Drilled Bear Canine Teeth from an Archaeological Site in East-Central Kansas

Abstract

A minimum of 14 drilled bear canine teeth associated with 5 human teeth and fragmented bone from a surface exposure in east-central Kansas indicate contact between groups participating in the Hopewell social network in the American Midwest. Drilled, polished, ground, and scored bear teeth, along with a range of exotic and symbolic artifacts, are characteristic of Hopewell burial sites. The Kansas site, 14LY405, where the bear teeth were found marks the southwestern extent of the known distribution of sites with a specific kind of drilled bear canines and helps define the boundary of the Hopewell social network in the Great Plains.

Bladelets, Blood, and Bones: Integrating Protein Residue, Lithic Use-Wear, and Faunal Data from the Moorehead Circle, Fort Ancient

“…Modified carnivore teeth are relatively common in Hopewell burial sites throughout the Midwest (Farnsworth et al 2015; Seeman 1979) and are used to suggest interaction with Hopewell networks at sites farther afield (e.g., Hoard 2021). However, no assemblages have so far produced conclusive faunal evidence for modified carnivore jaw manufacture on location at the site.…”

“…Our focus in this article is on one class of craft products—the modified animal and human teeth, jaws, and other bones that have been recovered from dozens of Middle Woodland sites across the Eastern Woodlands of North America (Baby 1961a; Cobb 2015; Farnsworth and Atwell 2015; Farnsworth et al 2015; Giles 2013; Hoard 2021; Johnston 2015; Kimball et al 2010; Mills 1916; Nawrocki and Emanovsky 2015; Seeman 1988, 2007; Shetrone 1930). These modified bone objects are often found in association with human burials or caches/deposits at mounds and enclosures, especially in Ohio (Farnsworth et al 2015; Seeman 2007).…”