SpiroMound.com- Spiro Mound Artifact Db- Maces/Axes Page

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Maces/Axes Page

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Photograph provided by Dr. Robert E. Bell

Mace 1*

Figure 14: Braecklein Photograph

This picture was taken December 8, 1935, in J. G. Braecklein’s Indian Store at 1906 and 8 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri. It was featured in an article by A. B. MacDonald in the Kansas City Star, dateline Spiro, Oklahoma, appearing on December 15, 1935, under the headline, “A ‘King Tut’ Tomb in the Arkansas Valley.” The text of this article appears in Brown (1996) and is recommended reading. The material is reported to be in the Joe Balloun/John Hobbs collection. Joe Balloun gave this copy of the photograph to Dr. Robert E. Bell. Since the Pocola Mining Company lease terminated on November 27, 1935, this photograph was taken after their digging and tunneling into the mound was completed.

A list of the artifacts shown in the photograph include: the “Big Boy” pipe, a small canine effigy pipe, two large decorated conch shells, three conch shell core pendants, seven maces of both chipped and polished varieties, three strands of freshwater pearl beads, a large columella core bead, seven spherical columella beads, a strand of beads, and a piece of matting or fabric. The four polished maces and the “Big Boy” pipe can be seen in color in the “Prehistoric American” Volume XXXVII Number 3, 2003. A copy of this photograph appeared in Bobby Onken’s Legends of Prehistoric Art, Volume 1, page 5.

The small catlinite pipe with canine head on prow, with a length of 6 5/16”, is shown in Hamilton (1952), Plate 22B. Hamilton says: “A raised serpent design is on the sides of a well-made catlinite pipe and a dog-like head projects past the bowl at the front end. The figure of a rattlesnake is engraved on the bottom. According to John O. Hobbs, one side of the bowl of this pipe was cut off by the shovel and lost during excavation. The piece has been restored by the Smithsonian Institute.” The head of the canine has an open mouth with teeth and a well-carved tongue. It has drilled eyes and is also drilled through the ears. The style may represent a later time than the Great Mortuary of the Central Chamber.

The engraved conch shell on the right is shown in Hamilton (1952) Plate 108 A “four bodied rattlesnake (height, 12 3/4”).” The other engraved shell showing the “Green Corn Ceremony” (13 3/8”) is shown in Hamilton (1952) as Plate 94B. They were in the Trowbridge collection at that time. Currently
in the Smithsonian collection, they are shown in Phillips and Brown (1985) Plates 232 and 320.

* This caption has been edited, the version in The Spiro Mound: A Photo Essay is three pages long. I have removed most of the references to the collections and museums were these items have been curated.

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Photograph provided by Dr. Robert E. Bell

Mace 2

Figure 17: Mace and monolithic axes

This photograph was taken at Glen I. Groves’ of Chicago, Illinois. He purchased items from W. Guinn Cooper, K. A. McKenzie and John Hobbs. The centerpiece is a chipped stone mace. Hamilton (1952) reports it to be 20” in length and to be the second largest known. It is one of 15 known stone maces from Spiro. (See discussion, Figure 21) Many were ground and polished after being chipped. This piece has a nice 5 1/2” crown at the top. The serrations down the shank are unusual. This is shown in Hamilton (1952) as Plate 34 and in Brown (1996) as Figure 2-75 #4. The crown barbs are large and excurvate with a rounded distal crown and a crown cap. The piece was reported by Hamilton (1952) to have been found in
one of the lesser cones. This piece is shown in “The Spiro Mound” in the Museum of the American
Indian, Heye Foundation Report, Volume XIV, 1945, Plate XV. (Also see Figure 18.)

Also in this picture are three of at least five complete monolithic axes found at Spiro along with a number of fragments (Brown (1996)). All examples shown have handles expanding at the base and then have a perforated tab below that. The two pieces on either side of the mace are the only two of the Garfish Effigy style known. The distal end has a carving thought to be a garfish head. It consists of a large mouth full of teeth and a round eye at the blade. The larger one is 16” in length and the shorter one 14”. They are made of greenstone. The top piece, being held by Mr. Groves, is 13 1/2” long, the blade length is 6 1/2” and the shaft diameter is 1 1/5”. It is distinguished by a carved prow. It is made of a smooth, grainy, dark stone. and is the only known complete specimen of the form. The three monolithic axes are now in the collection of the Thomas Gilcrease Museum.

The three monolithic axes appear to be pictured with Judge Claude A. Stone on page 398 in Who’s Who # 4 (1976). This picture dates to 1948 and also shows Kenneth Orr, an archaeologist associated with the WPA/ University of Oklahoma excavation. The three pieces are shown in Hamilton (1952) Plate 56. The two “garfish” axes are shown in Who’s Who #1, published in 1960, on page 106, in the Willis G. Tilton collection. The top curved prow piece and the smaller “garfish” axe are shown in Ancient Art of the American Indians, published in 1985. The top piece is on page 141 in Plate 99 (catalog number 93) and is listed as being 13” x 6”. The monolithic axe on the right is on page 141, Plate 100 (catalog number 94).
It is described as being 14” in length and 7” in width. Two of the pieces are shown in Brown (1996),
Figure 2-79 a and c, and he provides additional information in his text. The three axes in this photograph
can be seen in color in the “Prehistoric American” Volume XXXVII Number 3, 2003.