The Prehistoric Use of Meteorites in North America
By Glen Akridge

Through the ages mankind has been fascinated with the heavens. For thousands of years we have been gazing upon the stars and marveling at rocks falling from the sky. In historic times, meteorites that were observed descending from the heavens were often regarded as messages from God.

Depending upon the local culture and the current social environment, these objects were considered as either good or bad omens. Meteorites have been found in Egyptian tombs and the hieroglyphic symbol for meteorites has been translated as siderite, or "iron from heaven". A dagger of meteoritic iron was found in King Tutankhamun's burial chamber. When a meteorite fell near Phrygia in about 2000 B.C., it was revered as a divine object for years. According to Titus Livius, the stone was later transported to Rome and worshipped for another 500 years. North of Zanzibar on the east African coast in 1853, a one pound stone was observed to fall by some local shepherd boys. Since the object fell from heaven, their tribe the Wanikas regarded the stone as a god and refused to sell it to German missionaries. A temple was built to house the divine object after it had been anointed with oil, clothed in apparel, and ornamented with pearls. Their reverence for the meteorite changed three years later when the neighboring Masai tribe raided the Wanikas' village and killed many of their people. When a famine arose shortly thereafter, the elders lost all faith in the stone's protective powers and were more than eager to exchange their former god for a few silver dollars.

In North America, however, much less is known about Native American interaction with the heavens during prehistory. Since they left no written records, we can only speculate about their use of meteorites and archaeoastronomy through the information archaeologists have retrieved from the ground. More recent historic accounts refer to the Indians' reverence for large fallen meteorites, although there appears to have been few attempts at moving or using these stones from the sky.

There is growing evidence that North American Indians possessed considerable knowledge about celestial events and were able to develop systems of timekeeping. Like the Aztecs, Maya, and Inca, American Indians realized by A.D. 200 that seasonal changes could be predicted based upon the movement of the Sun, stars, and Moon. Although they were probably not interested in keeping track of seconds, minutes, hours, or even days, but knowing the time of year would allow them to plan for certain events, such as planting, harvesting, and religious ceremonies. For example, numerous archaeological sites in the Mississippi River Valley are believed to have earthen mounds constructed in positions that would signal winter and summer solstices by the rising or setting of the sun over the crests of mounds. The Toltec Mounds site near Little Rock, Arkansas (not related to the Toltecs of Mexico), is thought to also contain mound alignments for the equinox and the rising and setting of the star Vega.

The occurrence of meteorites on archaeological sites in North America has been known since the early 19th century. While searching for the northwest passage in 1818, John Ross discovered a previously unknown band of Eskimo on the northwest coast of Greenland using a variety of cutting tools with blades of meteoritic iron. That same year a `plate' of iron from Ohio was the first of a series of meteoritical iron artifacts found on Hopewellian (200 B.C. - A.D. 500) sites in the eastern United States.

Meteorites found on archaeological sites are composed primarily of iron and nickel and are believed to have formed in the cores of asteroids during the early stages of the solar system. Despite comprising the minority of meteorites falling to earth, iron meteorites usually arrive on earth as larger chunks than their stony meteorite cousins. This larger size and their unusual appearance compared to terrestrial rocks would make iron meteorites easier for Native Americans to locate. The creation of tools from iron meteorites probably involved only cold hammering of the metal, since temperatures required for hot-working cannot typically be reached by open fires.

When news of John Ross' discovery became widely known, numerous American and European expeditions went in search of what the Polar Eskimo described as the "Iron Mountain". It was 76 years later before the Eskimos Tellikotinah and Kessoo led Admiral Robert Peary to three iron masses. Peary knew immediately that he had found the long sought after meteorites and began making plans for their removal to New York. Over the next three years Peary managed to secure several meteorite fragments, including three irons the Eskimo had named Ahnighito (or Tent), Woman, and Dog. The names are the result of a story related by the Eskimo concerning the origins of the stones. The Eskimo claimed that the evil spirit Tornarsuk threw a sewing woman, her tent, and curled up dog from heaven. Peary believed that since the Eskimo's story states that the rocks came from the sky, someone in the not too distant past must have witnessed the meteorite's fall to Earth. Vagn Buchwald in his Handbook of Iron Meteorites points out that this story was not mentioned by Ross or any other explorer, and that the Eskimo may have provided "the guest with a good story built on what they were expected to know." The fall was almost certainly not observed since archaeological evidence shows meteoritic iron being used on Greenland sites nearly 1000 years earlier, and may have been one of the factors that lured people to the eastern Arctic.

