See a grown man cry!

[Atlantis0077]

Well it happened...

The spirits of my ancestors again got the last laugh on me. I would almost say...almost.....that I would rather not find anything than to find something like this. The first photo appears to me to be a Benton Blade....the second is a broken bannerstone of a rather poor quality hematite...or higher grade iron ore. Breaks the heart, but if there is one, perhaps there is two.

Happy Hunting,

Atlantis

[Gypsy Heart]

I am feeling your pain..... .......but half is better than none....

[dishinet]

Atlantis,


Sorry to see that, but it sure is one awesome flaked piece. The work on that thing is SWEET. Thanks for posting.

HH

Dishinet

[Cannonman17]

OMG- *dabs the tears from his eyes* I hear ya man, that's a heartbraker if I've ever seen one *reaches for his beer*

[DigEmAll]

I hear ya... a have a couple of those too.

I had a heartbreaking moment yesterday too. I found a LARGE indian camp... loads of broken pottery. Then I see a pottery shards all around a volleyball sized rock. Under the rock is a SMASHED bowl.

Apparently it was custom for any cowboy who found "indian trash" to smash it to tiny pieces so a cow wouldn't sprain it's hoof trying to step over it.

Or... on the other hand... maybe it was an Apache custom to return clay bowls to mother earth when they left a camp. Anyone know?

[Atlantis0077]

GLUE GLUE, man!

Sounds like a great place to find some points as well. Dunno about the cowboys or apache customs. I know here there were some burial customs where they broke the pottery...something about releasing the spirits....also it is a custom with some tribes and time periods to ceremonially "kill" a piece by putting a hole in it or perforating it in some fashion. Still though just finding a campsite like that is a really neat.

Atlantis

[Cannonman17]

I would be jumping for joy, shouting, doing the dance, etc. if I found a smashed bowl... holy cr@p man- pic up that pottery and send it to me if you don't want it, I'll pay for shipping and send ya some silver!

[DigEmAll]

Just so you realize what I am dealing with here...

The area that I live is what WAS the Apache reservation. That makes this area the New York City of indians. They took all the apaches that they could find and stuffed them into this area. You can't go more than about a mile in any direction without finding a camp. Some are larger than others. This one is really large.

The smashed bowl is way beyond jig-sawing it. It is smashed into pieces the size of a dime. I sat there and tried to find any two pieces that matched up... no luck. The broken edges are too weathered away. The only way you could tell it was from the same bowl was the pattern carved into the bowl and color of the glaze.

[Johnny X]

Those are definitely heartbreakers.... but... if you only find half..... that means the other half is out there somewhere!!!!!!!!

Keep your eyes on the ground!

xStevenx

[Cannonman17]

Yep, gotta keep looking- I knew a farmer who over the course of 34 years found all three pieces to a big ovate blade.

[River Rat]

I know the pain...been there too. But, a heartbreaker is still a find.

RR