC. It is one of the largest Stone Relics) report that Mitchell Hillman,
Royale and the Keweenaw Peninsula, and oldest centers of civilization on Earth. Assistant Curator for the Louisiana Office
past storage pits with corroded copper in
them, and beyond Beaver Island with its
ancient raised garden beds and huge 39-
stone circle. In the Great Lakes, water
levels fluctuated widely, as ice dams re-
treated and the land rebounded from the
glacial weight. Around 2300 BC, there
was a high water stage called the “Nipiss-
ing Stage.” Dr. Jim Schertz, Professor
Emeritus with the Ancient Earthworks
Society (Old Water Levels and Waterways
during the Ancient Copper Mining Era)
says that when the water rose 40-50 feet
above present levels, an outlet opened
into the Illinois River through the present
Chicago Ship Canal. On the south bank,
where the river started, stood a 3,000
pound stone block, overlooking Lake
Michigan. Known as the Waubansee
Stone, it was carved with the face of a
man with a beard and holes connecting
the bowl at the top to the mouth of the
face. Another stone is said to have been On the left is the west edge of the site of Claiborne, seen adjacent to barges docked in
on the north bank. At these stones, sac- the newly dredged Port. (Port Benville Industrial Park, Mississippi, May 2010)

6
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
of State Parks, has found spots of copper
on the surface both north and south of
Poverty Point for a distance of five to fif-
teen miles on both sides of the river. Re-
searcher Daniel Wood, in another Ancient
American Magazine article, “Bronze Age
Michigan,” describes a 20’x 50’ Torch
Lake (Keweenaw) pit found to contain 20
tons of carbonate of copper, dated c.1800
BC. Other pits were discovered as far east
as Sault Ste Marie and others in southern
Wisconsin. Early in 2006, a magnetic gra-
diometry study done at Poverty Point by
Mike Hargrave and Burley Clay shows
large dark spots that were described as
metal “hits.” (See Rocks & Rows.)
Oxhides: Bronze Age raw copper
was exchanged in 60-lb (one Talent) ox-
hide ingots shaped like a flat square, with
the four corners extended like the legs of
a hide taken from a real ox. These exten-
sions made the ingots easier to carry, as
illustrated by paintings upon Egyptian
tomb walls. Copper oxhide ingot cargo
found on ancient shipwrecks is “extraor-
dinarily pure” but full of slag bits,
“spratzen” voids, and copper oxide inclu-
sions, which made the oxhides brittle.
This brittle copper is called “blister cop- Google Map, satellite photo, showing overall location of sites (printed from Google Earth).
per.” Researchers have reported their The Space Center and the Industrial Park are boxed in red.
conclusions that the oxhides must have
been manufactured by multiple pourings
of melted copper into clay molds in open
air over wood fires. The big unanswered
question at this point is where this was
done. No site has been identified. Only
one mould, in Syria, has ever been found,
but that one, when tested, was found to
have tiny bits of copper in it.
Gulf Sites: While it is likely that
copper exchange and the manufacture of
copper oxhide ingots occurred at Poverty
Point, other sites have come to my atten-
tion while studying the matter. Archaeol-
ogist James E. Bruseth, with the Texas
Historical Commission, in his chapter in
the book The Poverty Point Culture reports
on two Late Archaic sites located on high
ground fifteen feet above the marshes at
the mouth of the Pearl River of Missis-
sippi. In Archaic times, the Mississippi
River had a fast-flowing flood season, al-
ternating with periods when a canoe
could be paddled upstream. It emptied
into the Gulf of Mexico to the east of
where it does now, close to the Pearl River
mouth. This first high ground rising
above the marshes, now called “Cedar-
land” and “Claiborne,” would have been
attractive to ancient mariners who
USGS map printed at REI from National Geographic TOPO on CD-ROM, scale 1:30,750.
needed moorage, rest, and fresh water.
Approximate locations of Claiborne and Cedarland Archaeological sites, now within Port
The site originally consisted of
Benville Industrial Park. Mulatto Bayou Earthwork (12-18’ x 1200’) also indicated.
two large (500’ diameter) semicircular
middens of ash up to six feet deep, over- (Bruseth). Bruseth states that “radiocar- separate groups, who lived side by side.”
looking a bayou of the Pearl River mouth. bon dates have shown these two rings He calls them “specialized activity areas,”
Cedarland is known to have been occu- were occupied at the same time, but the inhabited by two different groups with
pied around 2200 BC, more than four artifacts in them were so distinctly differ- ethnic and language differences. The
thousand years ago, and was “participat- ent, it was concluded that they were in- groups were strangers from each other
ing in the Poverty Point trade network” habited by two independent, ethnically and different from the native sites up-

7
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

Above, the National Geographic sketch of the Uluburun ship, a trading vessel
of 1300 BC, discovered wrecked off the Turkey coast. In its hold was found 10
tons of oxhide-shaped copper ingots, with half a ton of tin ingots, and other
trading goods. Below the ship, left, one of the ingots from the wreck held by
two ladies; in the middle, an ingot in the British Museum; to the right, some of
the Uluburun ingots in the seabed. Below, an ingot found at Hagia Trihadha,
Crete. Three found near Cagliari, Sardinia, were inscribed with a trident, a dou-
ble axe, and an angular P. The trident was symbol for Poseidon, god of the
Alanteans, who Plato says ran the metal trade in the Ocean named for them.
The 3 supervised men (“Keftiu”- Minoans or Atlanteans) are carrying an oxhide
and baskets of bun ingots, on the tomb wall of Rekh-Mi-Re at Thebes. The
bearded Phoenician-looking man is carrying an ingot on the wall of the tomb of
Huyat, also at Thebes. The two lowest ingots were found in Egypt.

8
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

Claiborne and Cedarland built near the

Pearl River mouth, Mississippi.
Upper right, details of Claiborne.

The Cedarland and Claiborne

sites have suffered indiscriminate digging
by relic seekers since the 1950s, with
large collections held locally. Today the
sites have been substantially destroyed
and damaged by the construction of a
new industrial port on top of the ancient
industrial port sites. Entry through the
Port Benville Industrial Park is now con-
trolled by a gatehouse and industrial
fencing.
Today, huge barges carrying Sat-
urn rockets, enormous tanks of hydrogen
and other fuels, are towed past the an-
cient site for static testing at the NASA
Stennis Space Center further up the
bayou. It is ironic that the same now re-
mote waterway where much of the copper
of the Bronze Age was shipped to Europe
is the same waterway where all the U.S.
rocket engines are tested before going to
space.
Cedarland: Field inspections by
the archaeologist Bruseth during bulldoz-
ing for the new port revealed debris con-
sisting of bone, stone, and clay artifacts.
show evidence of being used by a mar- His book states: “Numerous clay-lined,
river. A corroborating report by Dr. Greg
basin-shaped hearths have been uncov-
Little (Atlantis Rising, Sept/Oct, 2010) il- itime culture.” We cannot identify these
ered, but few have been carefully exca-
lustrates new evidence for three separate groups yet, despite Egyptian language vated. Raw materials at the site include
anchoring, docking, and breakwater for- remnants in some Louisiana tribes and
mations underwater off the west side of Egyptian and Minoan artifacts found in
Bimini. “All three have stone anchors and the Mississippi basin. (continued on page 13)

9
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

Cultural Diffusionists Meet In Michigan

by Frank Joseph

T
he sixth annual conference of the Bob Kreipe, an historian of the Ford Motor
Ancient American Preservation So- Company, and Janine McFadden, a pro-
ciety took place in Michigan’s ducer of Ford films, was previewed prior
Upper Peninsula, ancient copper mining to its scheduled telecast over PBS next
country, from September 17th through spring.
the 19th. Some eighty participants from Another filmmaker better known
Massachusetts to California gathered at to AAPS members, Lee Pennington
Marquette’s Holiday Inn to hear an inter- (Louisville, KY), exhibited “Wales: History
national bevy of guest lecturers, examine in Bondage,” a factual dramatization of
new artifacts on display, compare notes, Welsh impact on our continent during
and buy books. Renowned geologist, prehistory. Pennington’s own lecture on
Scott Wolter (Chanhassen, MN), opened the subject was the most credible descrip-
the Friday meeting by describing his tion of Prince Madoc’s medieval arrival in
analysis of several Burrows Cave stones. North America presented thus far.
Russell Burrows alleges to have “acciden- Friday evening concluded with
tally” discovered a cave from which the the showing of yet another film, “The Lost
West Virginia-born treasure hunter sup- Civilization of North America,” in which
posedly removed, beginning in 1982, sev- Ancient American magazine publisher
eral thousand pre-Columbian artifacts, Wayne May (Colfax, WI) figures promi-
mostly inscribed stones, associated with nently.
Roman Era visitors to southern Illinois. Conference organizers Judy M.
Wolter’s scientific examination of a sample Johnson and Glenn E. DeVlaminck (Scan-
artifact proved beyond the shadow of a dia, MI) opened the Saturday session with
doubt that it was carved on one side of a an account of a twenty-eight ton specimen
19th Century American tombstone no of gigantic float copper removed under
more than thirty years ago. This revelation their direction from a Keweenaw glacier,
came as something of a shock to audience its resting place for the previous twelve
members familiar with the so-called “Isis thousand years, to Marquette, the pro-
Stone” in question because of the rela- posed centerpiece of the AAPS’s forthcom-
tively high quality of its artistic execution. ing museum.
Wolter was quick to add, however, that it David Hoffman (Eagle River, WI)
is but a single, verified fake out of an esti- then gave an engagingly personal account
mated three thousand related objects. of pursuing his own copper quest, the
He was followed by Dr. John once-famous Ontonagon Boulder almost
White of the Midwest Epigraphic Society lost in the bowels of Washington, D.C.’s
(Columbus, Ohio), who stated that similar Smithsonian Museum. Continuing his
frauds taint many similar collections discussion of the ancient mineral, Dr. Don
throughout the world. Dr. White went on Spohn (Coopersville, MI) told of several
to demonstrate how the internal symbol- thousand examples of “prehistoric Ameri-
ism of Burrows Cave items still speaks to can Indian copper” he assembled during
their fundamental authenticity. Jay a lifetime of collecting.
Wakefield (Seattle, WA), author of Rocks A new theme was introduced by Karl
and Rows (MCS, Inc., 2009), told of his Hoenke (Kelseyville, CA), whose examina-
personal research at Louisiana’s little tion of “Genetics of North America and
known Cedarland and Claiborne sites, How They Might Relate to External Con-
where, he convincingly argued, ancient tacts” represented cutting-edge scientific
miners melted their excavated copper be- inquiry into possible Old World influences
fore its shipment to Europe and the Near in the Americas before Columbus. The
East more than thirty centuries ago. morning roster of presenters was rounded
Wakefield’s discoveries are of paramount out by Rick Osmon (Odon, IN), producer
importance to unlocking the mystery of and host of the popular “Oopa Loopa Café”
prehistoric North American mining and its Internet radio/television show
relationship with the Old World Bronze (www.oopaloopacafe.com). His “New Inter-
Age. pretations of Lord Pacal, Mayan King’s
Appropriately, a new documentary, Sarcophagus Lid,” was a witty, deeply re-
“America’s Ancient Industry: Copper” by searched and highly original alternative to

10
Ancient American • Issue Number 89

both mainstream scholars and ancient as- time elucidating on Sun Religions of the
tronaut enthusiasts in his suggestion of Old and New Worlds.” Saturday’s presen-
Mesoamerican technology as a possible tations climaxed with Wayne May’s illus-
basis for the Palenque tomb site’s arcane trated description of Hopewell Culture
symbolism. and its genetic connections to the con-
Dr. Sam Osmanagich (Sarajevo, temporaneous Near East.
Serbia) opened Saturday afternoon with a The conference concluded Sun-
slide show showing pyramids around the day morning with a visit to Presque Isle,
world prior to describing his on-going ex- where attendees marveled at the massive
cavation of a colossal pyramidal structure specimen of float copper described earlier
in Bosnia. He presented an abundance of by Judy Johnson and Glenn DeVlaminck.
fresh evidence to substantiate the contro- A general consensus of opinion character-
versial find’s 34,000-year-old provenance. ized the AAPS’s 6th Annual Conference as
Dr. Osmanagich was followed by veteran the best so far. 
forestry ranger Roger Jewell (Fairfield, PA),
author of Ancient Mines of Kitchi-Gummi
(Jewell Histories, 2000), who spoke of “An- For further information about the
cient Mayan Shipping Discoveries.” Ancient American Preservation Society,
Discussion of the Mayas contin- visit www.aaapf.org, or write
ued after dinner, when your reporter (Ar- PO Box 216, Scandia, MI 49885;
dennes, WI) made some remarks about telephone (906) 942-7865.
the Mayan Calendar prophesy for the year
2012. Dr. John White then held the floor
again for another visual presentation, this

7th Annual AAPF Conference on Ancient America

September 16,17, and 18, 2011
Marquette, Michigan
Sign up now by calling;
906-942-7865

11
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
Glenn Beck Boosts
Discover Newark Earthworks
Mysteries 89 by Amy Hollon •Advocate Reporter • August 20, 2010
of the Past!
W
hen the Newark Earthworks were
mentioned by television and radio
Subscribe to: host Glenn Beck on FOX News,
there was an increase in visitors at the
Great Circle.
"Our phones are ringing off the
hook," said Susan Fryer, executive director
of the Greater Licking County Convention
and Visitors Bureau, which is housed at
the Great Circle in Newark.
"So far we've had about 34 visitors today,
and about one-third of those are here be-
cause they saw it on Glenn Beck," Fryer
said mid-afternoon Thursday.
Many of the visitors, Fryer said,
were from Ohio and had thought about vis-
iting but never did until they saw the pro-
gram.
Beck mentioned the Earthworks in
his Wednesday night program as part of his
discourse about Manifest Destiny.
For Manifest Destiny to work,
Beck said, leaders had to frame American
Indians as "savages" to push them off the land.
Beck pointed to similarities in dimensions between the Earthworks and the
Great Pyramid of Giza.
"It is the same math. The same calculations as ancient Egyptians," Beck said.
He also brought up the Newark Holy Stones, one of which was found in the
ANCIENT Newark area in 1860.
Specifically, he points to the second of two stones found, the Decalogue Stone
AMERICAN in the area of Jacksontown and the Hebrew writing inscribed on it.
"Why don't we know about these stories?" Beck asked.
$32.95 "The history that has been erased in our nation and in particular with the Na-
tive Americans happened because it didn't fit the story they created for Manifest Des-
For one year tiny," Beck said. "It only works when Indians are savages and they had to have savages
subscription of four issues: for commerce and government to expand. The ancient artifacts prove otherwise; why
Send check or money order, aren't we looking into these?"
call, e-mail, or subscribe via Although Beck acknowledges the stone generally was regarded as a forgery in
our web site with your credit card the mid-1800s, he did not explain archeologists today also think the stones are fake.
(all major cards accepted). Brad Lepper, of the Ohio Historical Society, previously spoke with The Advo-
Canadian subscriptions $35.95 cate about his research on the stones.
At the time the stones were found, two theories existed -- monogenesis and
All foreign subscriptions $64.95 polygenesis -- to explain the origins of races. While polygenesis suggested different
kinds of people were created in different parts of the world, it challenged the traditional
theory of monogenesis that all humans descended from Adam and Eve. The topic was
ANCIENT AMERICAN pertinent at the time because of the debate about slavery.
Post Office Box 370 The surveyor who found the stones, David Wyrick, is thought to have believed
builders of the Newark Earthworks were descended from the lost tribes of Israel. The
Colfax, Wisconsin 54730
stones would have helped prove the theory.
(877) 494-0044 "You have to understand the historical situation at that time," Lepper said in
2008. "These (stones) were scientific forgeries, not a hoax, which is a practical joke.
wayne@ancientamerican.com These were faked in order to advance or prove a scientific theory. People behind it were
www.ancientamerican.com very, very serious."
But several problems existed with the first stone, including being found too
Name close to the surface and modern Hebrew writing.
The second stone, which Beck mentioned -- the Decalogue Stone -- seemed to
answer the problems of the first stone, with an earlier Hebrew writing, but it also has
Address
been deemed fake. Lepper has called the Hebrew on the second stone questionable.
"This discovery undermined polygenesis and the reason for slavery," Lepper
City said. "We believe the stones were created as anti-slavery artifacts."
Regardless, Fryer said the talk is good for Newark and said she hopes Beck
State Zip continues to mention the Earthworks. 

