The Brain	by C.J. O’Neill, Monroe,
Central States Archaeological Societies 2020 January Journal	North Carolina

This excerpt from "The Brain" published in the 2020 Central States Archaeological Societies 2020 January Journal Read this and mores in the Central States Archaeological 2020 January Journal which can be purchased on-line after March 2021

Above: Figure 1. Both faces of “the Brain” plummet. It measures 3 1/2 inches in length.

I first became acquainted with this unusual plummet when I received an auction house catalogue of the Indian relics of the late Gilbert Dilley some 11 years ago. Dilley had been a prominent collector for many years, and the auction of his vast collection in 2008 brought a lot of interest. I made up my mind to attend and pick up a few pieces, if possible.

At the time I had become fascinated by Indian plummets. Their form seemed so right for their function and, besides, they often came in interesting stones like hematite and could be quite colorful. Also, I had made a friend in the hobby, named Jim Lewis. He lived in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and he had a wonderful collection of plummets, including many colorful examples, that I had enjoyed examining. I also remember studying the vast plummet collection of William Waters, in oneof the early Who’s Who in Indian Relics volumes. You could say I became charmed by charmstones.

While plummets are generally thought to be earlier than the Hopewell culture, the Dilley example was found in a Hopewell context. The piece was disinterred in one of the Hopewell mounds in....

 

Read other great columns in the Central States Archaeological Societies 2020 January Journal which can be purchased on-line after March 2020