Meteoritic iron has been discovered on several sites in the central and eastern arctic. Although the meteorite now known as Cape York fell in Greenland, trade among the Eskimo resulted in pieces of the meteorite being transported to locations up to 2200 km away. Use of the iron was primarily limited to the creation of knife blades and harpoon points, but may have served as engraving tools as well. The small number of sites on which meteoritic artifacts have been found may not adequately represent the abundance or distribution of this important resource. The harsh arctic climate and the capability of reusing and reworking iron into smaller and smaller pieces leaves little for later archaeologists to unearth. The use of meteoritic iron among the Eskimo was probably more widespread than we now realize.

Much like meteorite hunters of today, the Hope-wellian culture was actively engaged in meteorite collecting. Although, there has been some speculation concerning whether or not a witnessed meteorite fall may have set them on their search, there is little doubt concerning their desire in obtaining this unusual iron resource. Chemical analyses have shown that meteorite fragments found on two sites in Ohio are identical to the large Brenham fall in Kansas. It appears that the Hopewell were using their extensive trading networks to redistribute the iron fragments further east. Of the 20 sites in which meteoritic iron has been found, at least three different meteorites are represented. The true number of meteorites used by this culture is probably higher since only a small number have been tested chemically. The chemical composition of the metal determines the meteorite's classification and the possible relationship between artifacts. Artifacts with a similar trace element chemistry were probably made using the same meteorite source.

Although we cannot know if a meteorite fall was ever witnessed, the artifacts made from meteoritic iron were reserved for ceremonial purposes. Woodworking tools such as celts, axes, and adzes were made from the iron but apparently never used. In Ohio, a bear canine tooth was found with a small ball of iron set into it, and chisels designed to mimic beaver teeth have also been unearthed. Copper ear spools with an overlay of iron foil have been found on sites in Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, and Florida. At the Havana site in Illinois, 22 oxidized iron beads were discovered that formed a necklace with over 1000 shell and pearl beads.

Unlike the Hopewell culture in the eastern United States or the Polar Eskimo, the Indians in the American Southwest and northern Mexico were not modifying the meteorites that have been found on archaeological sites. Instead these rocks may have been collected because of their unusual nature. People in the Southwest had little or no metal-working background to encourage experimentation with a metallic stone, and it appears that there was no unified cultural interest in these objects.

The Camp Verde and Bloody Basin meteorites are thought to be transported specimens from Meteor Crater in north central Arizona. Both meteorites were discovered on sites located approximately 100 km southwest of the crater. Camp Verde was found on top of a mesa in the corner of an ancient dwelling. The meteorite had been wrapped in feather-cloth and placed upon a stone cyst. Stone cysts were sometimes used for child burial. Both Bloody Basin and a meteorite from Mesa Verde in Colorado were found in dwellings with apparently little or no special significance attached to them by the inhabitants. Two meteorites from Chihuahua, Mexico were located inside ruins that may have been constructed around the stones. The Huizopa iron weighed 108 kg when it was discovered in 1907, and the 1545 kg Casas Grandes was found wrapped in mummy cloth similar to the burials located nearby.

It seems as if the extent to which each culture used meteoritic iron was based upon their technological knowledge in working metal and in their need for a vital resource. The Hopewellians use of copper reduced their need for iron. Instead they treated the iron resource with esteem because of its unusual properties and its limited availability. The Polar Eskimo, on the other hand, spent most of their time on survival tasks due to the harsh environment. When presented with a supply of metallic iron, the Eskimo made use of the advantages the material offered for daily survival. By creating iron knives and projectile points their efficiency in the hunting and skinning of animals was greatly improved. In the Southwest, the lack of knowledge concerning metal-working prevented experimentation with strange stones found on the surface of the ground.

Looking back, we notice that throughout history different cultures have treated rocks from the sky in unique ways. Meteorites were sometimes casually collected, fashioned into tools, or often divinely worshipped. One could say that our modern world has also come to venerate these objects. Stones from the sky are highly treasured by collectors, and scientists have created an entire scientific field devoted to the study of these rocks. The science of meteoritics may be new, but mankind's fascination with meteorites is ancient.

Glen Akridge is a member of the Cosmochemistry Group at the University of Arkansas.