Once again for this episode of inside the collections we are coming to you from inside
of our collections we've discussed several copper artifacts in these episodes but the artifact for
this week is unique in that it's actually carved from wood and then wrapped in a thin layer of
copper hoku 2683 commonly referred to as the mushroom wand is kept here inside this storage
case because of the copper's deterioration and the previous fracture that happened during its
original transportation after its recovery in 1921 the wand is not often removed from the case
hoku 2683 was found at mound city group inside of mound seven
it is approximately 13 and a half inches in length with a diameter of about an inch and
a half at the base and a half an inch where the mushroom attaches to the shaft of the wand
the mushroom itself is approximately two and a half inches in diameter
as its name indicates the mushroom at the top of this wand is believed to represent a
mushroom from the genus amanita because mushrooms in this genus can be deadly
edible or used as a hallucinogenic its exact species and therefore purpose are
unknown scholars have argued that the mushrooms this wand was based off of
were most likely hallucinogenic utilized in shamanic rituals this is further supported
by the association batons and wands have in the regalia of hopewell shamanic practices
as mentioned earlier hoku 2683 is unique compared to other copper artifacts in our collection
because it was first carved out of wood and then wrapped in copper
scholars believe cold hammering would have been used to mold the copper into thin sheets that
would have then been malleable enough to wrap the wand reinforcing the carved wood it is unlikely
that the copper's sole purpose was to strengthen the wood hopeful viewed copper is a precious
metal its natural sheen and easy malleability is what made this metal so precious to them
only one other mushroom effigy has been found in possible connection with hopewell culture
discovered at the fort ancient earthworks this mushroom effigy was significantly smaller than
the mushroom wand and was carved from stone unfortunately the unstable condition of the
mushroom wand does not allow it to be studied often leaving many questions still unanswered
why was it placed with this particular individual
did the wand belong to them or was it gifted upon death as a symbol of respect
if the wand did belong to this individual does it truly imply that they were a hopewellian shaman
what can the mushroom wand tell us about other artifacts found within this burial were they a
part of the shamanistic rituals in regalia we hope to be able to answer these questions with time
and continued research but until then remember to check out the other inside the collections videos
as well as the corresponding articles that go more in depth into each artifact in our collection