Drilled Bear Canine Teeth from an Archaeological Site in East-Central Kansas

Abstract

A minimum of 14 drilled bear canine teeth associated with 5 human teeth and fragmented bone from a surface exposure in east-central Kansas indicate contact between groups participating in the Hopewell social network in the American Midwest. Drilled, polished, ground, and scored bear teeth, along with a range of exotic and symbolic artifacts, are characteristic of Hopewell burial sites. The Kansas site, 14LY405, where the bear teeth were found marks the southwestern extent of the known distribution of sites with a specific kind of drilled bear canines and helps define the boundary of the Hopewell social network in the Great Plains.