New Evidence Pertaining to an Alleged Hopewell Mobiliary Clay Human Figurine

Additional information has been identified concerning a fired-clay human figurine analyzed and reported by Bebber and colleagues (2018). Despite this figurine having been discovered within a box labeled “Hopewell Figurine—Hopeton Earthworks,” they argue against a Hopewellian affiliation based on Thermoluminescence (TL) dating, a comparative study, and the inability to firmly establish the specimen’s provenience. A rediscovered letter from Olaf Prufer offers a new site of origin and a more complete chain of custody, which is partially corroborated by photographs curated at the Ohio History Connection and a 1925 Boston Evening Transcript article. With this new information, we dispute Bebber and colleagues’ (2018) interpretation of the figurine’s acquisition, its alleged site of origin, and the conclusions of their comparative analysis. This case study does not support their call for more rigorous authentication of collector-acquired objects; rather, it documents the difficulty in reestablishing the provenience of objects once they have become disassociated

Archaeology · Art · Interpretation (philosophy · Archaeological Research and Protection · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · History · Paleopathology and ancient diseases · Philosophy

• Current Evidence Does Not Support a Hopewell Age, Provenience, or Affiliation for the Figurine Allegedly from Hopeton Earthworks or the Hopewell Mound Group

  Michelle Bebber, Michelle R Bebber et al.•Midcontinental Journal of…•2021

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• Description, Morphometrics, and Microwear of Two Paleoindian Fluted Points from Nebraska and Illinois

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• Description and Thermoluminescence (Tl) Dating of An Alleged Hopewell Mobiliary Clay Human Figurine from Hopeton Earthworks, Ross County, Ohio

  Michelle Bebber, Michelle R Bebber et al.•Midcontinental Journal of…•2018

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• The Temporal and Social Implications of Ohio Hopewell Copper Ear Spool Design

  Open Access•Katharine C Ruhl, Mark F Seeman•American Antiquity•1998

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