this frame of awls and pottery making spatulas
was put together by the framemaster Russy
the spatulas are made from split ribs
they were also used to flatten porcupine quills and some of the ones that are rough on the sides were used as pressure flaking tools
larson1951
Larson, I like your bone awls. I'm a bone tool guy too as I always find more bone than flint on any of my local sites. The only thing I find more than "finished bone" is pottery shard scatter amongst the middens. You have a nice pronounced patina polish on much of yours. The only time I come across that characteristic is when it's found deep and/or dry. Mine always seem to be sun and salt bleached.
I've got hundreds I found in the last 30 years or so. Most are in similiar condition as the pic I'm attaching.
Thanks, good post! Lone Star
Steve, I am amazed at the condition of the bone and the polish you see on them in the photo, most of the time when we find any bone items here it is sun bleached with little if any polish as Lone Star has said.
You know fellas, I bet a lot has to do with the characteristics of the soil that covers the bone as well as the preserving polish the article had in it's lifetime. The local stuff to me probably baked in the sun on a shell, mud,grass area where it dried out and went " crispy critter and brittle" before being covered by earth. Stuff I found digging in Central Texas always had a polish to it although the calcium concretions played hell with that as well.
That thingy to the right side is weird. If the primitives here didn't have venetian blinds on their windows I bet it's an ear lobe. It's a hard stone, so it was brought here. Ain't no rock in these parts. In over 30 years that's the only one I've found here at home base.
Bone was all the rage around here for body piercing and adornment. I even found some scrimshawed bird bone that was either nose or ear adornment. Gotta work, Thanks fellas. Lone Star
neo-the flattened quills were used for decorating par fleche bags, moccasins or other clothing
they were flattened and then dyed red, green, yellow, etc.
steve
lone star- i still think that iece mentioned is very unique
Great looking tray on Bone Awls and Tools Steve. Russy does a great job putting those together for you.
I was told by an Archaeologist doing a dig here locally that the reason the Bone items last so long in our area has to do with all of the Mussell Shell mixed in with the soil that helps to preserve the Bone and keep it from deteriorating.
"Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends."
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