Kansas, 2-5K years ago
Donald I. Stimpson
Donald I. Stimpson asked:
>>>
Can anyone tell me about the people, if any, that lived in the Kansas
area about 2-5000 years ago and if they left any artifacts. I'm not an
archaeologist but would like to learn more about this area and time
period-references would be greatly appreciated.
>>>
[Bill Green's response removed]
Thanks for the info Bill, and I'll try to post the message too. The
reason I'm interested in this area and time period has to do with a
meteorite found near Haviland, KS. Estimates on the age of the impact
are 2-5K years ago, but accurate dating has not been performed as yet.
There was a small impact crater at the site and speculation is that the
structure wouldn't have survived the weathering process >10K years.
Another piece of the puzzle is that fragments of the same meteorite were
found at the Hopewell Indian mounds in Ohio, presumably the result of
collecting/trading. The meteorite is half rock, half metal and very
striking as there is little rock other than gypsum in the area. I've
often wondered if the impact was observed by the people of Kansas.
Judging from the amount of material found, I estimate anyone within a
100 mile radius would have been aware of (or shaken by) the impact-day
or night. At night, the fireball would have been visible for hundreds
of miles. I^“m not suggesting it^“s possible to determine if the event
was witnessed, just curious who was in the area at the time. Thanks for
the references, I'll get busy reading. Don Stimpson, Haviland, KS.
Michael Burianyk
On 10 Sep 1997, Donald I. Stimpson wrote:
> Another piece of the puzzle is that fragments of the same meteorite were
> found at the Hopewell Indian mounds in Ohio, presumably the result of
> collecting/trading.
This is getting away from archeaology a bit (or is it? would it come
under the term 'archaeometry'?), but I'm interested in how you know its
the same meteorite?
Another question is what age have the Hopewell mounds been assigned?
If you can conclusively show that the fragments do come from the actual
meteorite, I suppose it does have something to say about trading patterns.
--
Michael Burianyk Office: P534B Avahd-Bhatia Physics Lab
Seismology Laboratory Phone : (403) 492 4128
Department of Physics Fax : (403) 492 0714
University of Alberta
Edmonton, CANADA T6G 2J1 e-mail: bu...@phys.ualberta.ca
William Wallace
On Thu, 11 Sep 1997 21:25:04 GMT, Michael Burianyk
<bu...@Phys.UAlberta.CA> wrote:
>On 10 Sep 1997, Donald I. Stimpson wrote:
>> Another piece of the puzzle is that fragments of the same meteorite were
>> found at the Hopewell Indian mounds in Ohio, presumably the result of
>> collecting/trading.
>This is getting away from archeaology a bit (or is it? would it come
>under the term 'archaeometry'?), but I'm interested in how you know its
>the same meteorite?
>Another question is what age have the Hopewell mounds been assigned?
>If you can conclusively show that the fragments do come from the actual
>meteorite, I suppose it does have something to say about trading patterns.
Actually, would it not be rather straightforward to analysis a
sample of each for their elemental and isotopic content and work
forward from that?
Granted the "breaking up" may be from two different ones fussing
a few billion years before this event.
[WWal...@freedom.org (William Wallace)]
===
He who endures, conquers.
MCCON...@delphi.com
I don't have an exact date for Hopewell, but one probably
is available. N'oami Greber reexcavated the site and has
a publication out on it. There probably are some C14 dates
in it, but I don't have the publication to check. Otherwise,
it is likely they date sometime between AD1 and AD300.
Mark McConaughy
MCCON...@delphi.com
Donald I. Stimpson
Michael Burianyk wrote:
> On 10 Sep 1997, Donald I. Stimpson wrote:
>
> > Another piece of the puzzle is that fragments of the same meteorite
> were
> > found at the Hopewell Indian mounds in Ohio, presumably the result
> of
> > collecting/trading.
>
> This is getting away from archeaology a bit (or is it? would it come
> under the term 'archaeometry'?), but I'm interested in how you know
> its
> the same meteorite?
>
> Another question is what age have the Hopewell mounds been assigned?
>
> If you can conclusively show that the fragments do come from the
> actual
> meteorite, I suppose it does have something to say about trading
> patterns.
>
> --
> Michael Burianyk Office: P534B Avahd-Bhatia Physics Lab
> Seismology Laboratory Phone : (403) 492 4128
> Department of Physics Fax : (403) 492 0714
> University of Alberta
> Edmonton, CANADA T6G 2J1 e-mail: bu...@phys.ualberta.ca
Meteorites are classified into several main groups and many subgroups
based on elemental composition and structure. The Brenham meteorite is
a stony-iron, pallasite. Its a mixture of metal and stone (olivine) and
looks like "Swiss Cheese" when its cut and polished with stone filling
the holes. In addition to this structural similarity between the
Brenham and Hopewell meteorites, the elemental analysis indicates the
meteorites are from the same fall:
Hopewell Ni 10.63%, Ga 24ppm, Ge, 61.8ppm, Ir 0.049ppm
Brenham Ni 11.1%, Ga 26.2ppm, Ge 70.8ppm, Ir 0.041ppm
(Ref. Wasson and Sedwick: Meteoritic material from Hopewell Indian
burial mounds:
Chemical data regarding possible sources. Nature 222, 22-24, 1969).
The only other pallasite meteorite found close to the Hopewell mounds is
Eagle Station, Carrol County, KY, about 60 miles away. However, its
elemental composition is different from that of the meteorite at
Hopewell (eg. Ni 15.37%, Ga 4.54ppm, Ge 75ppm, Ir 10ppm) and may not
have been know before the 1880 find.
I don't know the age of the Hopewell Mounds and will begin to study the
archaeology of this site as well as KS. I have one cryptic reference to
a book "Who Were the Mound Builders" by George E. Stuart (no date),
still looking for a copy.
Donald I. Stimpson
stim...@infrared.csc.ti.com