12
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
(continued from page 9) red jasper, black and white and grey chert, quartz crystal, various quartzites, and Great
Were Prehistoric Copper Oxhide Ingots Lakes copper needles and sheet copper. The lithic materials are rare at Claiborne. Cedar-
Manufactured on the land has 3- and 4-sided drills, while Claiborne possesses only bifacially-formed drills...
Mississippi Coast [Beautiful 3-sided points are a unique feature of the Danish neolithic at this time.] One
to 2 meters of deposits indicate intensive utilization...and re-use of hearths, but few have been carefully excavated.”
Bruseth continues: “The hearths varied in diameter from 50 to 65 cm [20-26 inches, the size of oxhide ingots], were
basin shaped and occurred on a common horizontal plane. The walls consisted of oxidized orange soil. However, the tops were
found at variable depths below the surface. This factor is interpreted to be the result of digging in and around the hearths after
their initial use. As neither ash nor charcoal was observed within the features, they may instead have served as earth ovens rather
than hearths. Under this interpretation, the oxidized soil of the features would represent prepared clay walls that became fired
from heating in the oven. Numerous amorphous fired clay lumps surround the hearths and are commonly found throughout
much of the midden. The author has examined several examples for evidence of deliberate shape, but in all instances they were
found to be amorphous and unintentionally formed. It was initially thought that these might be baked clay objects used in con-
junction with the clay-lined hearths. However, it is probable, based on their small size and lack of clear form, that they are frag-
ments from other clay-lined hearths. Extensive digging and reuse of the hearths evidently scattered burned clay wall fragments
throughout the midden.”
Claiborne: Radiocarbon dates for Claiborne range from 2040 BC to 1150 BC. Bruseth says, “Claiborne appears to
have been a well-structured village throughout much of its history. A conical mound is directly east of the site. No clay-lined
hearths have been found, but a huge hearth 25m x 3-5m wide was opened by successive bulldozer cuts, a feature which apparently
moved upslope by accumulation from use. Smaller hearths of 4m and 2m x 1.5m were also found. Claiborne plummets are made
of magnetite and hematite, while plummets at Cedarland are only made of other materials.”
Bruseth describes other materials revealed that the “inhabitants of both rings were involved in long-distance exchange,
but did so differently, despite being side-by-side. Of special note are the effigy forms, such as locusts, owls, and bivalves, which
are not found at Cedarland. There are ceramics...fiber tempered pottery, but none at Cedarland. The two sites are distinctive in
layout, feature type, and artifact content, and present a perplexing problem. ...Other sites are known, which most likely represent
support camps to these ‘specialized activity areas.’ These sites flourished well before the earthwork construction at Poverty Point.
...Perhaps the monumental earthworks [at Poverty Point] have caused us to underestimate the importance of pre-earthwork oc-
cupation.”
Bruseth concludes the report of his excavation by writing that “the two sites were inhabited by two independent groups
who lived side by side. Extensive surveys of sites along the Pearl River with similar projectile-point types appear occupied by dif-
ferent groups. We know that trade was crossing ethnic boundaries and probably crossing language boundaries. These are certainly
groups of people that operate mostly unto themselves most of the time. There are strangers involved.”
Archaeologist Bruseth’s midden cross-sections of the Claiborne site show a hearth as long as a football field, 6’ deep and
300’ long, in a midden twice as long. “Numerous amorphous fired clay lumps surround the hearths and are commonly found...a
typical cluster of 86 clay objects. ...The author has examined several examples for evidence of deliberate shape, but in all instances
they were found to be amorphous and unintentionally formed. ...A radiocarbon date of 1425 +/- 140 BC...the stratum seems to
represent an activity area where perforated varieties of baked clay objects were being fired. This interpretation is based on the
nearly total absence of complete baked objects and the abundance of
charcoal concentrations. ...Artifact types in the stratum are almost ex-
clusively fragmented baked clay objects. ...The broken clay objects are
interpreted to represent specimens that fragmented during the firing
process” (Ref.24). The clay fragments were probably hammered off the
copper oxhides when they cooled. Bruseth notes that “the predominant
artifact categories included lithic debris and cobbles with battered ends.”
It appears these stone hammers were used to break the clay moulds off
the cooled copper.
The melting of rough copper (1084°) from the mine pits into
standardized 60- pound, one-Talent oxhides would have required a
charcoal fire (1000°) and added forced air because a simple wood fire is
only 900°C. Multiple pourings into clay moulds in the humidity of the
Gulf Coast would have made the workers sweat profusely. Perhaps the
sweat and humidity, combined with green firewood floated down the
Pearl River to the site, might have been enough to cause the gas voids
that characterize the fragile “blister copper” oxhides. Hopefully future
excavations on the remaining portion of the Claiborne site and the study
of basement collections of clay fragments will confirm the use of clay
moulds for the casting of copper ingots.
Timeline Context: Time is a hard concept to comprehend,
given the United States has been a nation for only 230 years and our
lives are so short. We forget that the United States was a colony for 156
years before that (1620 to 1776). Between the founding of Poverty Point
(2400 BC) and Columbus (1492 AD) is a period of almost 4000 years,
and Poverty Point at its height (1500 BC) was 3000 years earlier than
Columbus at 1492 AD. Our lack of experience with such long time spans
and what might have been accomplished in them is one of the major
stumbling blocks to our understanding of human accomplishments in
prehistory. 

References Furnished Upon Request

wayne@ancientamerican.com

13
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

Archaeopetrography on a “Burrows Cave”

White Marble Artifact
by Scott Wolter P.G.

Figure 2: Samples of silty sand were collected within the carved grooves marked with
black arrows.

Figure 1: This photograph was taken by

Warren Dexter in 1987. (Courtesy of the
New England Antiquities Research Associ-
ation library at the New Hampshire Techni-
cal Institute in Concord, New Hampshire).

Introduction

T
his report presents the results of
petrographic observations per-
formed on a high white marble slab
“Burrows Cave” artifact with a carving of
a kneeling “Isis” figure with its hands held
up apparently accepting 9 rays of sun-
light. The artifact has dimensions of 12
3/14” x 7 3/8” x 2 1/4” thick and was
submitted for examination by Mr. Jay
Wakefield on May 6, 2010. Figure 3: The back side of the artifact exhibits large chipped-out spalls along all four
X-ray diffraction was performed sides. The flat back surface has a 2” long straight groove parallel to the long axis and
on silt present within the carved grooves two areas with remnants of English cursive writing (white boxes) that exhibit the same
to determine the mineralogy and to com- degree of weathering as the flat surface the letters were cut into.
pare with previously analyzed samples
white marble slab with the carving of a 1. The artifact is an up to 1/8” deep carv-
from other white marble artifacts. The
kneeling “Isis” figure beneath a nine-rayed ing of an “Isis” figure into a slab of
analysis was conducted by Jeff Thole of
sun symbol is one of roughly thirty known relatively fine-grained calcite marble.
Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota,
white marble slabs that Mr. Burrows re- 2. The carved lines and surfaces of the
using a PANalytical X'Pert PRO Diffrac-
portedly collected from the cave. “Isis” figure are polished and exhibit no
tometer.
apparent weathering.
Findings of Fact 3. Very fine-grained, gray, silty sand is
Background Information
The following points are factual present on all sides and surfaces of the ar-
The artifact submitted for exami-
observations made of the artifact under tifact. A small sample of the silt was col-
nation was reportedly collected in a cave
reflected light and of remnant mortar lected from the carved grooves for
in Southern Illinois sometime between
samples collected from the back side of compositional analysis using x-ray diffrac-
1982-1985 by artifact collector and ama-
the artifact in thin section under polarized tion analysis.
teur archaeologist, Russell Burrows. This
light:

14
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

Figure 4: Directly above the straight, roughly horizontal-carved groove are all or parts of
at least four carved cursive English letters. The letters “h” and “e” are clearly visible.
Remnants of mortar are present on the flat surface and cover parts of cursive writing.

Figure 8: The chiseled spall area (left) frac-

tured through areas of the remnant mortar
(white arrows) on the back side, indicating
the spall happened after the mortar had
hardened.

Figure 5: A closer view of the mortar remnants present on the flat back side of the “Isis”
white marble artifact.

Figure 9: The white arrows indicate fully

hydrated alite Portland cement clinker par-
ticles in thin section of the mortar removed
from back side of the “Isis” white marble
3mm artifact under plane polarized light (200X).

Figure 6: Small remnants of mortar inside a weathered cursive writing groove on the
back side (white arrows).

Figure 10: Same image of fully hydrated

Figure 7: The black arrows indicate numerous ¾” long chisel marks that produced the alite Portland cement clinker particles in
spall fractures around the back side edges of the “Isis” white marble artifact. Both the thin section of the mortar remnants re-
chisel marks and the surface of the spalled fractures exhibit sharp calcite crystal faces moved from back side of the “Isis” white
indicating they have not weathered, whereas the flat back side surface and the carved marble artifact under cross polarized light
cursive letters exhibit a similar weathered appearance. (200X).

15
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
writing on one side (identified as the back
side in this case) was obtained from an
unknown source.
b. Mortar was applied to the back
side of the weathered marble slab that
partially covered some of the cursive Eng-
lish characters.
c. Numerous large spalled frac-
tures were made on all four edges and the
back side of the slab using a ¾” long
chisel. One of the fractures broke through
remnants of the mortar.
d. The “Isis” carving was made on
the front side.
e. The very fine-grained silt came
into contact with all sides and surfaces of
Figure 11: X-ray diffraction (gray line) pattern obtained from silt collected within the the artifact.
grooves of the Burrows Cave white marble “Isis” stone artifact. 2. The original slab of weathered high
white marble with cursive English-carved
letters is consistent with an old marble
tombstone that has been recycled.
3. The fine-grained alite (C2S) grains of
Portland cement in the mortar were con-
sistent with a relatively modern cement
of likely less than 50 years.
4. The “Isis” carving was likely created
sometime between 1982, when Burrows-
Cave was reportedly first discovered, and
1987.
5. Whoever made the “Isis” artifact likely
made or was involved in the creation of
the nine other artifacts that contained the
same silt.

Figure 12: X-ray diffraction (black line superimposed on gray line) pattern of silt collected Conclusion
from the “Isis” stone and nine other Burrows Cave white marble artifacts. The pattern The “Isis” Stone marble artifact is
similarities suggest the material analyzed from each of the artifacts has a similar origin. of modern origin and appears to have
This material was likely “added” to produce a weathered appearance or was derived been made from an old weathered tomb-
from the location where the artifacts were cached or buried. It is unlikely the artifacts stone most likely in the early to mid-
were produced, transported, cached, or buried in multiple locations. 1980s. Further, the ten white marble
artifacts tested to date that contain iden-
4. Both the flat front and back sides of were observed on the flat surfaces of the
tical silt were likely created at the same
the artifact exhibit a well-developed back side of the artifact. Some mortar
time.
weathering profile consistent with a remnants were observed in the weathered
lengthy exterior exposure. Several subpar- cursive English-carved characters.
Discussion
allel fractures running the long axis of the 10. The mortar was a mixture of hydrated
While the conclusion reached in
slab were observed and are consistent lime, Portland cement, and sand.
this report casts a shadow of doubt over
with weathering in a climate exposed to 11. Several fully hydrated, relatively fine-
the Burrows Cave mystery, the reader
moisture and freezing conditions. Inter- grained alite (C2S) particles were observed
must be careful not to jump to conclu-
mittent areas of black lichen were ob- in a thin section within the cement paste
sions. Just because one white marble
served on both the front and top surfaces matrix of the mortar.
plate has been found to be modern, it
of the original weathered surfaces. 12. One of the spalled fractures on the
doesn’t automatically mean the cave does-
5. All or parts of several carved charac- back side of the artifact cut through some
n’t exist. Even if all the roughly 30 to 40
ters of the cursive English writing were of the remnant-hardened mortar.
known white marble plates were found to
observed on the flat surface of the back 13. The fine-grained silty sand was pres-
be modern, there are still thousands of
side. ent on all sides and surfaces of the arti-
other lithic artifacts that could be legiti-
6. The cursive English-carved characters fact.
mate.
exhibited a well-developed weathering 14. The artifact was photographed in
Unfortunately, this report will be
profile that was consistent with the front 1987.
all the ammunition needed for ardent op-
and back sides that are not carved. 15. The silt within the grooves is of the
ponents to bolster their claims. Because
7. Numerous ¾” long chisel marks were same composition as the silt in nine other
of the historical significance if such a cave
observed on the sides and back of the ar- Burrows Cave artifacts tested previously.
exists, it is all the more important that
tifact at the base of large spalled frac-
any and all hurdles be removed so Russell
tures. Interpretations
Burrows can reveal the location without
8. Both the chisel marks and spalled 1. According to the laws of superposition
the fear of legal repercussions.
fractures exhibited sharp calcite crystal and cross-cutting relationships, the fol-
It is everyone’s hope that Mr.
faces consistent with freshly fractured lowing sequence of events occurred:
Burrows will reveal the cave and clear up
marble. a. A highly weathered slab of
the confusion about this mystery once
9. Several remnants of hardened mortar high white marble with cursive English
and for all. 

16
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

Old Stone Head Sculpture Found in

Venango County, PA
by Rodney Brown

V
ery interesting stone head sculpture, which measures approx. 8" top to bottom at the longest points, 4 1/2" wide and
4 3/4" thick. This was found in the 1930s, in the mud, on the banks of French Creek in Venango County Pennsyl-
vania. There's hieroglyphic-like writing on the forehead. The eyes appear to be closed. There is a hole going through
the side, which is approx. 2 3/4" long. It is made of sandstone. Any information that would help better identify this item
would be greatly appreciated.  Please contact wayne@ancientamerican.com or phone 877-494-0044.

17
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

Stonehenge and the Earthworks

in the Ohio Valley:
The Sacred Marriage of Earth and Sky
by Fritz Zimmerman

Small henge near Stonehenge with a burial mound in the central platform.

A
common site in southern Eng-
land's landscape is the numer-
ous ancient burial mounds and
henges that dot the landscape. A land-
scape not much different from that in
southern Ohio, in fact. Is it plausible to Henge complex at Cambridge City, Indi-
believe that henges on both continents ana. The upper henge is also aligned to
the summer solstice sunrise. These
that align to solar events—with symbol-
henges, along with many other in the
ism representing the Sacred Marriage of Ohio Valley, share the attribute of Eng-
the Earth and Sky—and prehistoric land's henges in having a burial mound
icons, such as horseshoes and ser- within their central platforms.
pents, happened serendipitously? This coves, post alignments, burials, central
argument could be expanded to include mounds, and stake holes.” While there
other similarities in burial mound types are no monoliths within the henges in
such as: conical shapes surrounded by Aerial view of Stonehenge showing the the Ohio Valley, they do have portal set-
an earthwork or ditch; giant, Dinaric- massive earthwork that surrounds the tings, timber circles, post rings, burials,
type skulls found within the mounds circular central platform. The gateway and central mounds.
from ancient people who averaged 7 feet of the henge (lower right) is aligned to the
summer solstice sunrise. Stonehenge also contains the sublime
in height; numerology; etymology; and message of the symbolic representa-
symbolism. Vast gaps exist in the ori- which were built by the Allegewi (Adena) tions of the Sacred Marriage, or Holy
gin of the Adena (Allegewi) people who people. A henge is defined in Wikipedia Union of Opposites, of the Sun Father
once resided in the Ohio Valley that as “a roughly circular or oval-shaped and the Earth Mother. Dee Finney elo-
contradict known artifacts, linking flat area over 20m in diameter which is quently describes the religious beliefs of
Adena origins to the people who also enclosed and delimited by a boundary the people who built Stonehenge:
built the famous henges in England: earthwork that usually comprises a “Stonehenge, Avebury and other stone
Stonehenge, Avebury, and the many ditch with an external bank. Access to monuments of Western Europe were
others that exist. These topics are cov- the interior is obtained by way of one, built over 4 millenia ago in an era when
ered at length in The Nephilim Chroni- two, or four entrances through the Neolithic farmers believed in an Earth
cles: Fallen Angels in the Ohio Valley. earthwork. Internal components may Mother and a Sky
As in England, the Ohio Valley include portal settings, timber circles, Father....scholars...saw that the or-
has numerous earthwork complexes post rings, stone circles, four stone set- dered stones of Stonehenge could con-
that are best described as henges, tings, monoliths, standing post, pits, stitute an open-sky temple implicitly

18
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

Overhead view of Stonehenge's “concen-

tric circles and the U-settings that ap-
pear to represent the womb of the Earth
Mother while the trilithon arch in the
outer circle is her vulva.”
dedicated to the worship of the Earth
Mother. This is because the monument
is heavy with feminine symbolism.
Above all, the concentric circles and the
U-settings appear to represent the
womb of the Earth Mother, while the
trilithon arc in the outer circle is her
vulva.”

The henge complex in Anderson, Indiana, is similar to Stonhenge in that the central
mound within the largest henge acted as a heelstone to align with the adjoining
earthworks at the winter solstice sunrise. Additional clues that this earthwork com-
plex was dedicated to the birth of the Sun god on December 22 is the panduriform
earthwork “H” that is symbolic of the vesica pisca, which was also interpretated as
the vulva of the Earth Mother. At the bottom of the bluff, the entrance to a cave is
still visible that was symbolic of the Earth Mother's womb, along with springs which
are high in iron oxides that have dyed the surrounding rocks a deep red color - rep-
resentative of the menses of the Earth Mother.
Heelstone at Stonehenge that is aligned the circular head of the serpent are and his mother-wife, Semiramis,
with the earthen gate of the henge on the identical. Avebury has been compared founded the Pagan religions. From the
summer solstice sunrise. with the Ankh, the Egyptian symbol of tower of Babel, sun worship and the

F
inney goes on to correctly de- life. Two stone circles are located worship of gods and goddesses spread
scribe the alignment of the mon- within the circular henge at Avebury, throughout the world.
ument's axis such that during while Portsmouth contains two horse- The most basic shapes used to
the summer solstice, the rays of the ris- shoe-shaped earthworks. The symbol invoke these gods were the circle and
ing sun (i.e., the Father) penetrate the of the horseshoe is believed to be the the square. The circle is seen as repre-
middle of the arch, which is the womb survivor of an ancient religious symbol senting the everlasting, having neither
of the Earth Mother. The rays of the often seen in Assyrian and Egyptian beginning nor end, and is symbolic of
penetrating sun would “illuminate the sculptures signifying the mystical door the Sun, or the male principle. The
internal Goddess Stone with its radiant of life. Within the ruins of the Allegewi square represents the Earth Mother,
energy....This constituted a dramatic and Hopewell Sioux are found geomet- the four winds and the cardinal points.
spectacle in which the actual Marriage ric shapes with symbolism that origi- The circle and square are com-
and Consummation of the Gods was nated from Babylon, Egypt, and the bined in many of the earthworks and is
witnessed.” Levant. The symbols are too numerous evidence that these temples were dedi-
Even to the casual observer, to mention but include horseshoes, ser- cated to the annual mating of the God
the similarities of the Portsmouth, Ohio, pentine shapes, and swastikas, to name of the Sky and Goddess of the Earth.
works and those at Avebury are obvi- a few. It is written in the Bible that The annual rituals dedicated to the
ous. The sacred vias culminating with shortly after the Noachian flood, Nimrod mating of the God and Goddess guar-

19
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
ing reality behind all things. All things
were linked through number and could
be manifested through number.”
Gardner continues, “The com-
bination of the square and circle repre-
sents the fusion of heaven and earth,
and 'squaring the circle' is regarded as
the pinnacle of the sacred geometer's
art. This means producing a circle
overlaying a square, such that either
the circumference of the circle equals
the perimeter of the square, or the area
of the circle equals that of the square.”
The Sacred Marriage, or The
Holy Union of Opposites, is the origin of
the symbolism within the earthworks in
Avebury henge with stone circles and avenues in the form of a serpent (Stuckeley, the British Isles and in the Ohio Valley.
1740). Avebury is England's largest henge with a diameter of 1250 feet. The serpent The understanding of the religion of the
is a common eastern Mediterranean symbol for the sun and is also symbolic of the Earth Mother and the Sky Father is es-
female, or Earth Mother. The Phoenicians adored the animal as beneficent genius,
with superior power and wisdom. It is worth noting that the largest henge in the sential in understanding the mounds
Ohio Valley, located in Newark, measures 1250 feet in diameter and is aligned to and earthworks in both the henges in
the May 1st sunrise that is associated with the Earth Mother. Britain (such as Stonehenge and Ave-
anteed their future success, their bury) and in the Ohio Valley.
and definition of space. It is the Uni-

A
safety, and the fertility of the people. nd so, here is the first day of
versal framework whereby the spiritual
The concept of the Sacred Mar- school where the earthworks in
manifests into the material. Spaces
riage of the Gods was a belief that was the Ohio Valley have an origin
constructed using principles of sacred
widespread throughout the ancient that will forever change how we view
geometry act as a bridge between the
world and was most evident in the them. Unbelievably, these views do not,
worlds, and sacred geometric forms
earthworks in Britain and in the Ohio in fact, contradict current archaeologi-
naturally produce dowsable energy
Valley. In A Sacred Geometry Prime, cal theories. This is because traditional
fields.
Graham Gardner states that “Sacred archaeological methods have destroyed
“In ancient times it was be-
Geometry deals with our perception hundreds—if not thousands—of
lieved that numbers were the underly-
mounds and earthworks, and connec-
tions and understandings of these an-
cient people are literally nonexistent
until now. Not only this, current ar-
chaeological theories fail to correctly in-
terpret the lineage of the Adena
(Allegewi) people. Over ten years of re-
search leading to the creation of two
books, The Nephilim Chronicles series:
Fallen Angels in the Ohio Valley and A
Travel Guide to the Ancient Ruins in the
Ohio Valley, reveals the existence of
hundreds of earthworks, mounds, and
henges in addition to hundreds of
skeletal remains and archaeological
finds that clearly link the Adena people
to those who built numerous henges in
Britain (including the famous Stone-
henge and Avebury henges), who also
have origins in the Biblical Levant and
the Amorite giants. Yet current archae-
ologists have absolutely no answers
Earthwork complex at Portsmouth, Ohio, with sacred vias extending over 20 miles. about who the Adena (Allegewi) were,
It is the same design at Avebury, with its serpentine form that drapes over a central where they came from, or where they
complex and culminates at the head in a solar symbol. Like Stonhenge, the U-set- went; nor do they have a clear under-
tings appear to represent the womb of the Earth Mother.

