Monette Bebow-Reinhard

Historian, Copper Artifact Analyst, Novelist, Actor

feb_2020_can-2.pdf (1.2 MB)

My other random February newsletter.

feb_2019_can.pdf (1.87 MB)

COPPER ARTIFACT NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2019

Read Past Newsletters

Refer to this photo on bottom of newsletter

APRIL 2020 COPPER NEWSLETTER

Etowah and the 3 phases of its construction, plus connections to Mesoamerica (bi-lob) and Southwest (d-shape) and their input on palisades came after invention of the bow/arrow.

From an Etowah article by … Cobb and King, "Reinventing Mississippian Tradition at Etowah," Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, Vol. 12, No. 3, September 2005 (C 2005) DOI: 10.1007/s10816-005-6927-y

Keyes and Archaeology (A Bill Green article)

There was a key figure in Iowa archaeology – Charles R. Keyes. He was not a trained archaeologist. Here's how he was described: "Keyes commanded national respect for his rapid acquisition of an encyclopedic knowledge of Iowa archaeology, despite having no formal training in American archaeology -- he knew literally everything anyone at the time could know on the subject. His stature arose also from his organizational abilities, reflected by his creation of the Iowa Archaeological Survey." (William Green, CR Keyes & Iowa Archaeology, 81).

Similarly, I'm learning all I can on the fly and, too, am creating also an archaeological survey. I face a lot of criticism in my work, in part, I'm sure, because I have to work with both collectors and museums at a time when there is friction between the two. Collectors once created archaeology. Now they're looked down on. I would enjoy having a role in bringing the two into a kind of symbiotic relationship once again, where trust is the key element.

Keyes devised a detailed research plan and survey of artifacts in Iowa to date in 1922, so I'm sure much of what's been turned up in the CAMD is due to his efforts. If possible I will need to find the Keyes' Collection, which houses 108,000 artifacts, and helped implement preservation of various sites around the state (82).

Green's full article can be found here:

https://scholarworks.uni.edu/jias/vol99/iss4/7/?utm_source=scholarworks.uni.edu%2Fjias%2Fvol99%2Fiss4%2F7&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages

Is there no end to the mysteries of the ancient world? Michael Ruggeri, Chicago Archaeological Society, shared a new discovery at Poverty Point.

https://www.bnd.com/news/nation-world/national/article241821501.html

A response received on his list is interesting:

The fired clay "balls" found at Poverty Point have been a matter of considerable speculation as to their function. One time Jeffry Coe showed me a drawer full of them in the Archaeology Lab at Chapel Hill. What is known about them so far: approximately 20,000 of them have been found; most have been recovered in cooking areas or in deposits of domestic trash; they date to about 1,200 B.C.; not all are balls; some are square; some seem to be wads of clay squeezed between the fingers before firing; some look like Mesoamerican spindle whorls but often the hole does not completely traverse the ball; many are decorated with incised lines. One theory is that they were heated and used for "stone boiling". I know of no counterpart to them in the Formative of Mexico. Surprisingly Mesoamerican-like, however, is the great number of prismatic blades struck from prepared cores that have been recovered at Poverty Point. Also of interest, not too long ago Berle Clay discovered remnants of one or more "woodhenges" at the site.

By Joe Mountjoy, who also wrote the following:

There is nothing better than consulting with an archaeologist who has done a lot of investigations at Poverty Point, so I contacted my friend Berle Clay and this is what he wrote to me about the subject of the small fired clay pieces.

Good to hear from you...yes they are definitely fired...having done much magnetometry at Poverty Point I can attest that ppo fragments are a major source of background magnetics! They are not temporally restricted to Poverty Point culture but occur at later dates. They seem to be restricted to the major alluvial plains (like the Mississippi/Yazoo) where other stone that might be used for cooking is simply not available. However, at major Poverty Point sites they occur in abundance, not so elsewhere. Obviously they are making a statement about food preparation. I know in New Ireland where Brenda and I worked hot rocks were used both for "earth oven" cooking and boiling in surface containers. I have seen someone bring water to boil in about a minute by dropping hot rocks in...removing them...and adding more. At Poverty Point they did get somewhat creative in the forms of ppo they produced...including a range of simple "sculptures" of human and animal forms.

I've often suspected there was some Mesoamerican influence and this dialogue tends to agree with that.

This find in an off-archaeology newsletter struck a chord with me:

"First of all, knowledge is never free. It is the product of years of labor in writing and research. Nobody in this society works for free, nor should authors alone be expected to, particularly since we are one of the few professions Congress is empowered to protect in the Constitution." Scott Turow, "Knowledge is not Free," Authors Guild newsletter, April 2020

I've met people who think I should just give all my research away, make it free to anyone who wants it.

