The use of ear decorations, or ear ornamentation, was a common practice in Mississippian society. The three most common types of ear decoration were ear spools, earplugs and feathers. Due to the perishable nature of feathers and the passage of time, a discussion of ear feathers will be generally omitted. Ear spools and earplugs have survived the centuries, and we are able to enjoy and appreciate Mississippian and Caddo ear ornaments today. Ear spools and earplugs were commonly used throughout much of the pre-Columbian world. Pottery, stone, shell and copper effigies attest to their use in North, Central and South America. Even in North America, the earlier Adena and Hopewell peoples used ear spools. Few other Mississippian artifacts are more suggestive of an elite status than ear spools.

Spiro Pulley-Style Earspool. D: 3" Le Flore Co., OK

The Mississippians and Caddo developed two major ear spools styles. The Mississippian style is commonly known as the pulley-style, and the Caddo style is commonly known as the double flange-style.

The Mississippian ear spool variety was most commonly used at Spiro Mounds. They were usually fashioned from a softer stone that was easily carved and shaped into a modern day pulley or spool shape. The outer flange, or obverse, often was larger in diameter than the reverse. The Spiro ear spools commonly feature a hole through the center of each ear spool to permit feathers and other decoration to be added to the center of each ear spool. Spiro ear spools are often engraved with elaborate geometric or effigy images. They were also commonly clad with a thin sheet of copper that covered the obverse of both ear spools. The reverse flanges never have copper cladding. Spiro ear spools range in size from 2 inches to over 3.5 inches in diameter.

The Caddo ear spools style is found primarily at important Caddo sites in southwest Arkansas. Caddo ear spools have large obverse flanges but lack the reverse circular

Caddo Engraved Earspools. D:3.25" Miller Co., AR

flange common with the Spiro styles. Instead, the Caddo employed two small triangular or semicircular flanges on the back of each ear spool. The typical Caddo ear spool lacks copper cladding on the obverse flange. The center hole found on the Spiro style is omitted on the Caddo style. However, the Caddo did engrave the obverse of their ear spools with very attractive and elaborate engraved designs. Caddo ear spools range in size from 2 inches to over 3 inches in diameter.

There is some controversy regarding how ear spools were actually worn. There are two schools of thought. The first theory holds that the lower ear was pierced and stretched so that the hole in the lower ear lobe could accommodate the ear spools and bear the entire weight as they were worn. Those who believe this to be the correct wearing method suggest that the reverse flange was made smaller than the obverse for easier insertion into the lower ear lobe.

The second theory proposes that ear spools were not worn in the lower ear lobe at all. Instead they were attached and worn as part of an elaborate headdress and the ear spools themselves

	Shell Earplugs. L: 1.5" - 2" Southeast US
Shell Earplugs. L: 5" Southeast US	Feldspar Earplug. L: .75" State of Arkansas

were attached and suspended by leather thongs or cords inside and along the channel of the pulley channel. Although leather thongs generally have not survived the elements and the passage of time, there is one pair of ear spools found in Illinois that has remnants of a leather thong or cording looped around part of the ear spool channel. Such evidence does give some weight to the second theory. Furthermore, shell engravings of Mississippian dancers reflect the dancer with both an elaborate headdress and ear spools.

The second type of ear ornament worn by the Mississippians and Caddo is the earplug. Earplugs were made from a variety of materials including clay, shell, stone, feldspar and copper covered wood. Unlike ear spools that have the greatest size in the diameter measurements, earplugs are rather narrow and they are measured by their length. Most earplugs are only 3/8 to 5/8 of an inch in diameter. Yet they range in length from a half an inch to over 5 inches. The larger earplugs were made from the center column of the conch shell. Although the Mississippian elite may well have worn earplugs, it is also likely that ear plugs were worn by the more common Mississippians as a daily expression of personal adornment.