20
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

The Circleville, Ohio, earthwork, consisting of a circle and a square, was constructed
to venerate the Sky God and the Earth Goddess. The alignment of the earthwork
was to the winter solstice sunset and to the summer solstice sunrise. The square is
symbolic of the four winds, the cardinal points and the Earth Mother. The eight
mounds within the square are symbolic of both creation and reincarnation. The
circle is the sun, with a bird effigy symbolic of the Earth Mother.
standing of the origins of their beliefs: works. This will enhance your experi-
Sacred Marriage, or The Holy Union of ence in visiting these earthwork sites The Nephilim Chroncles:
Opposites, of the Earth Mother and of tenfold. For 222 mound and earthwork
A Travel Guide to the
the Sky Father. sites in Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia,
With this, you are prepared to Kentucky and Michigan, you will need
Ancient Ruins in the
explore the ruins in the Ohio Valley, un- Volume II of the Nephilim Chronicles
Ohio Valley
derstanding what the earthworks were entitled The Nephilim Chronicles: A (volume II)
constructed for and the meanings Travel Guide to the Ancient Ruins in the

V
within the symbolism of the shapes, Ohio Valley.  olume II provides the seri-
lengths, and alignments of the earth- ous reader with exact loca-
tions of mounds and
earthworks found in the Ohio Val-
ley region. The reader can take a
self-guided tour of never-before
discovered mounds and earth-
works throughout the entire Ohio
Valley. For those seeking to honor
the burial sites of the ancestors of
Native American Indians – Sioux,
Cherokee, Allegewi (Hopewell) – or
those simply wishing to see for
themselves. Includes photo-
graphs and geographical markers
for ease of location. Softcover,
10x8, 298 pages, $19.95 + $3.00
s&h. 
Ancient American Bookstore
P.O. Box 370, Colfax, WI 54730
877-494-0044

Hopeton Earthworks in Chillicothe, Ohio, with a square and circle both encompass-
ing 20 acres, representing the fusion of Heaven and Earth.

21
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

Burial Mounds of the Illinois

or Upper Mississippi District
Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1883-84, pages 24-44

T
his district, as heretofore stated, in-
cludes eastern Iowa, northeastern
Missouri, and northern Illinois as
far south as the mouth of the Illinois
River.
Although we are justified in con-
cluding that this area was occupied dur-
ing the mound-building age by tribes
different from those residing in the Wis-
consin district, the distinguishing charac-
teristics are more apparent in the forms of FIG. 7.- Section of burial mound, Davenport, Iowa. [From the Proceedings of the Daven-
the works than in the modes of burial and port Academy of Sciences, Vol. I, pp. 118-122]
internal construction of the burial
mounds. the vertical section shown in Fig. 7. Here other. There were also a few bones lean-
We shall see by the illustrations there were no layers of shells, but two dis- ing against the heap at one side. The
hereafter given that at least one of the tinct layers of stones. At the depth of 5 stones were partly burned to lime, and all
types found in one district is common in feet, eight skulls (five are only shown in of them showed more or less marks of fire,
the other. But this is to be expected and the figure) with some fragments of bones while the bones in the mound showed not
is readily explained by the supposition were unearthed. These were lying in a the slightest trace of it.”
that the tribes which have occupied these semicircle of 5-feet diameter, each sur- Four or five feet south of the
regions moved back and forth, thus one rounded by a circle of small stones (shown stone heap was a large quantity of human
after another coming upon the same area. at “a” in the figure.) From the position of bones in complete confusion. The relics
The absence of evidence of such move- the skulls and bones, it was evident these were broken pots, arrowheads, a stone
ments would indicate that the mound- bodies had been buried in a sitting pos- pipe, etc.
building period was of comparatively short ture. The articles found accompanying Nos. 7, 8, and 9 were similar to
duration, a theory which I believe has not the skeletons were two copper axes, two No. 1, varying only in minor details.
been adopted by any authority, but to small hemispheres of copper and one of My object in noticing the con-
which I shall have occasion again to refer. silver, a bear’s tooth, and an arrowhead. struction of so many mounds in a single
One class of the burial mounds of No. 3, though the largest of the group and the modes of burial in them is
this district is well represented in a group group, was apparently unstratified, the to call attention to the differences in detail
explored by the members of the Davenport original burial consisting of the bones of where there can be no doubt that they
Academy of Natural Sciences on the Cook two adults and one infant at the original were built by one tribe and probably by
farm near Davenport, Iowa. The mounds surface of the ground under a thin layer one clan, as the size of the group indicates
of this group are situated on the immedi- of ashes and surrounded by a single circle a comparatively limited population. In
ate bank of the Mississippi at a height not of small red stones. With these were these nine mounds we notice the following
exceeding 8 to 12 feet above high-water found copper axes, copper beads, two differences: Some are stratified, others
mark. They are conical in form and of carved stone pipes [one in the form of a not; in some the skeletons are placed hor-
comparatively small size, varying in height groundhog], animal teeth, etc. Near the izontally on the ground, in others they are
from 3 to 8 feet. Nine of them were surface of the mound were two well-pre- in a sitting posture, while in others they
opened, of which we notice the following: served skeletons, with evidences of an are dismembered and in confused heaps.
In No. 1, the layers from above down were, “oakwood” covering over them and accom- In some there are altar-like structures of
first, a foot of earth; then a layer of stones panied by glass beads, a fire steel, clay stone which are wanting in others. [I wish
1 1/2 feet thick; then a layer of shells 2 pipe, and silver earring, evidentially an in- it distinctly understood that I do not, by
inches thick; next a foot of earth, and trusive burial. the use of this term, commit myself to the
lastly, a second layer of shells 4 inches No. 4 was found similar in con- theory that these mounds or any others
thick. struction and in all other respects to No. contain altars in the true sense of the
Immediately under this, at the 3, except that at the feet of the skeletons term, as I very much doubt it.] In some the
depth of 5 feet, were found five skeletons was a round heap of stones 3 feet high, skeletons are covered with a hard clay or
stretched horizontally on the original sur- neatly laid up, and that in the earth where mortar coating which is wanting in most
face of the ground parallel to each other, the skeletons lay could be distinctly seen of them. Lastly, we see, in one or two, ev-
three with heads toward the east and two traces of cloth or some woven material in idences of the use of fire in the burial cer-
with heads west. With them were found which they had probably been enveloped. emonies, though not found in the others.
one sea shell (Busycon perversum), two No. 5 was similar to No. 2, except In some respects these mounds
copper axes to which fragments of cloth in skeletons [probably two] were in a con- remind us of some of the stratified tumuli
were attached, one copper awl, an arrow- fused heap at the bottom under a 6-inch of Wisconsin, especially those opened by
head, and two stone pipes, one represent- layer of hard clay [probably similar to Colonel Norris in Sheboygan County, to
ing a frog. what Colonel Norris calls “mortar”]. Near which they bear a strong resemblance.
Mound No. 2, though similar in these, but outside of the clay layer, was a In the latter part of 1882, Colonel
form and external appearance to the pre- stone heap similar to that in No. 4. “On Norris examined a group of works in Alla-
ceding, presented a quite different this lay two very strong thigh bones and makee County, Iowa, which presents
arrangement internally, as is evident from three ribs placed diagonally across each some peculiarities worthy of notice in this

22
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
connection. high, composed mainly of yellowish brown graves, if such they could be called, were
This group, consisting of enclo- clay obtained, in part at least, from the stone chips, shells, charcoal, and ashes.
sures, lines of small mounds, and excava- ditch. But during occupancy the accumu- He was surprised at this, as he
tions, is situated on the farm of Mr. H.P. lation of countless bones of animals used supposed the mounds alone were used as
Lane about 7 miles above New Albin. It is as food, stone chips, river shells, broken depositories of the dead and was at first
on a bluff in one of the numerous bends pottery, and dirt, and, since abandon- disposed to attribute these burials to a
of the Little Iowa River, the character of ment, the accumulation of sand drifted by people who had occupied the ground long
the locality indicating that it was selected the winds from the crumbling sandstone subsequent to the authors of the works.
as one easily defended. I shall at present butte overlooking it have not only filled the Possibly this may be the correct solution,
only notice those particulars which seem ditch but elevated the wall and whole in- but if so, they were certainly the same as
to have some bearing on the character of terior area 2 feet or more. This accumu- those who buried the mounds of this
the burial mounds and the modes of in- lation of sand is so great and so uniform group, as no difference in the contents
ternment. over the plateau that fifteen years of culti- and internal arrangement would be ob-
Although there are no effigy vation have not sufficed to reach the clay served. In both cases there was a com-
mounds in the group, the relative posi- of the original surface nor to unearth or pact layer of hard, light-colored earth,
tions and forms of the tumuli and other even penetrate to the bones, pottery frag- having the appearance of lime mortar,
particulars to be noticed leave no doubt in ments, and other refuse matter covering possibly clay and ashes mixed together,
my mind that the works, in part, are to be the original surface in the circle. which had been subject to the action of
attributed to the people who built the fig- Trenches cut across the wall at fire. As the burials in these sterile spots
ure mounds of Wisconsin. But, as will be various points indicate, first, a layer of were seldom more than 18 inches deep,
seen from the particulars mentioned, sand about 1 foot thick. Immediately the only layer above them consisted of
there is conclusive evidence that the local- below this an accumulation of refuse mat- sand from the butte, while the mounds
ity has been occupied at different times by ter forming a layer from 1 to 2 feet thick, were uniformly covered with a layer of
at least two distinct tribes or peoples, dif- under which was the original clay em- richer soil, although below this and cover-
fering widely in habits and customs. bankment 2 feet thick, resting on the nat- ing the skeletons was a layer of hard,
The largest work is an enclosure ural surface of the ground. A section of light-colored earth.
shown on an enlarged scale in Plate II. It the ditch embankment and excavation is Skeletons and bones were found
is situated on the margin of a bluff over- shown in Plate II. The dotted line “a, b” in great abundance in the mounds and
looking the Little Iowa and an intervening indicates the natural surface, No. 1 the under the surface of the plateau, though
bog-bayou, probably the former channel original clay layer of the wall, No. 2 the none were discovered in the circle or
of the river. It is almost exactly circular, layer of earth and refuse material with nearer than 200 yards of it. They were
the curve being broken on the east side which the ditch is filled, and No. 3 the top sometimes mingled promiscuously with
where it touches the brink of the bluff, layer of sand. charcoal and ashes, but were usually in
being here made to conform to the line of In No. 2 were found charcoal, whole skeletons lying horizontally, though
the latter, though probably never thrown ashes, fragments of pottery, fractured some were in a sitting posture. They were
up to the same height as the other por- bones, etc. within from 1 to 3 feet of the surface with-
tion. A broad belt of the inner area on out any apparent system, except that they
The ends at the southeast over- the east side was explored, and the same were always covered with a layer of hard
lap each other for a short distance, leaving conditions were found to exist here as earth.
at this point an entrance way, the only were revealed by the trenches across the A trench cut through the long
one to the enclosure. A ditch runs round wall and ditch, except that here the shells mound of this group, revealed near the
on the inside from the entrance on the were more abundant in layer No. 2, and center an oblong pile of sandstones, be-
south to where the wall strikes the bluff there were many burnt stones. neath which was found a rude stone coffin
on the north, but is wanting along the On the southeastern portion of formed by first placing flat sandstone
bluff and overlapping portion. The north the plateau are six nearly parallel lines of slabs on the natural surface of the
and south diameter, measuring from out- mounds running northeast and south- ground, then other slabs at the sides and
side to outside, is 277 feet; from east to west, mostly circular in form, varying from ends, and a covering of similar stones,
west is 235 feet. The entire outer circum- 15 to 40 feet in diameter and from 2 to 6 thus forming a cist or coffin about 6 feet
ference is 807 feet, the length of the por- feet in height. A few, as indicated in the long and 18 inches wide. Within this, ex-
tion along the bluff 100 feet, and of the figure, are oblong, varying in length from tended at full length with the head west
overlapping portion at the entrance is 45 50 to 100 feet. The number in the group was the skeleton of an adult, but too
feet. The wall is quite uniform in size, exceeds one hundred. much decayed for preservation. With it

W
about 4 feet high and from 25 to 27 (feet) hile engaged in excavating these were some stone chips, rude stone scrap-
in width, except along the bluff where it is mounds, Colonel Norris observed ers, a Unio shell, and some fragments of
scarcely apparent. The entrance is 16 feet a number of patches on the level pottery similar to those dug up in the cir-
wide, and the ditch 5 to 6 feet wide and 3 are quite destitute of vegetation. The cular enclosure.
feet deep. On the north, adjoining the wall owner of the land, who was present, could The mounds on the sand butte,
on the outside and extending along it for give no explanation of this phenomenon, something over 100 feet high, were
about 100 feet, is an excavation (C, Plate simply remarking that they have always opened and found to be in every respect
II) 35 feet wide at the widest point and 3 been so, never having produced a good similar to those already mentioned, show-
feet deep. crop of anything, although there was no ing them to be the work of the same peo-
As this ground, including the cir- apparent difference between the soil of ple who built the others.
cle, has been under cultivation for fifteen these spots and the surface around them. The three mounds in the square
years, it would be supposed the height of As some of these extended across the area enclosures were also opened, with the fol-
the wall is considerably less than it origi- occupied by the mound group, he con- lowing results:
nally was, but this is probably a mistake. cluded to explore them and was surprised The largest, oval in form, 30 feet
On the contrary, it was originally probably to find them to be burying places; and long, about 20 feet broad and 4 feet high,
20 feet wide and not more than 3 feet scattered here and there among the was found to consist of a top layer of loose

23
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
sand 1 foot thick, the remainder of hard arrow and spear heads were found and closures for protection. By no other sup-
yellowish clay. In the latter were found these so crude as scarcely to deserve the position can we account for the fact that
several flat sandstone fragments and be- name. A single true-chipped celt, three the refuse layer which covers the interior
neath them on the original surface of the sandstones with mortar-shaped cavities, of the circle also spreads in equal depth
ground a much decayed skeleton with and a few mullers or stones used for over the ditch and clay remains of the en-
which were a few stone chips, Unio shells, grinding were obtained; also, some frag- closing wall, as those who left this refuse
and fragments of pottery. ments of deer horn, evidently cut round layer could have made no possible use of
The second in size, 18 feet in di- by some crude implement and then bro- the wall as a defensive work for which the
ameter and 3 feet high, although covered ken off, and several horn and bone position chosen and other particulars
with a layer of sand, was mainly a loose punches and awls, one barbed and an- show it was designed.
cairn of sandstones, covering traces of other with a hole through the larger end. The form of this enclosure, as we
human bones, charcoal, and ashes. The The object in view in presenting have before intimated, seems to connect it
third was found to be similar to the sec- these details is to give the reader an op- with some one of the Indian tribes. Its age
ond, but in this case the pile of stones was portunity of judging for himself in refer- is uncertain, but the accumulation of re-
heaped over a mass of charred human ence to some inferences drawn from fuse matter and sand since the abandon-
bones, mingled with which were charcoal, them. ment by the first occupants indicates
ashes, and fragments of pottery. The form of the circular enclo- considerable antiquity.
Fragments of pottery were found sure reminds us at the first glance of the Although we cannot say posi-
in abundance in the circle, in the palisade enclosures figured by De Bry, tively that the second occupants were the
mounds, in the washouts, and in fact at which according to Lafitau, was the form builders of the mounds, as the investiga-
almost every point in the area covered by usually adopted by the Indian tribes who tion was not as thorough as it should have
the group. Judging by the fragments, for were accustomed to erect such struc- been, still I think we may assume, with al-
not a single entire vessel was obtained, tures. We have here the almost exact cir- most absolute certainty, that such was
the prevailing forms were the ordinary cle, save where interrupted by the margin the fact. The mounds in the square work
earthen pots with ears and a flask or of the bluff, the overlapping of the ends, present considerable differences from
gourd-shaped vase with a rather broad and the narrow entranceway. We have those in the group and are probably the
and short neck, often furnished with a lid. here also the clay with which it was the work of those who built the enclosures.
The paste on which this pottery was made custom, at least in the southern section, The stone grave in the oblong
had evidently been mixed with pounded to plaster the palisades or which was cast mound indicates the presence of individ-
shells. The only ornamentation observed against their bases as a means of sup- uals of a more southern tribe at this place
consisted in the varied forms given the porting or bracing them at the bottom, a during its second occupancy. The posi-
handles or ears and indentations and custom not entirely unknown among the tion of the cist in the mound would seem
scratched lines. northern tribes in former times. to forbid the idea of an intrusive burial;
Nearly all the implements found The indications are therefore otherwise I should certainly suppose such
were of stone, exceedingly rude, being lit- very strong that this enclosure was origi- to be the fact. I cannot, in the present
tle else than stone flakes with one sharp nally a palisade which had been in part paper, enter into a discussion of the ques-
edge, many of them having been re-sharp- plastered with clay or against which clay tion “to what tribe or people are the box-
ened and used as knives, scrapers, and had been heaped to assist in rendering it form stone grave to be attributed,” but will
skinners. Some had been worked into firm and secure, and, if so, then it is prob- state my conviction to be, after a some-
moderately fair perforators or drills for able it was built by Indians. what careful study of the question, that

