Ear Plug...Anyone ever found one?

[tchaire]

Hello-

After hours of searching...finally identified this as a Mississippian Culture "ear plug".

Just trying to figure out how rare of find it is. (My 10 year old daughter actually found it..."Dad, is this anything?") It's made of marine shell and about 3 inches in length/with the round part measuring about 1". Found in a plowed field in West Central Minnesota. I think it's very rare for this area because all the "old-time" artifact hunters I've talked to say they've never found one or know anyone who has. Just wondering if they turn up more often along the coasts or in the Southern states.

Thanks,

T.

[undertaker]

Im just curious why they would need ear plugs back then...The sound of a roaring brook...or singing birds or wife *****ing?

[badandy]

That's the best one I've ever seen! I would say it's pretty rare, because I have seen some from around here found, but they were all made of clay. Keep it in a very safe and secure place.
badandy

[PBK]

Tchaire, this may be the webpage you used to identify your daughter's discovery, but I thought I'd post the link anyway for others who might find the information of interest. Scroll to the bottom of the page to view the shell ear plugs:

http://www.mississippian-artifacts.com/html/earorn.html

[tchaire]

Thanks for the responses...

PBK....That's the site I eventually found after coming across a site that called them "ear labrets"..Otherwise I didn't have a clue. From now on I'm going to start posting first and searching second.

T.

[Ole Mole]

Im just curious why they would need ear plugs back then...The sound of a roaring brook...or singing birds or wife *****ing?

Because even the Native American males couldn't get away from the female chatter

Nice find and if I were to have found something like it I would not have even given it any thought to being an ear plug.

[Cannonman17]

In terms of rareness, a stone or clay one would be a rarity of perhaps 9.5 on a scale of one to ten while a shell or bone one is probably a 10. Most artifact collectors will never get to see one in person, much less find one!