Came into a Native American Artifact Collection

[Marc Kaden Ridgeway]

I recently came into a collection of Native American artifacts, which I believe were found in Ohio around 20-30 years ago.I really know nothing about them but am interested in learning.

I know I have a couple of celts , an axe head, some pottery shards , a couple of fish hooks, a disc pipe, something that looks like a tusk, a couple of pendant stones etc.

If anyone knows about these things , or knows someone in GA I can go to to learn about them , I'd be appreciative.

Please view the slideshow or see the pics `below along with what I think some of these things are...




http://img4.imageshack.us/slideshow/player.php?id=img4/8310/1314022986377.smil



Careful, She's watching you !

A couple of pendant stones

A couple of fish hooks and some sinkers? maybe? And a bone drill possibly? These were in two small envelopes on said "fish hook , pit 2" and the other said "White Oak Creek"

Animal bits and pieces... one looks like a cat claw... some teeth drilled for jewelry ... a bear claw maybe? Part of a turtle shell I think...

A bead

An antler? and a drilled shell

A bunch of bones..

Some interesting bone tools.. some awls or drills? The flat thing almost feels like ivory....

The ones with the little holes drilled in them really interest me... some sort of flute/pipe? I have no idea

These are hollow with holes drilled in them... almost certainly for jewelry I think

Some little hollow cones

A couple of pipes...

This is called a disc pipe or sun pipe , and is pretty darn nice...

This engraved stone pipe still had charred smoking material in it...

This stone looks like it was begun as a pipe and then left...

This pipe worries me... I think it may be fake.... it is two toned and very light...

This appears to be some sort of driling or grinding stone... it sits up flat and has the dimple on top

Some of the better stone points and arrowheads... most are broken, and there are boxes full of discards or blanks. Some are flint and some varying and interesting stone.

3 broken and one nice, whole discoidals

I believe these are called celts... it'd be cool if the smaller one was a tomahawk head though... LOL

A (rough) grooved axe

Some pottery shards... there is a shoebox full of these.

I don't have a clue what this weird, glossy, brown stone is....

I've seen these on the internet described as "polished biscuit discoidals" ... they look like river rocks to me.

Various stone hand axes and tools...

Eerially enough what looks like two very well worn human molars... but maybe not...

And finally... I dont know... a broken bannerstone?

And then of course boxes of blanks , breaks or rough formed tools

Thanks for looking

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Minelab PRO-FIND 35 Waterproof Pinpointer Metal Detector for Experts with Tone ID & Adjustable Sensitivity - Grab it through Amazon!

[hombre_de_plata_flaco]

I know someone in Georgia who may be of help to you, but he is in the NE corner of the state. Works in a museum. He would be glad to look at them for you.

 

[ohioaxeman]

Marc.. you have some nice stuff there. In less than 24 hours, the people on this forum will inform you of what you have! Nice catlinite disc pipe too!

 

[The Grim Reaper]

For some reason your pictures aren't coming through for me here at work. I'll look at them when I get home in the morning and see what I can tell you about your pieces. I have collected in southern Ohio for 46 years so if they are Ohio pieces I should be able to tell a little about them.

 

[Marc Kaden Ridgeway]

Hi , thanks everyone.

Hombre, I'd love to speak with your friend, i am in Atlanta, so I'm not too far away.

Mr. SRV (Stevie Ray?) I would love to hear what you have to say about the pieces. I have been looking at your stuff, great finds and we have some similar stuff. It's funny I said to my wife ( about the disc pipe) the same thing you said ... 20 years ago we would have never hesitated, we'd have loaded this thing up with skunk and relived history...LOL

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Okay, here's what I see after looking at your pictures. If these came from Ohio then they more than likely came from a Ft Ancient or Late Woodland site because of all the Bone Tools, Drilled Teeth, etc. The only thing I don't see is the typical Triangle Arrowpoints that are associated with these types of sites.

I'm not real sure about the two Pendants in the first picture. The one on the right looks to be just a natural rock with a hole in it and the one on the left looks like the hole was drilled into it recently.

In the 2nd picture those are definitely 2 Fish Hooks. The white piece looks like a decorated Shell Disc Bead and the rock is just that, a rock. The other piece is a Bone Pin and possibly a Hair Pin.

The 3rd picture is all teeth and not claws except for the piece of Turtle Shell. The largest one is a Bears Tooth and the others are probably Dog, Coyote, Fox, or other small animal canine teeth.

Picture 4 is probably a Crinoid, which is a fossil, but it could very well still be a Bead.