B
making holes in horn, bone, and shell e this supposition right or wrong, they are to be ascribed to the Shawnees,
specimens of these with such holes hav- the evidence is conclusive that the Delawares, and Kickapoos.
ing been found here. area on which this group is situ- Without further discussion of
The immense quantity of charred ated has been the abode of at least two this group, which, as before intimated,
and fractured bones, not only of fish, tribes or peoples: first, it was occupied by presents, so far as the mounds are con-
birds, and the smaller quadrupeds such the authors of the enclosures, whose stay cerned, some features which appear to
as the rabbit and the fox, but also of the was probably not very protracted, and ally the latter to one class of burial
bear, wolf, elk, deer, and buffalo, shows after they had abandoned the locality or mounds found in Wisconsin, we will now
that the occupants of this place lived been driven from it by a second tribe, ev- refer to some other works of this district
chiefly by the chase and hence must have idently comparatively numerous, that explored by the Bureau assistants.
used the bow and arrow and spear. Yet, made it for a long time a dwelling place, a On the land owned by Mr. Fish in
strange to say, although careful search tribe differing in customs from its prede- Iowa, near the Mississippi River a short
was made for them, less than a dozen cessor and one that did not rely upon en- distance below where the Little Iowa joins
it, is a group of mounds placed on the
crest of a ridge running parallel with the
former stream about one-fourth of a mile
therefrom. There are in all about thirty of
these mounds, circular in form and vary-
ing from 20 to 40 feet in diameter. These
are all burial mounds, but one singular
feature observed is that those on the
higher sandy ground, although about the
same size and having cores of clay similar
to those on the firm clay portion of the
ridge, have a layer of sand, some two feet
or more added to them. Yet, when opened,
the contents and mode of construction of
Fig. 8. Section of mound showing stone vault (Iowa) the two classes were found to be the same,

24
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
to wit, a layer of hard clay covering decay- upon the question, the following facts re-
ing human bones, fragments of pottery, lating to another similar group at Eagle
and rude stone implements. There were Point, three miles above Dubuque, are
generally two or more skeletons in a given.
mound, which were placed horizontally This group, which is situated on
side by side on the natural surface of the a bluff about 50 feet above high-water
ground. mark, consists of about seventy mounds, Black Hawks

U
pon the terrace below the group all of which, except two oblong ones, are Grave
were found the remnants of a row small and conical in form. Eleven of these
of comparatively large burial circular tumuli were thoroughly explored,
mounds. A railroad line having been car- but nothing was found in them except
ried along here, the larger portion of these some charcoal, stone chips, and frag-
works were destroyed. Still, enough re- ments of pottery. But in an excavation
mained to show that the height varied made in the center of a long mound just
from 6 to 15 feet, they were composed west of the group were found two decayed
chiefly of sandy loam similar to that skeletons. Near the breast of one of them
around them, and each had a hard central was a blue stone gorget and five rude
core of clay mixed with ashes, usually cov- stone scrapers; with the other, thirty-one
ering but a single skeleton. The relics fresh-water pearls, perforated and used
found in them when opened consisted as beads. Excavations were made in an
chiefly of stone axes, arrow and spear oblong and circular mound near the ex-
heads, and a few copper celts. In one, treme point of the bluffs. Each was found
which was 32 feet in diameter and 8 feet to have a central core of very hard clay
high and less injured than the others, was mixed with ashes, so hard in fact that it
a circular vault, walled as represented in could only be broken up with the pick,
Fig. 8. This was built of flat, unworked when it crumbled like dry lime mortar
stones laid up without mortar, gradually and was found to be traversed throughout
lessening as it ascended, and covered at with flattened horizontal cavities.
the top by a single flat stone. In it was a These cavities were lined with a
single skeleton in a squatting posture, peculiar felt-like substance, which
with which was a small earthen vase of Colonel Norris, who opened the mounds, Fig. 9. Plat of Indian burying ground,
globular form. was satisfied from all the indications per- Wapello County, Iowa
A singular fact was observed in a tained to bodies which had been buried eye-witness, I give them as related to the
group near the town of Peru, Dubuque here, but from lapse of time had entirely Bureau assistant.
County. This group is situated on a dry, crumbled to earth save these little frag- The locality is a level plat in a
sandy bench or terrace some 20 feet or ments. We are therefore perhaps justified bend of the Des Moines River between
more above a bayou which makes out in concluding that a more thorough and Eldon and Iowaville, Wapello County. The
from the Mississippi. It consists chiefly of careful examination of the mounds of the plat of this area and the sites of the burial
small circular tumuli, but at the north other group would have shown that the places, as shown in Fig. 9, are based
end are four oblong mounds varying in skeletons had so far decayed as to leave upon the statements of Mr. J. H. Jordan
length from 40 to 110 feet and in height but a small part in a mound. Neverthe- (the person referred to), who has resided
from 1 1/2 to 4 feet. There is also an ex- less, it is proper to state that Colonel Nor- here since the close of the Black Hawk
cavation about 30 feet in diameter and 6 ris does not coincide with this conclusion, War and was the agent of the Sacs and
feet deep, and scattered throughout the but thinks that the dismembered skele- Foxes from their removal hither after the
group are a number of circular earthen tons were buried as found. Possibly he is war until Black Hawk’s death, September
rings varying in diameter from 12 to 30 correct. 15, 1838.*
feet and from 1 to 2 feet in height. In this connection, and before re- *According to Drake, Indians of North
Quite a number of the circular ferring to the mounds of this district on America, he died October 3, 1838.
mounds were opened, but only detached the Illinois side of the Mississippi, I desire The extreme width of the area
portions of a skeleton were found in any to call attention to some modern Indian represented is about 2 miles. Close to the
one, as a skull in one and a leg, arm, or burials in this region. As the statements point of the bend formerly stood the
other part in another, four or five adjacent here made are from one claiming to be an agency building, near which is the pres-
ones apparently together containing the
equivalents of an entire skeleton. Some of
these bones were charred, and all were
much decayed, indicating by their appear-
ance great age. The inner portion of the
mounds consisted of hard, compact earth,
chiefly clay, resembling in this respect
most of the burial mounds of this region.
Unfortunately, the examination
of this group was too partial and too
hastily made to enable us to form any the-
ory as to the meaning of this singular
mode of burial or even to be satisfied that
the idea of our assistant in this regard is
correct.
As possibly having some bearing Fig. 10 Section of mound 4, East Dubuque, Illinois

25
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
ent residence of Mr. Jordan. The triangle
marks the position of Black Hawk’s grave;
the parallel lines, the race tracks; the
rings in the upper corner, the mounds of
Plate III
the Iowas; those in the lower corner, near Figure 15
Iowaville, the mounds of the Pot- 10.
tawatomies; and the open dots near the
same point, the place where the scaffolds
for their dead stood. Mr. Jordan says:
“This valley had long been a fa- 9.
mous haunt for the warring Indians, but
was, at the time of my first personal ac-
quaintance with it, in possession of the
8. 11.
Iowas, whose main village was around the
point where my present residence now 7.
stands. The race course consisted of
three hard-beaten parallel tracks nearly a 6.
mile in length, where the greater portion
4. 12.
of the Iowa warriors were engaged in sport
when Black Hawk surprised and slaugh- 5.
tered a great portion of them in 1830.
After Black Hawk and his warriors had
departed with their plunder, the remain-
ing Iowas returned and buried their dead
3.
in little mounds of sod and earth from 2
to 4 feet high at the point indicated on the 1. 2.
diagram.
“After the Black Hawk War was
over, the remnant of the Iowas, by treaty,
formally ceded their rights in this valley to 17.
the Sacs and Foxes. At this place this a. 13. 15.
noted chief was buried, in accordance
14. a.
with his dying request, in a full military
suit given him by President Jackson, to-
16.
gether with the various memorials re-
ceived by him from the whites and the
trophies won from the Indians. He was
placed on his back on a ‘puncheon’ [split
slab of wood], slanting at a low angle to
the ground, where his feet were sustained 18. 20. 22. 24.
by another, and then covered with several 19. 21. 23. 25. 26.
inches of sod. Over this was placed a roof-
shaped covering of slabs or ‘puncheons,’
one end being higher than the other; over
this was thrown a covering of earth and
sod to the depth of a foot or more, and
whole surrounded by a line of pickets
some 8 or 10 feet high.”
Here we have evidence that some
at least of the Indians of this region were
accustomed to bury their dead in mounds
down to a recent date.

O
ne of the most important burial
mounds opened in this district by
the employees of the Bureau is sit- Plate III Figure 16:
uated on the bluff which overhangs East
Dubuque (formerly Dunleith), Jo Davies Vertical Section on dotted line a---a.
County, Illinois. As I shall have occasion
to refer to others than the one mentioned,
I give in Plate III, Fig. 15, a plan of the
group, and in Fig. 16, same plate, a verti-
cal section of the bluff along the line of
mounds numbered 13,14, 15, 16, and 17,
in which is seen the general slope of the
upper area.
The mounds of this group are
conical in form, varying from 12 to 70 feet
Bureau of Ethnology; Fifth Annual Report, Plate III; Group of Mounds
in diameter and from 3 to 12 in height. All
and Vertical Section of Bluff, East DuBuque, IL.

26
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
appear to have been built for burial pur-
poses.
In No. 5, the largest of the group,
measuring 70 feet in diameter and 12 feet
in height, a skeleton, apparently an intru-
sive burial, was found at the depth of 2
feet immediately below the apex. Near the
original surface of the ground, several feet
north of the center, were the much de-
cayed skeletons of some six or eight indi-
viduals of every size from the infant to the
adult. They were placed horizontally at
full length with the heads towards the
south. A few perforated Unio shells and
some rude stone skinners and scrapers
were found with them.

N
ear the original surface, some 10 or
12 feet from the center, on the
lower side was discovered, lying at
full length on its back, an unusually large
skeleton, the length being something over
7 feet. It was all distinctly traceable,
though it crumbled to pieces immediately
(Top) Fig. 11 Section of mound 16 (Pl. III) showing vault
after removal from the hard earth in which
it was encased. With it were three thin, (Bottom) Fig. 12, Plan of vault, mound 16 (Pl. III)
crescent-shaped pieces of roughly ham- other and prevent pressure on the body, hard as to retain its form unsupported
mered native copper, respectively 6, 8, but no traces of fire were on them. Yet, over a space of several feet. This covered
and 10 inches in length with some small when the upper portions of the body were a confused heap of human bones, many
holes along the convex margin, also a reached, they were found so burned and of which were badly decayed.
number of elongate copper beads made by charred as to be scarcely traceable amid The marked feature of the group
rolling together thin sheets and a chert the charcoal and ashes that surrounded was found in No. 16, a remarkably sym-
lance head 11 inches long. The latter was them. metrical mound 65 feet in diameter and
placed near the left thigh. Around the It was apparent that a grave had 10 feet high. After passing downward 6
neck were the remains of a necklace of first been dug, then the right arm had feet, mostly through a hard gray layer, a
bear’s teeth. Lying across the thighs were been dislocated and placed by the side of vault partly of timber and partly of stone
dozens of small copper beads, evidently the skeleton below the waist and this part was reached. A vertical section of the
formed by rolling slender wire-like strips covered with stones as described and the mound and vault is shown in Fig. 11 and
into small rings. The assistant who remainder burned by a fire kindled over it. the ground plan of the vault in Fig. 12.
opened this mound, and who is personally A section of the mound showing This vault or crypt was found to
well acquainted with Indian habits and the grave and stone drain is given in Fig. be rectangular in form, inside measure-
customs, suggests that these beads once 10, in which 1 is the outline of the mound ments showing it to be 13 feet long and 7
formed the ornamentation of the fringe of on the hill slope; 2, the pit; and 3, the feet wide surrounded by a sandstone wall
a hunting shirt. stones of the drain. 3 feet high. Three feet from each end was
As No. 4 of this group presents No. 13 was found to contain a a cross wall or partition of like character,
some peculiarities, I take the description circle or enclosure, 10 feet in diameter, of thus forming a main central chamber 7
from Colonel Norris’s notes: stone slabs set on edge at the natural sur- feet square and a narrow chamber of cell
During a visit to this locality in face of the ground. Within this circle, but at each end something over 2 feet wide
1857, he partially opened this mound, some 2 feet below the surface, were five and 7 feet long. The whole had been com-
finding masses of burned earth and skeletons—two adults, two children, and pletely covered with a layer of logs from 6
charred human bones mingled with char- one infant. They were all lying horizon- to 12 inches in diameter, their ends reach-
coal and ashes. At his visit in 1882, on tally, side by side, with heads south, the ing slightly beyond the side walls in the
behalf of the Bureau, a further examina- adults at the outside and the children be- manner shown in Fig. 12.
tion revealed, on the lower side, the end of tween them. In the center chamber were
a double line of flat stones set on edge We are reminded by the mode of found eleven skeletons: six adults and five
about a foot apart at the bottom and burial in this case of that in the mound children of different ages, including one
leaned so as to meet at the top and form a opened by Dr. Lapham at Waukesha, Wis- infant, the latter evidently buried in the
roof shaped flue or drain. Following this consin, before referred to. In that, the re- arms of one of the adults, possibly its
up, he found that it extended inward mains of a single individual were mother. Apparently they had all been
nearly on a level almost to the center of discovered, but in this it would seem that buried at one time, arranged in a circle in
the mound, at which point it was nearly 3 the skeletons of an entire family, gathered a squatting or sitting posture against the
feet below the original surface of the from their temporary resting places, had walls. In the center of the space around
ground. Here a skeleton was discovered been carefully buried side by side, a silent which they were grouped was a fine spec-
stretched horizontally in a vault or grave testimonial to parental love and affection imen of Busycon Perversum, which had
which had been dug in the ground before of friends among the mound builders. been converted into a drinking cup by re-
the mound was cast up. No. 1, 6 feet high and 45 feet in moving the columella. Here were also nu-
Over that portion below the waist diameter, was found to be an ossuary. merous fragments of pottery.
(including the right arm) were placed flat Beneath the top layer was an arched stra- The end cells, walled off from the
stones so arranged as to support one an- tum of clay and ashes mixed, so firm and main portion as heretofore stated, were

27
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
well as the coverings were of logs instead
of stone, but the adaptation to circum-
stances may perhaps form a sufficient ex-
planation of this difference. While there
are several very marked distinctions be-
Fig. 13 tween the Ohio works and those of the
district now under consideration, there
are also some resemblances, as we shall
see as we proceed, which cannot be over-
looked and which seem to indicate rela-
tionship, contact, or intercourse between
the people who were the authors of these
different structures.

I
n additional support of this view, I call
attention to the carved pipes found by
members of the Davenport Academy of
Natural Sciences in the mound near Dav-
enport, Iowa, already referred to, which
are represented on Plates IV and XXXIV of
Fig. 14 Fig. 15 Vol. I of the proceedings of that society,
and to others obtained by Judge J.G. Hen-
derson from some mounds near Naples,
Illinois, and described by the Smithsonian
Report for 1882. The latter are shown in
Figs. 13, 14, and 15. The relation of these
to the pipes found in the Ohio works by
Squier and Davis (Ancient Monuments, p.
Fig. 13 Pipe from Illinois mound (After Smithsonian Report) 162) is too apparent to be attributed to ac-
Fig 14. Pipe from Illinois mound, 1/2 (After Smithsonian Report) cident and forces us to the conclusion
fig. 15. Pipe from Illinois mound, 1/2 (After Smithsonian Report) that there was intercourse of some kind
This style of pipe is known as “platform effigy pipes which are only crafted between the two peoples and hence that
by the Hopewell people.” Ancient Monuments,” page 162. the works of the two localities are rela-
tively of the same age.
found nearly filled with a very fine choco- by one tribe, we have here additional evi- The mode of burial in one of the
late-colored dust, which gave out such a dence that the same people were accus- mounds near Naples is so suggestive in
sickening odor that the workmen were tomed to bury their dead in various ways. this connection that I quote here Judge
compelled to stop operations for the day Some of the skeletons are found lying hor- Henderson’s description:
in order to allow it to escape. izontally side by side, others are placed in The oval mound No. 1 was ex-
The covering of the vault was of a circle in a sitting or squatting posture, plored in April, 1881, by beginning a
oak logs, most of which had been peeled while in another mound we find the dis- trench at the north end and carrying it to
and some of the larger ones somewhat membered bones heaped in a confused the original surface and through to the
squared by slabbing off the sides; and the mass. In one place is a single huge frame south end. Lateral trenches were opened
slabs and bark thus removed, together decked with the ornaments of savage life, at intervals, and from these and the main
with the reeds or large grass stems, had while in other places we see the members one a complete exploration was made by
been laid over them. Over the whole was of a family lying side by side, and in others tunneling.
spread layer after layer of mortar contain- the bones, possibly of the ordinary people, Near the center of the mound, a
ing lime, each succeeding layer harder heaped together in a common ossuary. single skeleton was found in a sitting po-
and thicker than that which preceded it, The timber-covered vault in sition, and no objects were about it except
a foot or so of ordinary soil completing the mound No. 16 calls to mind very vividly a single seashell resting on the earth just
mound. the similar vaults mentioned by Squier over the head and a number of the bone
As there can be scarcely a doubt and Davis, found in the valley of the awls, already described, sticking in the
that the mounds of this group were built Scioto in Ohio. In the latter, the walls as sand around the skeleton. The individual
had been seared upon the sand, these
awls stuck around him in a circle 4 or 5
inches in the sand, and work of carrying
dirt begun.
When the mound had been ele-
vated about 6 inches above the head, the
shell was laid on and the work continued.
The shell alluded to is a fine
specimen of Busycon perversum, with the
columella removed in order to form a
drinking cup.
The particular point to which I
call attention is this: In Plate XI, Part II of
De Bry, [Top right of page 29], which is re-
produced in the annexed Plate IV, is rep-
Fig. 16 Group of mounds, Brown County, Illinois resented a very small mound, on the top

28
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
of which is a large shell and about the
base a circle of arrows sticking in the
ground. The artist, Le Moyne de Morgues,
remarks in reference to it, “Sometimes the
deceased king of this province is buried
with great solemnity, and his great cup
from which he was accustomed to drink is
placed on a tumulus with many arrows
set about it.” The tumulus in this case is
evidently very small and, as remarked by
Dr. Brinton [American Antiquarian, Octo-
ber, 1881, p. 14], “scarcely rises to the
dignity of a mound.” Yet it will correspond
in size with what the Naples mound was
when the shell was placed upon it. Never-
theless, the latter, when completed,
formed an oval tumulus 132 feet long, 98
feet wide, and 10 feet high.
It is therefore quite probable that
Le Moyne figures the mound at the time it Bureau of Ethnology; Fifth Annual Report, Plate IV; A mound from De Bry.
reached the point where the shell cup was
southern mounds, thus confirming the groups of three to ten or more. They are
to be deposited, when, in all likelihood,
impression given by their form. It is prob- usually placed along the crest of a ridge,
certain ceremonies were to be observed
able that these mark the point of the ex- but when in the bottoms or on a level bluff
and a pause in the work occurred.
treme northern extension of the southern they are in direct lines or gentle curves.
Whether this suggestion is correct or not,
mound-building tribes. A colony, proba- They are vey numerous, being found in al-
the cut and the statement of Judge Hen-
bly from the numerous and strong tribe most every bottom and on nearly every
derson furnish some evidence in regard to
located on the Cahokia Creek around the bluff. They are usually circular and from
the presence of these articles in the
giant Monk’s mound, pushed its way thus 2 to 12 feet high and are composed wholly
mounds and point to the people by whom
far and formed a settlement, but, after of earth, wholly of stone, or of the two
they were placed there.
contending for a time with the hostile combined. Where stone was used, the

