The interesting discoveries in northern Alabama of a series of mounds which can be attributed to the Hopewellian Phase have focused attention on the copper reel-shaped gorgets. Webb refers to one such in the National Museum that was sent in by a resident of Portsmouth, Ohio. It is possible that this is the copper reel-shaped gorget mentioned by Rau that came to the National Museum from the Hopewell group in Greenup County, Kentucky, opposite the mouth of the Scioto. The donor, a Mr. W. Kinney of Portsmouth, Ohio, reported that “On one occasion half a bushel of these ornaments was found in the same mound and sent to the smelter.” A possible reel-shaped gorget or modified breast plate came from an Adena-Hopewell mound near Mt. Sterling, Montgomery County, Kentucky, and has been described by Putnam. In the same publication a brief report is made on the finds from a mound in Franklin, Williamson County, Tennessee. This description suggests a Hopewellian affinity.
A Minimalist Solution to Williamson County