Shame on them. This is research that took a lot of time and energy, and what makes anyone think

should do it for free? If someone can explain this to me, or why there are collectors and/or museums who don't see the value in adding their materials to the database, I'd love to have it explained.

Refer to photo of Michigan Copper found in this source:

In 1862 Charles Whittlesey called this a bodkin. Anyone know what a bodkin is? If you look it up online it's referred to as a needle. I'm not at all sure why this looks like a needle. Any ideas?

April 6, 2022

BITS

Yes, that describes Last Curtain, going up in bits and pieces. I'm going to do a major arrange of the scenes once I'm done writing it. But this one is a challenge.

Nice response from AG Theatrics to my recent email letter. They're still out there! I am still considering whether I'll stay with AG though. Haven't gotten yet a good reason to. But I do need to keep a home for my copper research.

I auditioned but lost. Both a film and a commercial. Job will be done on the 14th. Maybe after that I can focus.

My Pensaukee book will cost $5.91 for author copies. Hoping to provide a few for $8 to any book store who wants to sell them for $12 or more. I will sell for $10 myself once I get the free copies distributed. Thanks all who like the cover!

Got my name in to be voted on as a board member for the Beloit Art Center. Who would have thought -- me, of all people, in an art center?

PIECES

I guess this'll be a short newsletter this month. I will talk a little bit about the CAMD, and how people should be requesting more from me in terms of their own artifact research needs. There's a lot in the CAMD, from Canada down to South America. Tom from the Honduras contacted me with some finds they have for their new museum and what he found could well make the connecting link I've been looking for to the USA. I'll supply him the data and he can choose to use it however he sees fit. But to see Hopewell celts in the Honduras, for me, that's pretty startling. So he's giving me the data for the spreadsheet and in return, he'll get all the Honduras data that I have.

And Steve continues to share with me artifacts from his growing collection. He's getting them from all over, but all seem to fit into a Wisconsin database that I have. He will get a free copper of the manual I'm currently working on.

I know a while ago I furnished a lot of data to a PhD student for his dissertation at a cost. That same fee will not apply to the Honduras, although he did mention going for a grant, because ... well, I don't see them as having the same kind of economy as we have here. I do all of these on a case by case issue. And the PhD student had nothing else to give me in exchange.

So many times over the last decade I cursed myself for starting this. But I still see, and have always seen, a need for something like this.

dancing_with_cannibals_v5_(2).jpg

*****

DANCING WITH CANNIBALS. I was sure I was making a great mistake agreeing to edit an African's historical novel. And it was as easy as getting teeth pulled, one at a time. But the end result? This novel deserves to be read. It is a fascinating look at the takeover of the Congo by the Belgians in the early 1900s. I've never been to Africa, never met my co-author, but he was able to give this a very real feel for the time period. Africa has long been neglected and I believe we should be seeing it as ... not a new frontier, but as a continent deserving of our respect.

*****

I've finished reading 'Mystic Fire' and I totally love the book. I laughed, I cried, I got angry (very angry) ...... and I wanted more... Monette, it was amazing... if you have not yet read the book, you have to – Eva Mayer, Canada

[Monette] has a gift of capturing your attention with suspense and makes U not want to put either book down. It gets so thrilling U just want to know what will happen next. --Jean in Wisconsin

Very thought provoking, being a history buff myself and especially the Civil War, I found all the twists and turns very compelling. In the end I was so glad you got my Ben and his boys home together just a little tattered, really I very much enjoyed this as I did the first. Thanks for sharing your talent and knowledge of a complex time in our history together with the Cartwrights. --Cheryl/Sadiespinner

Dancing With Cannibals

Two young Belgian prisoners are sent by King Leopold to the Congo in 1906 as part of his conquest of the territory, to be colonists to control the natives and harvest their resources. Simon, former murderer, sees great opportunity and wants nothing more than to be an officer in the Belgian Army. Jean, former thief, had a disturbing dream that tells him not to kick the dog that's eating the dog. The novel follows their adventures to show two dramatically different styles of conquest -- by rape and torture, or by assimilating and conquering from the inside. Dicho Disashi's research of this horrific time period will give readers insights as to reasons for the current state of the Congo today. But readers will also find love, adventure and inspiration, as they come to see cannibals as human beings.

Quick Links

Authors Guild

Advocates for published authors since 1912

Authors Guild Directory

A compendium of member websites