C
olonel Norris opened a number of
tribes which pressed upon it from the plan seems to have been first to pave the
the ordinary small burial mounds
north, was compelled to return towards natural surface with flat stones in one or
on the bluffs and higher grounds of
the south. two thicknesses for a foundation. In one
Pike and Brown Counties, Illinois, which
Passing to the northeastern por- case the stones were thrown together in-
were found to be constructed in the usual
tion of Missouri, which as heretofore discriminately. Human remains are al-
method of this district; that is, with a layer
stated we include in the North Mississippi most invariably found in them. The bones
of hard, mortar-like substance, or clay
or Illinois district, we find a material are generally very much decayed, though
and ashes mixed, covering the skeletons.
change in the character of the burial each bone is found almost entire except
The positions of the skeletons varied, as
mounds, so marked, in fact, that it is very those of the head. This seems to have al-
we have seen is the case in other locali-
doubtful whether they should be em- ways rested on a stone and to have been
ties. The number of intrusive burials was
braced in the district named. Although covered by one or more stones so that it is
unusually large here. In a number of
differing in minor particulars, the custom always found in a crushed condition. In
cases where there were intrusive burials
of inclosing the remains of the dead in rare instances stone implements, pipes,
near the surface, no bones, or but the
some kind of receptacle of stone, over etc., are found in the mounds. The re-
slightest fragments of the bones of the
which was heaped the earth forming the mains found in tumuli wholly of stone are
original burial, could be found, although
mound, appears to have prevailed very much more decayed than in those of
there were sure indications that the
generally. mixed material.
mounds were built and had apparently
The region has been but partially One opened by the writers of the
been used for this purpose. These
explored, yet it is probable the following article is described by them as follows:
mounds also present evidence of the in-
examples will furnish illustrations of most On the south side of it, the bed
trusion of an element from one people into
of the types to be found in it. stone had been formed into a shallow
the country of another. On the farm of
From an article by Messrs. Hardy trough. On removing the flat stones
Mr. Edward Welch, Brown County, Illi-
and Scheetz in the Smithsonian Report for which covered this and which showed no
nois, is the group of mounds in Fig. 16.
1881, pages 533-536, we learn the follow- action of fire, we found a bed of charcoal
This consists of conical and pyramidal
ing particulars regarding burial mounds several inches thick, both animal and veg-
mounds, and the smaller earthen rings
of Ralls County: etable, and the limestone which composed
designated house sites. The form of the
Occasionally an isolated one is it was burned completely through. Some
larger mounds is shown in Fig. 17. Al-
found, but almost invariably they are in fragments of a human femur were found
though standing on a bluff some 200 feet
above the river bottom, it is evident at the
first glance that these works belong to the
southern type and were built by the peo-
ple who erected those of the Cahokia
group or farther south. No opportunity
was allowed to investigate the burial
mounds or the house sites, but slight ex-
plorations made in the larger mounds suf-
ficed to reveal the fire beds so common in Fig. 17. forms of larger mounds of the group shown in Fig. 16

29
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
a plastic state when placed there, as it
In section 24, township 55, range
had run into and filled up the interstices.
7, is a small hill, known as “Wilson’s
Above this was a foot or more of yellowish
N Knob.” Its crest, which is about 120 feet
earth, similar to that forming the ridge. In
long, is completely covered with stone to
the coffin was the skeleton of an adult,
the depth of several feet, the pile being
lying horizontally on the back but too far
abut 20 feet wide. Examination brought
gone to decay to admit of removal. No
to light the fact that this was originally a
specimens of art of any kind were found
row of stone mounds or burial vaults, nine
with it.
in number, circular in form, each from
No. 4, a trifle smaller than No. 3,
eight to nine feet in diameter (inner meas-
was opened by running a trench from the
ure) and contiguous to one another.
eastern margin. For a distance of 15 or
Judging from appearance, it would seem
16 feet nothing was encountered except
that each had been of a conical or dome-
the earth, with which it appeared to be
like form. They were composed wholly of
covered to the depth of 2 feet. Here was
stone, and the remains found in them
found a layer of rough stones covering a
were almost wholly decomposed.
mass of charcoal and ashes with bones
On another ridge the same par-
intermixed. In fact, the indication leaves
ties found another row with four stone
the impression that one or more persons
mounds similar to those described, except
(or their bones) had been burned in a fire
that the cists were square instead of cir-
on the natural surface of the earth near
cular, the sides of the latter being equal to
the center of the mound, the coals and
the diameter of the former. In these only
brands of which were then covered with
small fragments of bone could be found.
rough stones thrown in without any sys-
Although Messrs. Hardy and
tem to the depth of 3 feet, over a space 10
Scheetz evidently considered these stone
or 12 feet in diameter, and then covered
structures as receptacles for the dead and
with earth. Only fragments of charred
erected for this purpose, yet it is possible
human bones, pieces of rude pottery, and
they may have been intended for some
stone chips were found commingled with
other use.
the charcoal and ashes.

T
he mounds of Pike County are
Another group on the farm of Mr.
chiefly of mixed material similar to
J.N. Boulware, near the line between
those mentioned in the Smithsonian
Clarke and Lewis counties, was examined
Report 1881, p. 537, though some of them
by the same party. This group, which is
contain rectangular stone vaults. One of
situated on a bench or terrace from 20 or
these vaults, measuring 4 by 5 feet, was
40 feet above the Mississippi bottoms,
found to contain the remains of eight
consists of some 55 or 60 ordinary circu-
skeletons. Another, a regular box-shaped
lar mounds of comparatively small size.
cist of stone slabs, contained nothing save
In one of these, 45 feet in diame-
a few cranial bones very much decayed.
ter and 5 feet high, was found near the
Another of large size contained human re-
top the fragments of a human skeleton
mains with which were some arrow heads,
much decayed and broken pottery, encir-
a vessel of clay, and a carved steatite pipe,
cled by a row of flat stones set up edge-
having upon its front a figure head.
wise and covered with others of a similar
I have given these particulars in
character. Below these was a layer of very
order to show how closely they agree with
hard light-covered earth, mixed through-
the discoveries made by the bureau assis-
out with fragments of charred human
tant in this region, from whose notes I
bones and pottery, charcoal, and stone
take the following description:
chips.
Between Fox River and Sugar
Another, about 60 feet in diame-
Creek, in Clarke County, a sharp dividing
ter, was found to consist (except the top
ridge about 100 feet high extends in a
layer of soil about 1 foot thick) of hard,
northerly direction for nearly two miles
dried “mortar” (apparently clay and ashes
Fig. 18 Group of mounds, from where these streams enter upon the
mixed) in which fragments of charred
Clarke County, Missouri. open bottom of the Mississippi. Scattered
human bones, small round pieces of pot-
in a calcined state. There were no indica- irregularly along the crest of this ridge is
tery, and stone scrapers were mingled
tions of fire elsewhere in the mound, but a line of circular mounds shown in Fig.
with charcoal and ashes.
there were the partial remains of several 18. Tressa range in size from 15 to 50 feet
“As all the mounds opened here,” re-
skeletons, lying in two layers with stone in diameter and from 2 to 6 feet high and
marks the assistant, “presented this
and earth between them. are circular in form. In No. 3, counting
somewhat singular feature, I made a very
In another examined by them, from the southern end of the line, diame-
careful examination of this mortar-like
fragments of human bones were found so ter 35 feet and height 5 feet, situated in
substance. I found that there were differ-
near the surface as to be reached by the the central portion was found a stone cof-
ences between different portions of the
plow, but deeper on the north sides were fin or cist 7 feet long and 2 feet wide,
same mound sufficiently marked to trace
single skeletons laid at length east and formed of slabs of sandstone in the usual
the separate masses. This would indicate
west and between them a mass of bones manner. This was covered first with sim-
that the mounds were built by successive
confused as though thrown in indiscrimi- ilar slabs and then the whole incased in a
deposits of mortar thus mixed with
nately. The diameter of this mound was layer of rougher stones. Over this was a
charred bones and not in strata but in
about 3 feet, height 2 1/2 feet. layer of hard earth, which was evidently in
masses.” 

30
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

Europe’s Glozel Tablets,

Proof Cave Men Were Literate?
by William D. Conner

B
ack in 1924, European profes- I based this statement in part surface objects had been moved or de-
sional archaeologists were very upon the work of an establishment sci- stroyed. In the day of cave dwellers,
upset by the discovery of the entist, Alexander Marshack of Harvard then, there must have been permanent
Glozel tablets, an archaeological treasure University. Marshack made a discovery indicators to mark the location of such
trove someone claimed to have found by he believed proved Ice Age man could “alphabet pits.”
accident. Readers, does a report of such use numbers and had even developed a A teenage farmhand, Emile
an accidental discovery seem familiar? lunar calendar. As I reported in Science Fradin, found the Glozel artifacts in 1924
On this occasion, however, no one fell Scene in March of 1972, Marshack of the while he was plowing a field. According
like Alice into a rabbit hole that led to a Peabody Museum of Archaeology and to the web site “Glozel: the fraud of find
cave filled with a wonderland of artifacts. Ethnology discovered what he called a of the 20th century?” by Phillip Coppens,
Instead, the Glozel controversy began in “pocket calendar” inscribed on a bone Emile was not overly impressed with the
France when a farm boy’s plow simply found in a cave in southwestern France. tablets he found and thought they were
dug up a few clay tablets inscribed with This piece of bone, known as the merely relics of Roman times in France.
strange symbols. Things got compli- “Blanchard Bone,” fits easily into the Indeed, some of the letters on
cated, however, when it soon became ev- hand and has 69 marks Marshack be- the Glozel tablets are quite similar to
ident there were more, many, many more lieved recorded the passage of lunar those handed down to us by the Ro-
of these in this field than just the first months. This bone was found in the mans. Symbols similar to the modern
few uncovered. heart of the Cro-Magnon (Ice Age man) upper case W, I, T, C, Y, L, H, U and
This article is based in part on cave painting region in 1911 by French lower case e, m, u and z were all found
my speech to the 2009 Symposium of the archeologist Louis Didon in a cave near on the clay tablets of Glozel. The tablets
Midwestern Epigraphic Society in West- the village of Les Eyzies, might not have become famous if no
erville, Ohio, and a column I wrote for the Glozel is only 100 miles away more than only the first few were found.
Springfield (Ohio) Daily News published from the center of this cave painting re- A surgeon and amateur archae-
on April 2, 1975. My weekly column was gion. Artifacts and paintings left behind ologist from the nearby city of Vichy, Dr.
entitled Science Scene and the headline in these caves by the prehistoric Cro- A. Morlet, however, became interested.
for this one was “Ice Age Relics May Magnons were protected from the ele- He began excavations in the Glozel area
Upset Archeological Assumptions.” I ments. Cro-Magnon man flourished all with the help of Emile. Together they
began writing the weekly column in Jan- over Western Europe during the Ice Age, uncovered some 5,000 prehistoric relics.
uary 1969. That is when science really but the caves of southwestern France In addition to more of the inscribed
became an “in” thing in America. Our preserved the best collection of artifacts tablets, they also found a large assort-
Apollo astronauts were poised to land on attributed to them. ment of artifacts clearly attributable to
the moon. Our national goal was to beat These Ice Age people, at least in Ice Age man.
the Russians there, and we did. the Glozel area, were apparently much Morlet announced the discover-
Back in 1969, Ohio State hosted more intelligent than the old archetypical ies the two made to the world, but found
a seminar about science writing in “Alley Oop” newspaper comic strip cave to his dismay that European prehistori-
Springfield that I attended with one of dwellers were. The Glozel tablets seem ans preferred to denounce the tablets as
our editors. It was suggested that our to be evidence that the Cro-Magnons of “fraudulent” without ever visiting the ex-
paper begin running a weekly science the nearby cave region at least used, if cavation sites near Glozel or even exam-
column, and I was selected to do the col- indeed they did not invent, the forerun- ining the tablets.
umn which I entitled “Science Scene.” ner of the Roman alphabet. The letters My friend George Wagner of Ft.
The column ran until 1977 when I left of the Glozel tablets seem to be pic- Thomas, Kentucky, in his article “Evi-
the newspaper and joined the public re- tographs representing an entire word, dence for a Prehistoric Alphabet” in the
lations staff of Bell Laboratories at its rather than a set of symbols used to form April 1975 issue of Fate Magazine told
headquarters in Murray Hill, New Jersey. words. Later, in the evolution of writing, the full story of the Glozel tablets and
During my Springfield years, I often the pictographs themselves evolved into other prehistoric inscriptions which may
wrote columns about archaeology and letters to represent the different sounds be related to them. George and I, of
evidence of pre-Columbian Old World used in spoken words. Did the cave peo- course, both were authors of articles in
contact with Western Hemisphere. ple use such Glozel tablets to teach their Fate Magazine, and we corresponded
Now to quote my lead paragraph young how to read and write with pic- while I resided in Springfield and worked
on Glozel, “A dusty skeleton has long tographs? If so, why did they bury the as a reporter and science columnist for
been hidden in a dark closet corner of es- tablets so far away from their caves? the newspaper there. We first met at a
tablishment archeology. It may now be Was Marshack’s Blanchard science fiction convention in the 1970s
about to be thrust into the light of day, Bone such a portable alphabet? Did the in Cincinnati, just across the Ohio River
where it is sure to create some embar- cave dwellers use portable artifacts to from Ft. Thomas.
rassment for these authorities. This teach their young how to write? Were According to orthodox archae-
skeleton consists of certain evidence the tablets carried between cave ogy, writing originated some 6,000 years
about man’s prehistoric past, which does dwellings as messages? An early form of ago in the Middle East. If the Glozel
not mesh with accepted theories. And what we of today call “snail mail”? Al- tablets are authentic, however, they
that’s because it tends to prove that Ice phabetic artifacts buried in a prehistoric could push back the origin of writing to
Age man, living some 10,000 years ago, meadow or woodland would have been more than 10,000 years ago. Now get-
could read, write and use numbers.” difficult to relocate once any identifying ting back to Marshack, he believed his

31
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
Blanchard Bone is more than 30,000
THE NEPHILIM
The Kensington years old. If Ice Age man could compile
a lunar calendar, is it beyond the realm CHRONICLES;
Rune Stone of possibility he also had an alphabet, or
at least the immediate forerunner of an
alphabet?
FALLEN ANGELS IN
by Richard Nielsen As for the location of the cache THE OHIO VALLEY
and Scott F. Wolter of inscribed tablets in a field in France far
from the caves, it occurs to me that the
BY FRITZ ZIMMERMAN

T
cave men didn’t just hang around their he giant offspring of this union be-
caves both winter and summer, but
tween the sons of God and the daugh-
roamed far away from them and lived in
temporary villages in the summer closer
ters of men were called the Nephilim.
to their sources of food and game. This book takes the leap from mythology
The reason for the burial of the to science to discover that the Nephilim
clay tablets is not clear, but I think it is were the last vestiges of the Cro-
possible the tablets were buried when the Magnon species; who were known for
cave dwellers left the fields and forests their gigantic height. Followers of the
for their winter quarters in the caves. Sun god, Og and the Earth Mother
When returning to their warm weather Havahh, they spread from the Biblical
village sites, the buried tablets, retrieved Lands to the British Isles and the Ohio
from their winter storage pits, could then
Valley. Their open-air earthen and stone
be placed back into use for the cave
dwellers’ summer school. Using buried
temples and burial mounds, containing
pits to store things goes back very far the remains of giants have stood the tes-
into human history. tament of time; leaving an indelible mark
As a boy, I worked part time for upon our soil. Herein are the historical
a neighborhood greenhouse in my home- accounts of over 300 giant skeletons that
town, Chillicothe, Ohio. The two men have been discovered within burial
who owned and operated the greenhouse mounds and subsurface tombs; revealing
and farmed the surrounding acres, the new insights of the peopling of North
Betsch brothers, would dig a pit, line it America. 

H
ow often does one find a book with straw, and bury potatoes, sweet po-
which combines history, anthro- tatoes, and cabbages in it. Then during PAGE COUNT: 348
pology, geology, mystery, mod- the winter, they would periodically dig up TRIM SIZE: 8" X 10"
ern analytical method, and human some of the root crops to eat. It seems COLOR: BLACK AND WHITE
emotion in a manner worth of the best quite logical to me that cave dwellers
fiction? Let there be no mistake, this
RELATED CATEGORIES:
would use pits for winter storage at their
excellent publication presents a fasci- HISTORY / NORTH AMERICA
summer campsites, and this is why so
nating and compelling account of a many alphabetical clay tablets were LIST PRICE: $24.95, $3.50 S&H
Rune stone found in a rural area of buried. Obviously, clues had to exist on ORDER FROM A.A. BOOKSTORE
Minnesota in 1898. The stone is be- the surface for the storage pits to be 877-494-0044
lieved by many to be a record from 1362 found by the cave dwellers when these
left by a Norse expedition, and this ac- were reopened for “school.”
count presents every credible evidence The story of Glozel is told in a
supporting this belief. The stone record web site “Glozel: the fraud or find of the
was left by visitors to Minnesota three 20th Century?” The author of the site is
centuries before other Europeans began Philip Coppens. The web site also men-
to settle this continent. Read this ac- tions that a book Bones of Contention,
count and enjoy the mystery, the inves- written by Alice Gerard, is available on
tigation, and the revelation. You will Amazon.com. Unfortunately, the web
not be disappointed.  site appears in very small type.
This is surprising to me since
space on the web is so cheap and in some
The Kensington cases, such as blogs on Goggle, is free.
Rune Stone However, three times as much copy
paper, or more, would be necessary if, for
ISBN 1-58175-562-7 instance, Coppens had posted it on the
Softcover, 10x7, web in 12-point type. Coppens is listed
generously illustrated, on the web with an address in Scotland.
574 pages, My guess is that the Glozel arti-
$29.95 plus $3.00 S&H facts are genuine and represent a time in
history when literacy was limited to a
small percentage of the population of Eu-
Ancient American Bookstore rope. Widespread literary didn’t even be-
P.O. Box 370 come necessary or possible there until
Colfax, WI 54730 the printing press and paper machine
877-494-0044 were invented in Europe in the 15th Cen-
tury. 

