X-RARE Hopewell Culture, Mound Builders Shaman's Charmstone w/Petroglyphs! Ohio

Description: ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS Ancient Art, Antiques, & Fine Collectibles Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE eBay Note: I certify that this ancient artifact was legally collected on private land with the owner's permission near Circleville, Ohio, during the 800s and has been in private collections since that time. It was a surface find by an Ohio farmer and no caves, graves, or mounds were disturbed. This is an opportunity to legally own a stunning, ancient Native American pipe that is estimated to be at least 800-years-old and perhaps as old as 2500-years-old! SUMMARY Item: Native American Hopewell Charmstone Tribe: Hopewell Culture—Mound Builders—Adena People Est. Date: 500 BC to 1200 AD Find Location: Scioto River Valley, near Circleville, Ohio Material: Abraded & Drilled Stone with Petroglyphs Height: 2.28” (58 mm) Width: 1.5” (39 mm) Depth: 1.67” (42 mm) Weight: 4.1 oz. (116 gr.) Condition: Very good, museum quality with no repairs or restorations. It has multiple soil abrasion with some scratches, nicks, chips. An unknown collection ID number “8” was painted/stamped in white ink on this piece. Providence/History: This drilled charmstone has a nice, authentic patina and was part of a local family collection from near small city of Circleville in central Ohio, for most of the 1900s. More recently, it was purchased from a well-known collector and author in Boulder, Colorado, and is now part of my personal collection. It is Guaranteed original and authentic. DETAILS According to one family’s oral legend, this curious, drilled charmstone came to light around the 1840s or so. The Shaman's charmstone is a solid piece of hard stone that stands upright on a flattened base, but does have a suspension hole at its top. Each hole was apparently started at each individual side—one can see the narrowness of the hole as they meet in the center. {Please see photos} This charmstone was clearly meant to be dangled—either around one’s neck or as a divination stone (held on a string to see which way it “moves” when asked a question by a shaman). There is a slight ding where a rope or vine would go through the holes on each side of the charmstone. It is likely this charmstone was used by a shaman and it had something to do with the astonishing earthworks that once graced the region. What makes this charmstone especially interesting are several engraved and/or chipped petroglyphs that were made by the shaman that once used this amazing charmstone! On all four flat sides of the charmstone and on the flat base, there are several tiny petroglyphs that have been percussively pounded into the stone! It is Extremely RARE to find petroglyphs in ancient Native American charmstones. With macro photos taken in direct indoor light, I hope you can see the faint, darker images in the fine-grained, cream-colored stone; although, they are best viewed in person and under low magnification. AMAZING!! Please see below for details! Over that last 10,000 years, the Scioto River Valley in Ohio was home to many Native American cultures. The best-known groups are the Mound Builders of the Hopewell tradition with mounds constructed by the Adena People more than 2000 years ago. Numerous burial mounds can be seen near Chillicothe at the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. The former strength of these cultures is demonstrated in settler accounts from as far east as Virginia. The name Scioto is derived from the Wyandot word skɛnǫ·tǫ’ “deer” (compare Shenandoah, derived from the word for “deer” in another Iroquoian language) The Hopewell culture is not the name of an American Indian tribe, but is the archaeological term that encompasses similarities in artifact style, architecture, and other cultural practices that distinguish the Hopewell culture from earlier and later cultures in the region. When early settlers to this part of Ohio along the eastern bank of the Scioto River, they marveled at the gigantic earthworks stretching across a huge area. At first, they began incorporating their buildings around the large circles found there. In fact, they even build the county courthouse on the site of a large central mound. During this time, many stone artifacts, quaintly known as “relics” back then, reached the surface soil with every turn of the iron plow. The ﬁrst Native Americans in the Scioto County, Ohio, area were the Mound Builders. It’s not the name of a tribe, but rather the term Mound Builder is used generally as referring to prehistoric inhabitants of North America who constructed various styles of earthen mounds for burial, residential and ceremonial purposes. It is believed that the mounds were built between 500 B.C. to 1200 A.D. Although there is evidence of many Indian mounds in the area, the most well-known is the horseshoe mound at Mound Park. Once known as the Citadel, this is the only one of the four horseshoe mounds still in existence. In 1876, the Scioto County Children’s Home was built on the present-day mound at Mound Park, but it is again visible and preserved. The other horseshoe mound on Grant Street was plowed over in 1888 for Highland School. These horseshoe mounds are attributed to the Hopewell Indians. Native American Petroglyphs on this Charmstone Ancient Native American rock art is divided into two basic categories: