Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Cave Men only "Oooga Booga" => Topic started by: swamp monkey on May 29, 2011, 07:48:46 pm
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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.
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I often hear people say that native man didn't use copper knapping tools...If those people were advanced enough to make things like that, then I suppose they may have used copper for knapping tools also.
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the original Hopewell sucker fish. I suppose it could have been a buffalo fish.
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Very cool!
I also belive that copper was probably used for flintknapping... but reserved for the very best work. Some of those cahokia points are almost impossible to duplicate without metal tools.
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Beautiful work! Both yours and the original Ron
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Those are fantastic! I love the moundbuilder style.
John
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Hey Swamp
That is some kind of talent you got there. The mound builder culture sometimes make you wonder how advanced we think we are....
JMO.
Beautiful work!
Ron
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Sweet pieces man....I admire the various moundbuilder cultures myself....More Americans should know about them...change their view of Native folks as simple savages----John, Northampton,MA
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i saw this artifact in Chicago's Field Museum recently and it is truly a work of art. It was a bit thicker than I expected too. Beautiful. So I had to make a replica. It was either a necklace or a headdress piece.
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Here are a couple of new plates. The two headed falcon plate is a replica of one unearthed in Dunklin County, Missouri. The other one, the two fighting falcons, is a replica copper plate based on one found in Etowah GA.
The first plate was badly damaged so some parts of the replica are interpretation based on other copper plates found at other Mississippian period sites.
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This one is a plate that i did with liberties. First, I reversed the head direction form the original. But I really left the paved road when I put different inks on it. Call it artistic expression.
The original plate and inspiration for this was unearthed in Peoria, IL. To my knowledge, none of the copper plates that have been recovered anywhere in the U.S. have signs of paint of any kind on them. I am not saying they couldn't or didn't, I'm just saying there is no evidence.
That doesn't keep me for doing it though. ;)
thanks for looking.
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Even if there's no evidence of paint on the copper artifacts, you stayed true to the feel of it! That looks fantastic.
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That is some serious talent Swamp.
Good job.
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Good stuff!! The bird motifs are like the painting we did at the spirit station at twin oaks last May at the classic. Again, good stuff swamp monkey!! dpg
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Thanks for the kind words. Much appreciated. Thanks for looking. :)
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I found reference to a cedar mask that is of interest here. It was a Mississippian era eastern red cedar mask. . . human face effigy really. Kinda small to be a real mask. Any way it was carved and covered with a thin sheet of copper. Then two falcon masked were painted over the eyes to go on the cheeks. I will try to post something that explains that in a picture.
The reason I posted it is it shows SOME copper art was embellished with paint. I am not saying all of it was but this one for sure was.
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nice work. soon as i seen that "sucker fish" my first thought is wow that looks more like a "buffalo fish" which they probley ate smoked on a rack cause its easy to bow fish and spear them as opposed to suckers which stay out in the water further from shore. lol i like your work. thats really nice.Tony
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Very cool work... I love working copper.
Del
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nice work. soon as i seen that "sucker fish" my first thought is wow that looks more like a "buffalo fish" which they probley ate smoked on a rack cause its easy to bow fish and spear them as opposed to suckers which stay out in the water further from shore. lol i like your work. thats really nice.Tony
Since I posted that copper "sucker fish" I have studied a number of whelk shell engravings from Spiro OK. Some of them have fish. Everyone of those fish looks a lot like a buffalo fish. One of the shell drawings is pictured below. Now I wonder if that copper fish wasn't meant to be a buffalo. Interesting that you interpreted that buffalo right away.
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i bow fished for them many a time. as well as took a few with a leister spear i made wayyyy back.i have studied from books some of the cultures in my neck of the woods. and they ate those buffalo fish. that top fin gives it away for me. ive smoked them over a slow fire on willow racks. good eating really.now of days i can them up. call them poor mans salmon. thats what it tastes and smells like.wish i was skilled like that . id make me a copper neck piece with that fish on it.Tony
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buffalo fish, native to north America
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Here is that cedar maskette that had copper and paint on it. The green residue is copper the white falcon eye motif is paint. This maskette was found in Fulton County Illinois and is a Mississippian Era artifact from a mound building culture. It was not a full mask in size. It likely was secured to a headdress.
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Below is an image of copper plates found in Southeast Missouri. The Malden plates are referenced numerous times when it comes to Mississippian icons and copper art. They were found in Dunklin County Missouri near the town of Malden. The other plate is a lesser known plate that was found at a Mississippian site in southern Bollinger County Missouri.
This will be inspiration for future projects this winter. What I have drawn here is a reconstruction of each plate. Most were damaged by the ravages of time and the elements.
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from the looks of it it was probley this extinct bird it ranged from newyork state to mexico.
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You do beautiful work.
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Here a few new copper plate replicas:
The first one is from Lake Jackson Florida. This bird man dancer has an elaborate headdress including a bi-lobed arrow, a stone mace, what looks like a shell club, and a bird mask.
Second is a plate from Spiro Oklahoma that features a warrior head surrounded by arrowheads.
The copper scrap from this was contributed to my copper blade project in the primitive skills section.
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Another Malden MO copper plate (H) and another from Sprio OK.
The last one is a dancing bird man theme from Union County Illinois. I fauxed up a patina for an artsy look and mounted it.
Thanks for looking.
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In 2016 i tried my best to improve my copper plate art skills. I recreated all 8 of the Malden copper plates and some others. I am getting better at not leaving tool marks but i still want to get better.
Thanks for looking.