32
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
Imagining Mexico: Documents Reveal Early Explorers’
First Impressions–and Mixed Messages
by Kate Nelson, Marketing Manager, New Mexico History Museum
Santa Fe (Sept. 8, 2010) A 1769 map by Antonio Alzate of

I
n 1519, Hernán Cortés and a small Mexico was one of the earliest to use the
group of Spanish soldiers made first names Texas and California (though it
contact with the Aztecs. The stories shows the latter as an island). An 1803
they sent back to Europe detailing the map by Alexander von Humboldt of Ger-
wealth and sophistication of the Aztec em- many shows the route of El Camino Real
pire astonished their countrymen and fed from Mexico City to Santa Fe.
300 years of efforts to write and re-write Four images from Lienzo de Tlax-
the story of the Mexican Conquest. cala. Originally painted on a large linen
From Oct. 1, 2010, through Jan. sheet in 1550, the Lienzo tells the story of
23, 2011, the History Museum’s Triangle the conquest from the point of view of the
Gallery will present “Imagining Mexico: Tlaxcalans, native Mexicans whose al-
From the Aztec Empire to Colonial New liance with Cortés was perhaps the decid-
Spain,” an original exhibit featuring Photo above:Images of the Aztec Templo ing factor in his victory over Moctezuma II
books, prints, and maps from the Fray Mayor are included in the exhibit Imagin- and the Aztec Empire. Besides the four
Angélico Chávez History Library’s John ing Mexico. The main shrine in the capital images, the complete Lienzo de Tlaxcala
Bourne Collection of Meso-Americana, the of Tenochtitlan, the Templo Mayor’s size Codex will be presented digitally in the ex-
and appearance was forgotten soon after
Rare Books Collection, and the Map Col- the last battles of the conquest in 1521. hibit.
lection. Created mainly for people who Some of the images show it with twin The first book about the Aztec
would never cross the Atlantic but live staircases and shrines; others imagine a Calendar Stone. Buried about 1550 by
their adventures vicariously, the works vast platform with staircases around its order of the Archbishop of Mexico, the
formed perceptions, fictitious at times, of base – a veritable Tower of Babel. The stone was rediscovered in 1790 in Mexico
the land of Cortés, Moctezuma, amazing variance between the images epitomizes City. A proposal to turn it into a cathedral
the range of interpretations about the con-
temples, and important battles. quest and Pre-Columbian Mexico. Photo by step to symbolize the triumph of Christi-
“Beginning shortly after the fall of Blair Clark, NM Department of Cultural Af- anity over the pagan Aztecs was rejected
the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, the story fairs. after authorities became convinced it was
of the Conquest of Mexico has been told an astronomical and mathematical device
and retold countless times in both word worthy of preservation. It was, in fact, a
and image,” said Khristaan D. Villela, sacrificial altar commissioned by
scholar-in-residence at the museum and Moctezuma II and remains the best-
a curator of Imagining Mexico. “Each ver- known Native American artwork of the pe-
sion built upon and elaborated those be- riod. The exhibit also presents the first
fore, resulting in a range of imaginations engraving of the sculpture, made by a
of the Conquest and ancient Mexico that Mexican artist best-known for his images
are reflections and sometimes refrac- of the Virgin Mary and Catholic saints.
tions.” “These are amazing books with
The players in the conquest and even more amazing prints and fold-out
European colonization of Mexico had di- maps hidden between their covers show-
rect ties to what would later be called New ing Spain’s—and by extension Europe’s—
Mexico. Juan de Oñate married a woman understanding of the new world,” said
who was Cortés’ granddaughter and the CORTES, HERNANDO Tomas Jaehn, director of the Chávez His-
great-granddaughter of Moctezuma II, the Engraving by W. Holl, published by tory Library.
Aztec emperor. Cortés’ most steadfast al- Charles Knight. "From a Picture in the Flo- “What I enjoy most with these old
lies, the Tlaxcalans, are reputed to have rence Gallery. Under the Superintendence books is their wonderfully diverse bind-
accompanied the first colonizers of New of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful ings and marbling papers,” said Tom
Mexico as mercenaries who settled near Knowledge." Location: Biographical File Leech, curator of the Palace Press. “These
Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-33515
the San Miguel church in the Barrio of books are such important examples of
Analco. (In Nahuatl, Analco means “near Among the items on display: printing and binding history.”
the water.”) Images of the Aztec Templo Mayor. The Part of Imagining Mexico’s run
New Mexico’s history parallels main shrine in the capital of Tenochtitlan, coincides with another History Museum
Mexico’s in its cycles of conquest and col- the Templo Mayor’s size and appearance exhibit, “Threads of Memory: Spain and
onization. Descendents of both Native was forgotten soon after the last battles of the United States,” featuring nearly 140
peoples and colonizers continue to inhabit the conquest in 1521. Some of the images rare documents, maps, prints, and paint-
both places in large numbers, and we do show it with twin staircases and shrines; ings on loan from Spain from Oct. 17 to
not agree on our history. The books, others imagine a vast platform with stair- Jan. 9, 2011. Taken together, the exhibits
prints, and maps in this exhibition show cases around its base, a veritable Tower of portray how European explorers and
that history is in flux, and that one gener- Babel. The variance between the images colonists interpreted what they found
ation’s image of the Aztecs was, in the epitomizes the range of interpretations here. 
next, deemed inaccurate and fanciful. about the conquest and Pre-Columbian Kate Nelson Marketing Manager
Mexico. kate.nelson@state.nm.us

33
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

Waterways Map Stone

Reveals Ancient Travel Routes
and Mother Tongue
by Lee Pennington

This map stone from Russell Burrows discovery site was given to Wayne May by Russell Burrows in Cheyenne, Wyoming, 2009.

O
ne of the largest of several exist- of incised information is on the front north, are the Black River, the Ohio
ing Burrows Cave map stones side of the stone, a few symbols were River, the Illinois River, and probably
(this one in the possession of adroitly carved on the backside. With- the Wisconsin River. On the north side
Wayne May, publisher of Ancient Amer- out careful inspection, one can easily of the Ohio River, the Wabash River and
ican Magazine) presents an intricate miss the human-made marks on the either the Scioto River at Portsmouth or
view of the Mississippi River watershed backside as they blend in extremely well the Muskingum River at Marietta are
from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great with the natural marks on the stone. In shown—more than likely the Scioto.
Lakes—with markings indicating ex- fact, so blended in are these human- South of the Ohio River are shown the
tended exploration along the Tennessee made marks, it appears the map maker Tennessee River, the Kanawha River,
River and the Ohio River and, in one in- intended them to be camouflaged. and the Monongahela River at the very
stance, exploration overland to Lake Except for two short parallel end.
Michigan. grooves (more on this symbol later) on Two things stand out concern-
Roughly in the triangle-like the backside, all the other artificial ing the Great Lakes region of the map.
shape of Easter Island, the stone meas- marks are dots. Since there are no in- First, the Great Lakes, along with the
ures 7" by 12" and weighs approxi- cised lines suggesting landscape or wa- St. Lawrence River, are shown as a sin-
mately 4 1/2 pounds. Grooved lines terways, the dots likely represent star gle body of water. Not to make too much
indicate rivers and lakes, a series of constellations. Three dots in a row close of it, but Lake Superior, Lake Michigan,
dots represent travel routes, and panels together probably represent the belt of and Lake Huron were one body of water
contain symbols and ancient writing. Orion. until about 100 BCE when isostatic re-
The outer edges of the stone have been From the Gulf area up the Mis- bound raised the land and separated
altered either to change the shape of the sissippi River, one river is indicated to the lakes. Second, Isle Royale is clearly
stone or to express some symbolic in- the west and four rivers indicated to the indicated on the map in the northern
formation. (Seven grooves are cut on the east. The river to the west appears to section of Lake Superior. The one-body-
bottom side, and three grooves are cut be the Missouri River and the four of-water depiction can certainly be of-
on the top side.) Although the majority rivers to the east, in order from south to fered as supporting evidence for the age

34
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
of the map. Likewise, the showing of Isle of roughly 532 miles. That averages out tongue would maintain elements from
Royale (a geographic spot not well to around 30 miles travel per day. That that mother tongue and, at the same
known by the general public, but a perhaps sounds excessive, especially for time, develop entirely new elements of
place highly important BCE) tilts the someone walking along primitive trails. its own.
scales of the debate toward authenticity It should be remembered, however, the Along these lines, researchers
of the map. German army marched 100 kilometers would do well to examine thoroughly
Certain marks suggest that the (approximately 60 miles) a day during the works of Welsh historians, Alan Wil-
starting point of the map, thus the be- their invasion of Russia during World son and Baram Blackett, especially
ginning point for the explorers, proba- War II, and the Russian army moving their books The King Arthur Conspiracy,
bly is the Gulf of Mexico rather than the from east to west Russia had to travel Moses in the Hieroglyphs, and The Tro-
St. Lawrence Seaway. For example, the even farther per day, this while carrying jan War of 650 BC. Wilson and Blackett
dots, which I think represent time travel full military gear. [Note: Another map argue convincingly that the mother
measurements, begin at the Gulf and stone in the possession of John White tongue of all those languages men-
emanate north along what represents depicts mainly the Great Lakes area but tioned above is coelbren, the alphabet
the Mississippi River, east along the also somewhat less detailed the area to of the ancient Khumry. Coelbren has
Ohio River, and south along the Ten- the south. Compared to the 18 dots on been widely discredited as the invention
nessee River. Each dot perhaps indi- the Wayne May map stone, the John of Edward Williams [better known as
cates the average distance one could White map stone shows 21 dots. On the Iolo Morganwg], who is said to have cre-
expect to travel in one day or some White map stone, the dots start at a ated the alphabet in the early 19th Cen-
other designated time period. point south beside a horseshoe or igloo- tury. Most scholars still accept that
Strangely, although there is a like image and run north to Lake pronouncement, along with the convic-
clearly marked gulf at the bottom of the Huron. The strings of dots on both map tion that Williams is a proven forger—
map with the Mississippi River empty- stones appear to represent the same all this in spite of manuscripts written
ing into it, there is no indication of Lake overland trail.] in coelbren centuries before Williams'

I
Pontchartrain. Perhaps that might be n addition to the dots on the map lifetime are extant and copies of some of
expected if the base camp of the map stone, there are seven panels con- his so-called forged manuscripts have
maker explorers were located at the taining ancient writing on the front turned up and found to pre-date a time
Gulf area rather than at the St. side. One panel, however, appears to before he was even born.
Lawrence area and map makers were have been scratched in during more re- One may ask, "What does all
merely attempting to show distances to cent times—the depth being much more this discussion have to do with this
and from their camp. For that purpose, shallow and the patina totally missing. map stone?" I mention these things as
just indicating the Gulf would be suffi- The fresh- looking inscription might be they may prove extremely important
cient. It should, however, be pointed out an older inscription recently scratched while I point out some interesting con-
that Lake Pontchartrain was formed out, but I think that not likely because nections between this map stone and
sometime between 600 and 2000 of the lack of depth on the newer-look- some other so-called "forged" inscribed
BCE—again more supporting evidence ing inscription. I'm guessing that some- stones—specifically the Grave Creek
for the antiquity of the map stone. one, fairly recently, scratched this mark Stone, the Bat Creek Stone, and the Los
This map clearly is not one here as a specific test for patina. The Lunas Stone. All these stones have
that shows various landmarks (as is the fresh inscription appears to have been something in common other than being
case on some other Burrows Cave map scratched in with a pin head. Clearly, proclaimed frauds. They share some
stones; see, for example, Bill and Mari- all of the incisions on the stone were common ancient alphabetical letters.
lyn Kreisle, "In Search of Hard Evi- done with a metal instrument probably For example, the map stone re-
dence," Ancient American Magazine, made of iron. peats two incised small parallel lines,
Issue XI, September/October, 1994). The seven panels contain from five times on the front side and one time
Instead, this map stone is more con- 3 to 11 letters or numbers. The inscrip- (the set mentioned earlier) on the back-
cerned with the waterways and approx- tions, all taken together, appear to in- side. Although they were overlooked for
imate distances (via dots measuring clude letters borrowed from many years as part of the inscription on
time units) between various points. Paleo-Hebrew, Phoenician, Etruscan, the Bat Creek Stone, an identical set of
There are 42 dots from the Greek, old British, etc. This "mixture" parallel lines also occurs there. Accord-
mouth of the Ohio River to what is ap- of letters on Burrows Cave artifacts has ing to Alan Wilson, these two short lines
parently present-day Pittsburg—a dis- caused several researchers simply to represent the Khumric word dwy,
tance of 981 miles—indicating average throw up their hands and declare, "ob- which means “the ruler.” The Bat Creek
travel of a little over 23 miles per day. vious fraud done by amateur forgers Stone and this map stone also have at
Canoe people suggest it is possible to who just fling together a hodgepodge of least two other letters in common.
travel 15 miles per day paddling up- ancient letters and symbols from differ- The map stone also shares let-
stream and more than 30 miles per day ent cultures to form meaningless ters with the Grave Creek Stone (at
traveling downstream. Interestingly, the groupings." If, however, all these alpha- least five letters), and the Los Lunas
average of traveling both ways, with and bets come from a mother tongue, and if Stone [at least seven letters]. The Los
against the river current, comes out to the mother tongue (rather than any one Lunas Stone was long thought to be
an average of 22.5 miles per day. of the recognized groups) is what is some made up, contrived alphabet until
Some 18 dots run overland being used, we would expect nothing the discovery of the Tel Dan Stele in
from the north side of the Ohio River at less than a mixture—especially if one is 1993-94 in northern Israel by a team of
the mouth of the Tennessee River to the not familiar with the mother tongue. scholars and workers led by Israeli ar-
west shore of Lake Huron—a distance Any language coming from the mother chaeologist Avraham Biran. The lan-

35
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
guage on the Tel Dan Stele, now confi-
dently dated to around 800 to 900 BCE, Ancient Birds from
is virtually identical with that on the
Los Lunas Stone. Several letters (at North America
least seven) on the Tel Dan Stele are
also identical with those on the map Colonised the South
stone. by Brian Tilston Smith &

A
nother inscribed stone (one not John Klicka/Wiley Blackwell
so much considered a forgery as
it is mainly just ignored) that Studying the earliest migrations of humanity is not normally the task of historians.
Unlike most other periods of historical research there are no written documents, no
shares some common letters with the oral sources, and often few remaining artefacts. The study of the distant past, there-
map stone is the Brandenburg Stone. fore, necessitates the use of information that is gathered from other areas of study,
Now housed in the Charlestown, Indi- such as archaeology, anthropology, physiology, genetics, and linguistics. For example,
ana, Public Library, the Brandenburg careful consideration of archaeological sites has revealed much information about the
Stone was found in Paradise Bottoms daily life and social groupings of North America's first inhabitants. In addition, we can
postulate theories about groupings of people moving into the American continent by
near Brandenburg, Kentucky, nearly studying modern linguistic evidence. We are able to deduce the origins of the first peo-
100 years ago. Using the coelbren al- ple in the American continent by understanding physiological traits present in their
phabet, Alan Wilson translates the in- descendants, and we can establish links between groups of people by analysis of cur-
scription on the Brandenburg Stone as: rent genetic groups. Caution is necessary in the approach of this material, as special-
ists in different fields are often unable to reach a consensus when interpreting data.
"towards strength (to promote unity) di- Consequently, when considering data combined from several areas of study, a careful
vide the land we are spread over purely synthesis of the information is especially important. The strength of an argument on
[justly] between offspring in wisdom." which several disciplines agree is much greater than one which can only be supported
This map stone and other Bur- by one type of evidence, and this is why an interdisciplinary history of North America
rows Cave stones have much in com- is worth pursuing despite its difficulties. It repays us with an increased comprehension
of the societies and movements of early humans.
mon [especially from an epigraphic

S
point of view] with several other well- cientists studying ancient species mammalian counterparts. The land
documented inscribed stones in Amer- migration believe northern birds bridge was therefore crucial in facilitat-
ica. If this map stone is genuine (and had the ability to colonize conti- ing cross-continental migration.
nents that southern species lacked. The “This inter-continental migra-
I've treated my study of it accepting that
research, published in Ecography, re- tion was far from even. While within the
possibility), it can teach us much about veals how the ancient “land bridge” of tropics around the equator, exchange
the doings of yet unknown ancient ex- Panama, which first connected North was equal in both directions, between
plorers. If it's not authentic, it still can and South America, caused an uneven the temperate zones of North and South
give us some insights into a mind that species migration, leading to a new un- America it was not,” said Smith. “Avian
was able to create and represent some derstanding of species diversity today. lineages from the northern Nearctic re-
pretty fantastic scenarios. Either way, The continents of North and gions have repeatedly invaded the trop-
the study is worthwhile. South America were historically isolated ics and radiated throughout South
Certainly many, many unre- until they were abruptly joined three America. In contrast, species with
solved questions remain concerning the million years ago through the tectonic South American tropical origins remain
uplift of Central America and the forma- largely restricted to the confines of the
Burrows Cave artifacts. I am reminded
tion of a land corridor in modern day tropical regions.”
of some opening lines of an old Burt Panama, creating a land bridge. Existing studies show that in
Lancaster movie. Lancaster turns, “This connection allowed an un- mammals, 50% of modern South Amer-
stares out at the audience, and says, precedented degree of intercontinental ican species have Northern origins,
"In this movie, don't believe anything exchange between species that had whereas only 10% of species from the
you hear, only what you see." He been isolated for millions of years,” said North originated in the South. The team
pauses, then says, "On second thought, lead author Brian Tilston Smith from found that this pattern is also reflected
only believe half what you see." the University of Nevada. “However the in birds. When considering the perching
Even so, to ignore totally these relatively poor fossil record has pre- birds oscine and suboscine, the team
artifacts and to dismiss them all out of vented us from understanding how the found that, despite having northern an-
land bridge shaped New World bird cestral origins, 55% of New World os-
hand does, I think, irreparable damage
communities.” cine species now breed in South
to legitimate scholarship. Even if every Using molecular data and phy- America, many of them in tropical habi-
single stone of the existing hundreds or logenetic evidence from 11 orders, 34 tats. In contrast, only 2.4% of sub-
thousands of them is a fraud, we need families, and over 100 genera of bird oscines have secondarily adapted to
to solve the mystery as to how such a species, the team applied a “molecular North American temperate zone habi-
massive hoax, perhaps the greatest of clock” to estimate the historical timing tats.
the 20th Century, could have been ac- of the migration, giving a unique insight “Our study suggests the forma-
complished and by whom. If, however, into how the ancient history of Ameri- tion of the Panama land bridge was cru-
the stone artifacts are real, what a great can bird migration led to present-day cial for allowing cross-continental bird
loss it will be to simply yell fraud and species diversity across the equator. migration,” concluded Smith. “We be-
The results reveal that while an- lieve that the ability of species to colo-
assign them to oblivion. 
cient birds could fly, most species did nize and radiate across this area
not cross the water between the two iso- represents an important and underap-
lated continents, so were subject to the preciated factor to the distribution of
same constraints as their land-based species around the equator.” 