petroglyphs and pictographs. Both originally had some symbolic meaning, but as these early Native American people had no written language, so the symbols are more of a pictographic nature. Petroglyphs are carved (hammered, pecked, abraded, incised, or scratched) into the stone object and also include cupules (pits), scratches and grooves, like those seen on the flared sides of this lovely charmstone! On all four flat sides of the charmstone and on the flat base, there are several tiny petroglyphs that have been percussively pounded into the stone! It is Extremely RARE to find petroglyphs in ancient Native American charmstones. With macro photos taken in direct indoor light, I hope you can see the faint, darker images in the fine-grained, cream-colored stone; although, they are best viewed in person and under low magnification. AMAZING!! · One petroglyph on this stone charmstone just to the upper-left of the stamped collection ID number “8” measures about .30” (7.37 mm) tall and can be seen in my macro photo # 2. It appears to be the image of a bent-over stick shaped man with his outstretched arms pointing downward and over an even smaller image of perhaps a fire! The diagonal line appears to cut the head of the figure off and was likely made hundreds of years after this charmstone was first made. This figure is likely the image of the actual shaman who made and used this charmstone in his astral journeys—a self-portrait if you will. It was important for the shaman to have a grounding figure of himself on Earth so that he would not be stranded in another dimension. · On another side of the charmstone (see photo # 5) that has a 1.12” (28 mm) semi-circle chipped into the stone there appears to be another stick-figure man with his outstretched arms raised to the Great Spirit in the Heavens. There appears to be another petroglyph that flows out of the top of the semi-circle and onto another side of the stone—the same side as noted above! · Continuing around the stone, there is another large petroglyph .78” (20 mm) tall that may be a larger depiction of a ceremonial fire that was pictured next to the stick figure near the ID collection number “8” mentioned in the first bullet. See photo # 4. · And on the last flat side, there is a large, double circle shaped petroglyph that appears to have a white pigment on it. It measures about 1.77" (45 mm) tall and a grouping of very tiny petroglyphs extends to the top of the charmstone! These circles may represent the ceremonial earthen circles made by the Hopewell and that are still visible at the mounds in Scioto County Ohio. Again, this grouping contains several stick figures (these only about 3.4 mm tall) and several other figures that have been worn so much that I can’t identify them. Perhaps these signify ancestors or other ceremonial beings? See photos # 3 & 6) · And finally, on the flat base--see photo # 7, there are again several very tiny stick figures (< 2 mm) and many other figures that have been engraved and/or percussively chipped into the base. One petroglyph appears to be the image of a four-legged animal, perhaps a deer, as that was a common animal at the time. In fact, the name Scioto is derived from the Wyandot word skɛnǫ·tǫ’ “deer” (compare Shenandoah, derived from the word for “deer” in another Iroquoian language) These petroglyphs were likely made by the Hopewell shaman who made this sacred charmstone and used it to communicate with the Great Spirit. As images of human and animal figures are often found in shaman paraphernalia that is used by the shaman to communicate with the spirits in the astroplane during his/her trances. Please examine the attached photos carefully as they are part of the description and bid accordingly.Macro Photos taken indoors show detail of these tiny petroglyphs. The stand, AA battery, and ruler are not part of the sale, just there so you can better judge the size and to capture the beauty of this ancient work of art. Note: Each object I sell is professionally researched and compared with similar objects in the collections of the finest museums in the world. I have been dealing in fine antiquities for almost 50 years and although certainly not an expert in every field, I have been honored to appraise, buy, collect, and enjoy and recently sell some of the finest ancient art in the world. When in doubt, I have worked with dozens of subject matter experts to determine the condition and authenticity of numerous antiquities and antiques. This documentation helps to insure you are buying quality items and helps to protect your investment. I offer a full Money-Back Guarantee if a recognized authority in antiquities disputes the authenticity of these fine artifacts. Please ask any questions you may have before you bid! All sales are Final, unless I have seriously misrepresented this item! Please look at the 4x and 30x macro photos carefully as they are part of the description. Member of the Authentic Artifact Collectors Association (AACA) & the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) Per e-Bay's rules, PayPal only please! FREE USA SHIPPING includes insurance and is accurate for all 50 States! US Buyers only for this SUPER RARE piece of Native American History. Note: Washington State buyers are responsible for the Washington State sales tax.

Price: 1875 USD

Location: Sequim, Washington

End Time: 2024-02-28T19:15:02.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD