This pipe was found in the Adena Mound and it has become a hallmark of the Adena culture (circa 800 B.C. – A.D. 100). It is one of the most famous artifacts in the collections of the Ohio Historical Society. The article explores what we really know about the curious man on the pipe. You may have read that the figure represents a dwarf, or that he is a shaman in some kind of ritual trance, but what is the evidence for these various claims? The pipe was excavated by William C. Mills, then the curator of archaeology for the Ohio Historical Society, in the summer of 1901. Mills wrote that he excavated the Adena Mound in order to salvage the artifacts and information it contained from imminent destruction as the new landowner intended to level it so the field could be plowed. Newly uncovered evidence, however, suggests this may not be the whole story. Check out the article to get a new perspective on an icon of ancient Ohio.