36
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
Four Volume Series;
“This Land”
U.S. Professor Gives Thumbs
by Wayne N. May
Up To Bosnian Pyramid Find
E
ach volume addresses parallels
between North America's
Hopewell culture and that of the
Nephites described by The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The
"This Land" series takes an archaeo-
logical approach to their commonali-
ties by comparing the story line from
the Book of Mormon to field data ac-
cumulated by Midwest archaeologists,
together with pertinent oral traditions
recounted by Native American tribal
peoples of the Great Lakes and Mis-
sissippi River valleys.
While even scholars of American
prehistory are unfamiliar with such a
comparison, its appearance in "This
Land" is not unique.
James E. Talmage, a member of the
LDS church and personal friend of a
leading antiquarian, noted in his jour-
nal for 20 May 1917:
“I had a long and profitable consulta-
tion with Professor Wm. C. Mills, the
State Archaeologist of Ohio. He is con-
tinuing his splendid work of explo-
ration in the Ohio mounds, and I went
over with him again the remarkable
agreement between his deductions
and the Book of Mormon story. Several
years ago I placed a Book of Mormon
in [his] hands . . . he is impressed by
the agreement.”  (HOUSTON, TX) A prominent archaeol- says Dr. Osmanagich.
ogist and professor at the State Univer-
sity of New York in Buffalo says he fully About Dr. Zubrow
supports an archaeological wonder that Dr. Zubrow is also Director of
has drawn controversy since its discov- the Social Systems Geographic Infor-
ery in Bosnia in 2005. mation Science Laboratory at the Uni-
Dr. Ezra Zubrow, who heads versity of Buffalo. He received a Ph.D.
the Department of Anthropology at the in Anthropology from the University of
University, has joined a growing num- Arizona. He is also an honorary Fellow
ber of supporters who are calling for a in the Department of Archaeology, Uni-
full scale research effort by interna- versity at Cambridge, and an adjunct
tional organizations to validate the ori- faculty member of the Department of
Volume ONE Volume TWO gins of the first European pyramids to Anthropology at the University of
be discovered, located in the heart of Toronto.
Bosnia in the town of Visoko. The site
consists of five colossal stone structures About Dr. Sam Semir Osmanagich
in the shape of pyramids and has an ex- Dr. Osmanagich has estab-
tensive underground tunnel network. lished a non-profit and non-government
The site has drawn interna- Archaeological Park: The Bosnian Pyra-
tional attention, thanks to the relent- mid of the Sun Foundation to pursue
less and passionate efforts of the excavation and geo-archaeological
Bosnian-born Dr. Sam Semir Osman- work. Osmanagich is owner and presi-
agich, a Texas business owner dubbed dent of the manufacturing company
Volume THREE Volume FOUR
“Indiana Jones” by his colleagues and Met Company, Inc., and Met Holding
Softcover, 6x9, heavily illustrated, media. Group, LLP, in Houston, Texas (USA).
220 to 260 pages, $21.95 each. “We were honored to have Dr, 
Add $3.00 s&h ea., $5.00 for 2 or more; Zubrow visit our site and appreciate his
Any two volumes................. $35.00 total. support of our work. After five years we More details available:
Any three volumes.............. $50.00 total. are convinced this discovery is of ut- www.bosnianpyramid.com or
All four volumes.................. $75.00 total. most importance to Bosnia, the archae- www.piramidasunca.ba/en
To Order, Call...................877-494-0044 ological community, and the world,”

37
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

Russell Burrows Responds to DECEMBER

CHRISTMAS
Accusation of Fraud SPECIALS
Concerning American Antiquities, Discoveries in the
West by J. Priest. Reprint of the 19th-cen-
the “Isis” Stone and the Cave tury classic of dramatic finds overlooked by
x $ 19.95
modern scholars. 400 pp, $24.95
Prehistoric Races of the United States

I
can do nothing but agree J. W. Foster. A reprint from 1873. Early an-
with Mr. Wolter concern- tiquarian/archaeology of the Mound Builders
focused around the Mississippi River.
ing the "Isis" stone. Re- Softcover, 415 pages, illustrated,
gardless of the fact that it
was photographed by War-
x $ 19.95
$25.95
Traditions of De-Coo-Dah by William Pid-
ren Dexter in 1987 and by geon. A reprint from 1858. Native American
Jim Scherz, at a later date. I reveals his life as an Elder in his tribe. De-
can state with complete hon- scribes earthen enclosures from Iowa to
esty that I do not recall hav- northern Wisconsin which can still be seen
ing ever seen that piece and today. Softcover, 332 pages, illustrated,
have no idea where it came x $ 19.95
$25.95
from. I have a good idea of Archaeology of Ohio, 1896, by M. C. Read.
who created it, but I won't Out-of-print since 1896, this reprint edition
get into that because I have documents the Adena and Hopewell earth-
no proof. I am not a scien- works revealing the area covered. illus-
tist, so I cannot dispute the x $ 10.95
trated, 120 pages, $16.95
findings of Mr. Wolter, with The Mound Builders, 1879, by J. P. Mc-
the exception of the compo- Clean. This reprint of the 1879 original fo-
sition of the soil found in the cuses on the Hopewell earthworks and
cuts and grooves. I believe enclosures from Ohio to West Virginia. 245
that if one were to collect a x $ 16.95
pages, illustrated, $21.95
sample of soil at several sites
in Southern Illinois, the re- No Shipping Charges!
sults would be the same
since that part of the state Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
consists of glacial deposits.
Ancient American Bookstore,
If I were the one who fabri-
P.O. Box 370, Colfax, WI 54730
cated that piece or had
Phone Orders: 877-494-0044
found it, I certainly would
Central Standard Time
have seen the cursive letter-
ing on it and would never
have permitted it out into
the public. While my mem-
ory concerning these objects
is good, I cannot be expected
to remember each and every one. One of the things I did was to hose off the mud
and dirt on these objects. Had I found that particular piece, I would have seen the
cursive writing displayed on it. To the best of my knowledge, that is the only piece
that displays anything that casts a doubt on it or the rest of the Burrows Cave arti-
facts.
The work was very careless by whoever fabricated it. Another example is on the
left thigh of the figure. There are chisel marks located there, and they can be seen
in the photographs. So, I can state here that I had nothing to do with that piece. If I
had fabricated all of theses objects and if I were as careless as the person who did
this one, there would be many, many more "mistakes" to be seen.
Mr. Wolter also made the remark concerning possible "legal" problems. At no time
did I violate state or federal statutes and/or laws. I was a certified officer in and for
the State of Illinois, and I was well versed in those laws. I knew when and where to
stop.
I think what I am seeing here is a man who has tasted fame and he wants a bigger
bite. But, he is not going to get it at my expense. Were he an archaeologist or an-
thropologist, I would be concerned, but he is a geologist specializing in concrete and
that is a long way from archaeology.
Just because there is a rotten apple in a barrel doesn't mean the entire barrel is
rotten. That is my position, and I am sticking to it. 

Russell Burrows
20 October 2010

38
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

Five Hundred Years of Injustice:

The Legacy of Fifteenth Century
Religious Prejudice
by Steve Newcomb
(Part Two of Two Parts)

U
sing the principle of "discovery" Constitution as a means of taking In-
as its premise, the Supreme dian lands and placing Indian nations
Court stated in 1831 that the under U.S. control has proven Madison
Cherokee Nation (and, by implication, and Jefferson right.
all Indian nations) was not fully sover-
eign, but "may, perhaps," be deemed a Bringing an End to
"domestic dependent nation" [Cherokee Five Hundred Years
Nation v. Georgia]. The federal govern- of Injustice to
ment took this to mean that treaties Indigenous Peoples
made with Indian nations did not rec-
ognize Indian nations as free of U.S. In a country set up to maintain
control. According to the U.S. govern- a strict separation of church and state,
ment, Indian nations were "domestic the Doctrine of Discovery should have
dependent nations" subject to the fed- long ago been declared unconstitu-
eral government's absolute legislative tional because it is based on a prejudi-
authority known in the law as "plenary cial treatment of Native American
power." Thus, the ancient doctrine of people simply because they were not
Christian discovery and its subjugation Christians at the time of European ar-
of "heathen" Indians were extended by rival. By penalizing Native people on the
the federal government into a mythical As Thomas Jefferson once basis of their non-Christian religious
doctrine that the U.S. Constitution al- beliefs and ceremonial practices, strip-
lows for governmental authority over In-
observed, when the state ping them of most of their lands and
dian nations and their lands [Savage, uses church doctrine as a most of their sovereignty, the Johnson
59-60]. v. McIntosh ruling stands as a monu-
The myth of U.S. "plenary
coercive tool, the result is mental violation of the "natural rights"
power" over Indians—a power, by the "hypocrisy and meanness." of humankind as well as the most fun-
way, that was never intended by the au- damental human rights of indigenous
thors of the Constitution [Savage, 115- ern Shoshone people have steadfastly peoples.
17]—has been used by the United refused to sell the land and refused to As we move beyond the quin-
States to: accept the money. Although the West- centennial of Columbus' invasion of the
1. Circumvent the terms of solemn ern Shoshone Nation's sovereignty and Americas, it is high time to formally re-
treaties that the U.S. entered into with territorial boundaries were clearly rec- nounce and put an end to the religious
Indian nations, despite the fact that all ognized by the federal government in prejudice that was written into U.S. law
such treaties are "supreme Law of the the 1863 Ruby Valley Treaty, the gov- by Chief Justice John Marshall.
Land, anything in the Constitution ernment now claims that paying itself Whether or not the American people,
notwithstanding." on behalf of the Western Shoshone has especially the Christian right, prove
2. Steal the homelands of Indian peo- extinguished the Western Shoshone's willing to assist Native people in getting
ples living east of the Mississippi River title to their lands. the Johnson ruling overturned will say
by removing them from their traditional The above cases are just a few a lot to the world community about just
ancestral homelands through the In- examples of how the United States Gov- how seriously the United States takes
dian Removal Act of 1835. ernment has used the Johnson v. McIn- its own foundational principles of lib-
3. Use a congressional statute, known tosh and Cherokee Nation v. Georgia erty, justice, and religious freedom.
as the General Allotment Act of 1887, to decisions to callously disregard the It is important to keep in mind
divest Indian people of some 90 million human rights of Native peoples. Indeed, that the Doctrine of Discovery is still
acres of their lands. This act, explained countless U.S. Indian policies have being used by countries throughout the
John Collier (Commissioner of Indian been based on the underlying hidden Americas to deny the rights of indige-
Affairs) was "an indirect method, peace- rationale of "Christian discovery,” a ra- nous peoples and to perpetuate colo-
fully under the forms of law, of taking tionale which holds that the "heathen" nization throughout the Western
away the land that we were determined indigenous peoples of the Americas are Hemisphere. To begin to bring that sys-
to take away but did not want to take it "subordinate to the first Christian dis- tem of colonization to an end and to
openly by breaking the treaties." coverer" or its successor [Wheaton, move away from a cultural and spiri-
4. Steal the sacred Black Hills from 271]. tual tradition of subjugation, we must
the Great Sioux nation in violation of As Thomas Jefferson once ob- overturn the doctrine at its roots.
the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie which served, when the State uses church Therefore, I propose that non-Native
recognized the Sioux Nation's exclusive doctrine as a coercive tool, the result is people, especially Christians, unite in
and absolute possession of their lands. "hypocrisy and meanness." Unfortu- solidarity with indigenous peoples of
5. Pay the Secretary of the Interior nately, the United States Supreme the Western Hemisphere to impress
$26 million for 24 million acres of West- Court's use of the ancient Christian upon Pope John Paul II how important
ern Shoshone lands because the West- Doctrine of Discovery to circumvent the it is for him to revoke, in a formal cere-

39
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

Wyoming Sword Optically Stimulate

by Diana Freeman

S
omewhere in the Mountains of
Wyoming, a sheep herder stum-
bled upon this 34 inch iron sword
Luminescence Dating
of unusual workmanship. The sword
was sent to the Smithsonian Museum
and they put a date upon it between
100 BC and 200 AD, Hopewell timeline.
How the test was conducted, we do not
know. These photos were supplied by
the discoverer and are here for our
readers to view. If anyone has any in- Breckinridge Artifact
formation concerning this artifact,
please contact Ancient American, 877- Services, LLC
494-0044, or use our email address. 
wayne@ancientamerican.com
John Wesley Powell,
supporter of
Manifest Destiny.
The myth of U.S.
"plenary power" over Indians,
a power, by the way,
that was never intended
by the authors of the
Constitution, which later be- Non destructive dating and
came known as age verification using the
“Manifest Destiny”, Infra-red Raman laser
meaning to expand the spectrograph system.
Cutting edge technology,
nations borders and take all
fast, accurate, and
in its path for the common affordable. Prepurchase
good of the country authentication, collection
not recognizing the scans, archaeological
sovereignity of the dating. Works on most
Native American Tribes. materials including
mony with indigenous people, the Inter flint and ground stone,
Cetera bulls of 1493. ceramics, gold, bronze,
Revoking those papal docu- jade and ivory.
ments and overturning the Johnson v.
McIntosh decision are two important
first steps toward correcting the injus-
Check us out
tices that have been inflicted on indige- on the web at;
nous peoples over the past five hundred www.wbreckinridge.com
years. They are also spiritually signifi- or Google
cant steps toward creating a way of life
that is no longer based on greed and “Breckinridge Artifact
subjugation. Perhaps then we will be Services, LLC”
able to use our newfound solidarity to
begin to create a lifestyle based on the
first indigenous principle: "Respect the Contact Bill Breckinridge
Earth and Have a Sacred Regard for All @ 918.366.3567
Living Things." 
PO Box 10
References furnished upon request Leonard, OK 74043
wayne@ancientamerican.com

40
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

Dwarfism as Indicative of Shaman Status in

Mesoamerican Art
by Michael Jay Asplan

T
he appearance of physical anom- The practice of medicine was
alies in the art of ancient also important to the Mesoamericans,
Mesoamerica is quite common and practitioners took on a variety of
across most of the cultures and during roles from shaman to sorcerer to physi-
most periods. Vessels, carvings and terra cian, providing healing ceremonies with
cotta pieces depicting individuals with massage and medicinal plants as well as
dwarfism, hunched-backs, cranial defor- physical medicine, such as the treatment
mities, birth defects and even paralysis of injuries and the performing of surgical
appear throughout almost all of the procedures. Shaman would likely have
Mesoamerican cultures. The prevalence been considered to be healers in the
of such imagery suggests some impor- Mesoamerican culture, using rituals and
tance of individuals displaying these prayer along with medicinal plants to
characteristics to the peoples of ancient treat individuals seeking spiritual or
Mesoamerica. Some believe that many of physical help. Plants, such as tobacco or
the sculptural pieces from cultures such peyote, would have acted as hallucino-
as the early Olmec represent people with genic drugs that would have allowed the
Down syndrome, showing characteristics shaman to enter into a catatonic state
such as a round babyish face, almond through the lowering of the heart rate. It
eyes and a plump body. Another theory was believed that in this altered state, the
is that Olmec figures may represent indi- shaman would have been able to connect
viduals displaying cranial malformations with the gods and offer healing rituals
associated with spina bifida, including and prayers.
both encephalitis and hydrocephalus. Al- There are many suggestions
though these conclusions are still under found in the art and artifacts that individ-
debate, it is certain that the numerous Front Cover: Olmec “baby” ceramic fig- uals with dwarfism may have been con-
depictions of the variety of unusual phys- urine, c. 1200-900 B.C. Archeologists have nected to shamans and the practice of
ical anomalies and conditions of children argued that such figurines, common in shamanism. For instance, early pottery
and adults seen in the artwork of Olmec art, suggest characteristics of Down from the Valley of Mexico reveals figures
Mesoamerica suggest an interest in and syndrome due to the almond-shaped eyes,
possibly even reverence for individuals roundish face and baby-like qualities of
with differing physical characteristics the figure. Others suggest that such im-
among these people. What has not been agery may be indicative of a representa-
tion of a “were-jaguar” baby, the
fully considered in the literature is
mythological offspring of a union between
whether these individuals with physical a human and a jaguar-like deity.
anomalies might have served as shaman
or healers in the Mesoamerican society. tentionally caused cranial deformations
Given the prevalence in in children in order to alter the skull and
Mesoamerican art of figures displaying achieve this desired appearance.
dwarfism and numerous physical anom- Mythological writings from the
alies such as enlarged heads, spinal de- period, such as the Mayan Popol Vuh,
formities, and facial abnormalities, the speak of stories about a race of people
logical conclusion is that such individuals who appeared as dwarves with hunched
were thought to have a special status in backs having mystical powers which en-
these societies. For instance, in the art- abled them to build the first cities and
work of the Maya of Guatemala, individ- roads and helped them to move the sun
uals with dwarfism are seen as under the earth when it disappeared at
attendants to the ruler or king, probably each sunset. Tales abound of miraculous
holding such a high position because of achievements such as the Mayan legend
the perceived belief that they held super- of the Pyramid of the Magician at Uxmal,
natural abilities. This would suggest that also called the casa el adivino, which was
the Mesoamericans may have believed magically built overnight by “el enano del
that individuals born with physical differ- Uxmal,” or the dwarf of Uxmal, when Colima ceramic figure, c. 400 B.C. Depic-
challenged by the ruler. While the tions of such individuals with possible ev-
ences would have been celebrated as hav-
Mesoamerica art depicting individuals idence of dwarfism were common in the
ing a special connection with the gods, art of Colima from western Mexico. Many
perhaps even the ability to communicate with dwarfism may have been a represen- of these figures, including the one pictured
with the gods from whom they had de- tation of this mystical race of people con- here, appear to be engaged in shamanic
scended. Furthermore, there are theories nected to the creation myths, it may have or ritualistic activity involving such hallu-
that the characteristics evident in also signified the importance of people cinogenic agents as tobacco or peyote.
dwarfism and hydrocephalus were so de- born with these physical characteristics Though these figures were found in Col-
sired by the Mesoamericans that they in- as having descended from these creators. ima burial sites, the actual use of such ob-
jects remains unknown.

