The Mound building culture left us a legacy here in North America. Agriculture, bow making, pottery, and much more. One of the hallmarks of their culture was use of copper for adornment and for art. They obtained copper nuggets found around the Great Lakes area and apparently traded for it all across the eastern half of the continent. They pounded the copper nuggets out into a sheet and then used wooden and bone rubbing tools to press out patterns in the copper.
I used tools made of Osage orange and possum haw. Both make beautiful tools. I had some deer leather scrap I used as the soft surface for the burnishing and got to work. I have no access to copper nuggets so I obtained some copper sheeting form my local hobby store. The results are pictured below. The sucker fish is a replica of a Hopewell era item found in Ohio. The bird man plaque is a replica of a Mississippian era item found near Malden, Missouri.
