History of the United States in 100 Objects -- 1: Panther Effigy Pipe, 200-500 AD

Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong

English - April 30, 2018 15:58 - 51 minutes - 51.8 MB - ★★★★★ - 47 ratings
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Previous Episode: Witchcraft and the Great Witch-Hunt, 1484-1700

Next Episode: The Century of Splintering: The Reformation in its Swiss and Radical Phases, 1519-1619

PANTHER EFFIGY PIPE
-Found in Posey County, Indiana
-Carved from Steatite
-dated to the MIddle Woodland Period, 200-500 AD.

In the first of the series on American objects and artifacts, we examine a tobacco pipe in the form of a wildcat -- specifically a puma, whose name comes from the Quechua word for "powerful." It was most likely used in rituals by shamans or priests of the Hopewell civilization, which built enormous, mysterious ceremonial complexes resembling Stonehenge -- only lacking a source of stone, did so out of wood and earth. The effigy pipe reflects the artistic range and sophistication of the Hopewell as well as their fascination with the mythic power of animals.

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