41
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
culture, their perceived bond with the
gods enabling them to act as a conduit
between the physical presence of peoples
on the earth and the spiritual world that
they believed lay beneath this plane of ex-
istence.
Whether individuals with physi-
cal characteristics linking them to the
gods may have been sacrificed in order for
them to descend again into the under-
world is unknown. However, it is known

Maya limestone carving c. 600-900 A.D. This carving is typical of many Mayan pieces
showing rulers who appear with individuals with some type of dwarfism and likely
served as attendants to the king. The prevalence of such imagery in Mayan art suggests
that individuals with dwarfism held significant societal status.
found in pairs, one likely a shaman and around entrances to caves and tunnels,
the other a person with dwarfism or a or using fabricated stone structures,
similar physical condition who probably meant to mimic the mouths of caves. De-
acted as an attendant. It could be ar- pictions of caves and sacred openings to
gued, however, that the individuals de- the earth are commonly found in
picted with dwarfism were in fact the Mesoamerican artwork, particular in
shaman, while the accompanying figures structures such as altars, and these
were attendants to the shaman. Many works were likely used for ceremonies in
terra cotta pieces from Colima in western which the shaman reenacted stories from
Mexico depict figures with enlarged heads their mythology of the gods visiting the
or spinal deformities seemingly engaging physical realm of the humans. This lends
in ritual behavior, perhaps the ingestion credence to the theory that individuals of
of tobacco or peyote. A logical conclusion small stature were valued in Mesoamerica
would be that individuals with anomalous in being able to perform rituals and cere-
physical characteristics, perhaps because monies as adults, but able to maneuver
of their perceived connection to the gods, into and out of small spaces such as cave
may have served as assistants to shaman and tunnel openings, a feat more difficult
or perhaps even shaman themselves in for adults of average proportions and eas-
the Mesoamerica culture. ier for people with dwarfism due to their
Another theory is that individu- smaller stature.
als with characteristics of dwarfism may Another interesting feature of
have been held in esteem by the such altars is the depiction of infant fig-
Mesoamericans because they possessed ures known from Mesoamerican mythol- Maya limestone carving, c. 600-900 A.D.
Also prominent in Mayan art were carv-
what appeared to be the physical bodies ogy as “were-jaguars,” children who were
ings of individuals with evidence of
of young, innocent children, yet with the thought to be the offspring of unions be- dwarfism who were depicted in the under-
mental prowess of adults. One example tween humans and jaguar-like deities. ground realm of the gods. These images
of this idea is found in the Mayan Popol The depictions of the “were-jaguar” chil- might suggest that these figures were in-
Vuh, which tells of a story of the first dren appear much like individuals with tended to represent a mythical race of peo-
house being built by four-hundred “boys,” characteristics of spina bifida or hydro- ple with dwarfism responsible for moving
probably again referring to the mystical cephalus. While these tales came from the sun underground after sunset and cre-
race of dwarves from Mayan mythology. the creation stories of the Mesoameri- ating the first roads and houses. Alterna-
Here the creators appear physically as cans, perhaps children born with condi- tively, these figures may represent
shaman who symbolically communicated
children, but have the strength and de- tions such as dwarfism, Down syndrome,
with the gods due to their status as indi-
termination of adults. This dual nature or other birth anomalies were thought at viduals born with some form of dwarfism
may have appealed to the Mesoameri- the time to have been the modern-day and thought to have descended directly
cans, giving those born with dwarfism a manifestations of the “were-jaguar” chil- from the original race of mythical deities.
higher status in society. dren. Thus, these children would have

T
he Mesoamericans, of course, be- been highly-revered as descendents from that some human sacrifices were made
lieved that their deities reigned not the gods and held a special position in so- as offerings, and that often these were
in the celestial heavens, but rather ciety, perhaps thought to be able to com- considered honorable deaths. For in-
in an underground realm beneath the municate in both the realm of the deities stance, when rulers died, their servants
earth. Thus they also believed caves and and the physical earth of humans. These and attendants, often including people
tunnels to be sacred places or portals be- beliefs would then confirm the idea that with dwarfism, were sometimes burned
tween the realm of the gods and the world such individuals served as shaman or along with the body in order that they
of humans. Rituals were contrived shaman attendants in the Mesoamerican

42
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89
may be rewarded by returning to the
realm of the gods. Though ritualistic sac-
rifice of individuals with dwarfism, Down
Syndrome, or unusual physical charac-
teristics has not be verified, a possible hy-
pothesis is that the “were-jaguar” altars
were sites of honorable sacrifices that al-
lowed these revered members of society
to spiritually return to the realm of the
gods from which they descended.
The prevalence of individuals
with physical anomalies such as
dwarfism in Mesoamerican art is undeni-
able, and theories abound as to the pos-
sible afflictions depicted, such as Down
syndrome or spina bifida. What has
largely been ignored, however, is the evi-
dence that strongly suggests that these
depictions not only refer to deities, but
also to individuals in the culture with
such physical characteristics who were
perceived as having a special bond with
the gods. These figures may well indicate
that people born in the Mesoamerican
culture with particular physical anom-
alies such as dwarfism were not only of
high status, but in fact served as shaman
Olmec basalt altar at the “La Venta” site, c. 900-400 B.C. This ceremonial altar depicts and healers as their societal roles. A care-
an individual, likely a ruler or shaman, seated at the entrance to a cave or the repre- ful consideration of the iconography of
sentation of a cave, likely during ritualistic activity. The significance of being seated at
Mesoamerican art and artifacts seems to
a cave-like setting suggests that the individual was communicating with the gods where
they dwelled in an underground realm. suggest that individuals were not just at-
tendants or physical manifestations of
the gods, but were in fact shaman who
communicated in a special place between
the physical plane of existence on earth
and the underground realm in which the
gods dwelled, linking the physical with
the spiritual. 

References
Miguel Covarrubias, Indian Art of Mex-
ico and Central America. New York: Al-
fred A. Knopf, 1957.
Carson N. Murdy, “Congenital Deformi-
ties and the Olmec Were-Jaguar Motif.”
American Antiquity, Vol. 46, No. 4, 1981,
861-871.
Linda Schele, The Code of Kings: The
Language of Seven Sacred Maya Temples
and Tombs. New York: Scribner, 1998.
Virginia E. Miller, “The Dwarf Motif in
Classic Maya Art.” In Benson, E. P.
Fourth Palenque Round Table, 1980. San
Francisco: Pre-Columbian Art Research
Institute, 1985, pp. 141-153.
John Eric Sidney Thompson, Maya His-
tory and Religion. Norman: University of
Oklahoma Press, 1970.
Covarrubias, Ibid.
Miller, Ibid.
Rosemary A. Joyce, Gender and Power
in Prehispanic America. Austin: Univer-
sity of Texas Press, 2000.
Olmec basalt altar at the “La Venta” site, c. 900-400 B.C. This ceremonial altar again Michael D. Coe, Ancient Peoples and
depicts a ruler, or more probably a shaman, now emerging from a cave entrance and Places: Mexico. New York: Frederick A.
holding a “were-jaguar” infant. This altar suggests that the shaman has returned Praeger, 1962.
from the underground realm of the gods, bringing with him an infant that was the Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, The
product of a union between humans and jaguar-like deities. Some archeologists have General History of the Vast Continent
suggested that the “were-jaguar” infants depict features not unlike people born with and Islands of America. Vol. 2. London:
anomalies, such as dwarfism and Down syndrome, and that perhaps such individu- Jerome Batley, 1725-1726.
als were thought to have a sacred bond with the gods.

43
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

New Release:
Reprint from 1889 FRIENDS OF ANCIENT
AMERICAN
W
e are all aware of the difficult economic climate we are currently facing
in many areas of business today. The print industry (newspapers--na-
tional and local--books; magazines, comics) has been burdened in two
ways: One; competition from the digital media so easily available and the con-
stant increase in operation costs (paper, U.S. postage, UPS, and printing).
Our biggest distributor has been, since the day we started, International
Periodical Distributors of California, which is now Source Interlink of Bocca
Rotan, Florida. This past April, Source Interlink filed for protection under cur-
rent bankruptcy laws. Source Interlink was about 65% of AA’s gross revenue,
which is now gone. We will not be able to sign up with another distributor until
we can produce the required larger print runs to take on a new retail distribu-
tor.
So for now, AA will become a subscriber based magazine only until we
can afford to print the larger runs of 25,000 copies per issue.
For now, we are looking for contributions to help us grow so we can meet
the demands for larger output of AA. We are implementing “Friends of Ancient
American”. We are asking AA subscribers, who are able, to help with a contri-
bution of $1000 to join us in supporting AA. As a member of “Friends of Ancient
American,” you get these benefits:
• Lifetime subscription
A. Your subscription
B. Gift a library of your choice

C
yrus Thomas published this • Free ad Space of 1/2” per issue on a classified page to buy/sell collector
short work to establish his un- books, announcements (meetings, outings, adventures), scheduling group
certainty about who the activities, etc...
Mound Builders were; however, he • Organized site tours, at AA’s discretion.
decides to identifly them with, at least • Back Issue magazines at wholesale cost.
in part, the Five Civilized Nations of • All AA books in bookstore at our cost.
• Help us make a difference. Be a supporter of something you care about!
the Cherokee. Thomas is puzzled by
Here is a list of our contributors.
the Eastern Hemisphere artifacts that
continue to be discovered in undis- 1. Jay S. Wakefield 16. Don R. Brown
turbed layers deep within the 2. Dr. Peter Wilk 17. Jean M. Stuercken
mounds themselves. So, he con-
3. Joe Sitting Owl White 18. Howard & Daralyn Brody
tinues to question the identity of the
4. Central Band Cherokee 19. Dr. Cole Canafax
builders of the mounds. These non-
conforming artifacts have been gath-
5. Wayne Kopischke 20. Harry & Gloria Marienau
ered by Thomas, which he admits to 6. Keith Harland 21.
having, yet they have never been 7. Jim Leslie 22.
shown or identified in the museums 8. Lee Pennington 23.
of today. 9. Celine Mackey 24.
Where is the unusual artifact 10. Allen Green 25.
collection of which Cyrus Thomas 11. Curtis Landquist 26.
speaks? Currently, we do not know. 12. Karin & Allen Altman 27.
This is a must-have book for all mound 13. Thomas Weatherly 28.
builder investigators. 
14. Roy Boggs 29.
15. Sharon & Pete Peterson 30.
The Problem of the Ohio Mounds
by Cyrus Thomas 1889
ISBN 0-9778316-6-1 QUESTIONS? CONTACT Wayne May 715-962-3299
Softcover, illustrated, 54 pages,
$10.95, $2.00 s&h. Send Contribution to:
Ancient American Bookstore Ancient American
P.O.Box 370 P.O. Box 370
Colfax, WI 54730
877-494-0044 Colfax, WI 54730

44
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

MES Symposium
October 8-10, 2010, at, Westerville, Ohio

T
he Midwestern Epigraphic Soci- book How the SunGod Reached America
ety's 18th Symposium was the c. 2500 BC with Jay Wakefield of Kirk-
largest attended by members and land, Washington, and their next book
visitors, who eagerly received the pre- Rocks & Rows, Sailing Routes Across the
sentations of ten speakers. Atlantic and the Copper Trade (edited by
The Keynote speaker, Dr Jay Wakefield, 2010) illustrates the im-
Reinoud de Jonge, of the Netherlands is portant time period from 2500 BC to
a physical chemist and a teacher at a 1200 BC when America was a colony of
private school there. He authored the Egypt. He spoke on the presence of
Egypt in the New World, the Egyptian
discovery of America (c.2500 BC) and
on America, colony of Egypt (2500-1200
BC).
MES's Dr. John White pre-
sented beautiful slides on the Sun reli- Speakers, l-r:Rich Moats, Wayne May,
gions of the Old and New Worlds, and Scott Wolter, Polly Midgley, Jon Haskell,
President Dave Rush spoke on “Ohio's Jim Leslie-Director, John White, Reinoud
Murray Tunnel Chamber.” de Jonge, William Romain, Glenn Kreis-
Local Ohio researcher, Rich burg, and Dave Rush (President). Miss-
Moats, presented a culmination of sev- ing is Lee Pennington.
eral years’ work on “Ohio's Yost Works, to the Prehistoric Religion of the Ohio
a Pilgrimage to the Stars.” Hopewell, presented LiDAR Assessment
Scott Wolter, a Minnesota of the Hopewell Earthworks.”
forensic geologist known for his forensic Polly Midgley, the NEARA New
analysis of concrete for the construction York Coordinator spoke on “The Stone
industry by his company, American Pet- Chamber Enigma.”
rographic Services, and widely known Jon Haskell, a video documen-
for his verification of the authenticity of tarian, presented “Indiana's
the Kensington Rune Stone, revealed Charlestown Fort.”
his tests have verified the Bat Creek Wayne May, founder and pub-
Stone to be genuine; but test of a mar- lisher of the Ancient American Magazine
ble stone from Burrows Cave clearly now 17 years in print, presented “The
identifies it to be a recent reproduction. Ojibwa and the Hopewell Parallels.”
Dr. William Romain, a research Lee Pennington, President of
associate with The Ohio State Univer- the Ancient Kentucke Historical Associ-
sity, Newark Earthworks Center, and ation, presented “Roman Coins in
the author of Mysteries of the Hopewell: America.”
Astronomer, Geometers and Magicians Glenn Kreisburg, Vice Presi-
The Keynote speaker, Dr Reinoud de of the Eastern Woodlands and Shamans dent of NEARA, presented “Serpent of
Jonge, of the Netherlands. of the Lost World: A Cognitive Approach the North, the Overlook
Mountain/Draco Correlation.” Sympo-
sium photos by Bill Barr. 

Nine Symposium attendees brave the Mur-

ray Tunnel Chamber the following day,
Sunday, October 10. Timing was right, the
weather was excellent, and the property
Rich Moats delivering the culmination of many years’ work on the geometry of the owner, the Holmes County Humane Soci-
Yost Hopewell site of Ohio. ety, was present.

45
 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

“Something New”
Ancient American
Magazine
is now available
online as an
“e-magazine.”
Our readers have been
requesting A.A. to be
available online.
Today it is!

Lost Civilizations Our provider is

of North America Blue Toad of
Roger Kennedy, author and Boca Ratan, Florida.
retired director of the Smith-
sonian, leads off this inform- URL is
ative discussion on the http//bluetoad.com/
peopling of America. Mani-
fest Destiny, scientific publication?i=20912
America, Native American
traditions. All this and more The current issue
are discussed by archaeolo- will come up. Just
gists, anthropologists and re- begin scrolling the
searchers with their effect on pages starting at the
the ancient history of this front cover.
land right up to our time. On page 5, a pop-up
Fascinating new information window will greet you
to bolster Pre-columbian
contact with DNA testing with 2 choices:
among the Hopewell 1.Purchase a
Mounds of Illinois and Ohio. single copy $4.95
$19.95 ea. plus 2.50 post
2. Purchase a
one year
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 Ancient American • Issue Number 89

2012 and the Mayan Calendar: The Real Story

by Frank Joseph

S
ince time repeats itself, the Maya tion of Venus.
believed, they should be able to The Aztec Calendar Stone warned
predict the future. This was the of the Feathered Serpent’s disastrous
fundamental tenet upon which their return on Reed-One, or 1519 A.D. The
Calendar was based: Coming events prophesy came true when Hernán
foreshadowed themselves in the past. Cortés first set foot on the shores of
From this supposition, Maya as- Mexico that very year at Vera Cruz, just
tronomers developed a complex system where Quetzalcoatl made his
of time-keeping based on the scientific Mesoamerican debut long before. His
inheritance of their U Mamae ances- fair-complected physical resemblance to
tors, the “Old Men” who carried away their ancient culture-hero and the su-
the principles of celestial mechanics perior technology both figures pos-
from doomed Aztlán-Atlantis to the sessed, combined with the Spaniard’s
shores of Yucatán. There, they evolved fortuitous appearance at the prehis-
the Tzol’kin’s 260-day calendar, a 365- toric- flood survivor’s same landing site
day calendar for the Haab, plus the Cal- just when the Calendar Stone specified
endar Round --- a 52-Haab that it would happen, convinced the Aztecs
synchronized the cycles of both Tzol’kin that Cortés was himself the returned
and Haab. Feathered Serpent. It was because of
Most amazing of all was Mayan this tragically mistaken identity that an
knowledge of events at the heart of our empire of millions was caught off bal-
investigation. On the morning of 21 De- ance and subdued by five hundred Con-
cember 2012, the Winter Solstice Sun quistadors with thirteen horses and a
will be aligned with the galactic equator small number of cannons.
[the central line of our galaxy] as it ap- Atop the Calendar Stone appears
pears from Earth, and dark areas at the "Reed-Thirteen,” a box enclosing the
galactic core created by interstellar dust image of a manguey plant and sur-
present era of the 5th Sun comprises 13
extending along the Milky Way from the rounded on three sides by thirteen dots,
Baktuns, each one containing 144,000
galactic center beyond the Constellation each representing thirteen "heavens"
days. 4 Ahau 3 Kankin, 13.0.0.0.0 is 21
Aquila, the “Eagle.” comprising a single "Sun.” The glyph
December 2012.
Predictions for this date appeared signifies the end of a “World,” or major
Bolon Yokte who is depicted as well
in their so-called Long Count of epoch corresponding to the year 1479
as mentioned on the Izapa stela, was
1,872,000 days beginning on 11 August A.D. Precisely thirteen years later,
the terrible lord of the underworld,
3114 B.C., terminating 5,125 solar Christopher Columbus dropped anchor
leader of all the forces of destruction,
years later on 21 December 2012. The off the island of San Salvador in the Ba-
the personification of triumphant chaos
present Long Count began with the de- hamas, opening up the New World to
and conflict. His spotted jaguar pelt sig-
struction of the 4th World. We are European colonization and the subse-
nifying the starry night sky identifies
presently living in the 5th World due to quent eradication of Mesoamerican Civ-
him with his place of origin in the heav-
end shortly. As Mēxihcah calendrics ilization. It was primarily to announce
ens, while “the mouth of the jaguar rep-
were usurped by the Aztecs, so the this impending doom that the Vessel of
resents the Underworld Portal, which is
Maya obtained much of theirs from the Time was created when it was and
seen in the sky as the Dark Rift in the
Izapa. Inhabiting a ceremonial capital erected over the residents of Tenochti-
Milky Way,” according to researcher
of the same name near Mexico’s Pacific tlán. To them, it was a monstrous time-
John Major Jenkins.
coastal plains of Chiapas, close to the piece winding down the last years of the
Bolon Yokte may appear once in
modern border with Guatemala, they Aztec Empire, reminding its subjects to
temple art beside the Tree of Life, but
were a transitional people connected brace themselves for the inevitable end
such a single, uncertain reference can-
with Mesoamerica’s first civilization. of their world.
not make the God of Creation out of the
More likely, they were the Olmec them- Only this dire prediction, and that
Lord of Hell. Nor do edifying versions of
selves or, at least, their last remnants yet broader prognostication for 2012,
4-Ahau 3-Kankin square with the Mēx-
known to possess the Long Count, can account for the numerous graphic
ihcah’s own term for the nature of the
which they passed on to the Maya. references circling in concentric rings
5th Sun’s closure: Macuilli-Tonatiuh,
The earliest and so far only around the horrid face of Tonatiuh, the
literally, “The Clenched Fist of To-
known written Mayan reference to the personification of time in its thoroughly
natiuh,” a solar deity. He embodies the
end of their calendar was found in the destructive aspect. 
end of our 13 Baktuns in the Nahui-
former Izapa-Olmec realm of Chiapas at Ollin, or 4-Ollin. It is, moreover, ruled
Tortuguero, site of a Classic Maya city 2012 and the Mayan Calendar:
by Xolotl, the dark and malevolent as-
(200 to 700 A.D.) north of the better The Real Story
pect of the Evening Star, the Planet
known ceremonial center at Palenque. From Frank Joseph’s new book,
Venus, which plays such a vital role of
The incomplete, only partially legible in- Atlantis and 2012
Mesoamerican calendrics. For example,
scription on Tortuguero’s “Monument- The Science of the Lost Civilization
2012’s Winter Solstice is transited by
6” has been translated by Mayan and the Prophecies of the Maya,
Venus, just as the Long Count was set
epigrapher, David Stuart, to read, “At $19.00 (includes shipping & handling)
in motion 5,125 years before, according
the end of 13 Baktuns, on 4 Ahau 3 from Ancient American Book Store,
to the Maya, by Kukulcan, the Feath-
Kankin, 13.0.0.0.0; (something) occurs PO Box 370, Colfax, WI 54730;
ered Serpent and beneficent incarna-
when Bolon Yokte descends.” Our telephone (877) 494-0044

47