Picture 5 is what looks to be an Antler Flaker and a damaged Shell Hoe.

Picture 6 has some very nice Bone Awls, Bone Needles, Bone Hair Pins, Deer Antler Arrowpoints, Flutes/Whistles, and some Deer Toe Tinklers. These are typical of Ft Ancient sites.

Picture 7 has some very nice Bone Hair Pins and Bone Awls. The Hair Pins are the long slender Bone pieces and the bi pointed ones.

Picture 8 is of 2 nice Flutes/Whistles and a Trigger Bone Awl at the top of the picture. These Awls are made from the Ulna Bone of a Deer. Have you tried to blow the Whistles?

Pictures 9 and 10 are the Deer Toe Tinklers. These were sewn to the clothing so they would tinkle as they walked.

The little "hollow cones" in picture 11 are the Deer Antler Arrowpoints. They look like some nice ones too.

The two Pipes in pictures 12, 13, and 14 are also typical Ft Ancient type Pipes and very nice examples.

The piece in picture 15 is a fossil called Horned Coral and not an unfinished Pipe.

The Pipe in picture 16 looks to be half of a good piece that someone tried to restore with body putty or some other substance. The upper part in the picture is probably the original Pipe and the white is the restored part.

The piece in pictures 17 and 18 look like an unfinished Pipe.

Most of the Points look to be Woodland and I do actually see a few Triangles in one of the pictures, so this site could have been a late Woodland site that was also occupied by the Ft Ancient peoples at a later date.

The Discoidals are typical of the Ft Ancient types.

The Celts also fit into that time frame as does the Slate Axe.

The Pottery Rim pieces seem to be typical Ft Ancient types also.

The "weird, glossy, brown stone" looks to be a highly polished Flint Celt, also typical of the Ft Ancient people.

The two rocks in the next picture look to like just that, two rocks. They may have been brought in be turned into Discoidals, but I don't see any work on them in the pictures.

The two nice big Flint Bi Faces could have been a Cache or part of one. Those are usually Hopewell in culture which would fit the Middle to Late Woodland age.

The two teeth after that are probably Deer Molars and not human.

And I believe you are right on the one piece being a broken Bannerstone.

It looks like you acquire a very nice little collection. Were they an inheritance from a family member or just something you bought. Just curious. I hope this helps you out and if you have any more questions just ask and I will do my best to answer them.

Also, if you would like to part with any of this collection I would be really interested in acquiring some of it.

Thanks,
Steve Valentine

 

[joshuaream]

Nice grouping, it certainly looks like someone did some digging at Fox Field or some other big site in the Ohio River Valley. (I see a lot classic stuff for that area, part of a turtle shell gorget, bone awls, antler tinklers, etc.)

The pipe that is too light was probably restored with plaster, very commonly done by collectors when plaster was a common item around the house.

The pendent stones do look like what we call geofacts, natural made rock shaped like relics, but they a common in the midwest.

 

[Marc Kaden Ridgeway]

Steve,
Thank you so much for the informative post, and you as well Joshua.

I guess you could say that I found this collection. I was cleaning out a home that had been forclosed on after eviction.This collection was in a trunk in a corner of a utility closet in the basement. ( The house was a mess i hauled off 70 ish trashbags of filth and two pick-up loads of SA donations. When I found the collection I contacted the foreclosee , who stated that it wasnt his , and he didn't want that junk, to toss it or keep it or whatever. Since he said it wasn't his i pressed further trying to find the true owner and return it. I was told that he was storing the possessions of a friend who went through a divorce. The friend had retrieved everything but the trunk 8 years prior. This friend (who was from Ohio) has since disappeared , fallen out of touch, or what-have-you.

So, my due dilligence to find a rightful owner done, I dove in to trying to learn about them.

Being a sword collector, I would not be opposed to selling all or part to someone who could better husband and caretake and appreciate them than I, and in fact i have recieved offers for the whole collection from two dealers, but the offers are so far apart i can't believe either are being honest with me.

 

[Rege-PA]

I agree with Steve completely....I too noticed the lack of triangular points, either they were sold previously or you didn`t get the whole collection. Perhaps the collector favored bone which is one of the nicest displays I have seen and shows about every use of it in the Ft. Ancient culture.

 

[Martingeetars]

Awesome collection some really nice bone as stated earlier, looks like some of the kind of stuff Larson finds, the deer teeth that were mentioned above look human to me and if they are I would go bury them somewhere,JMO Thanks for posting!

 

[buzzgator]

Hey those are mine my buddy was storing them for me and I lost his address and his phone number and forgot his name but honestly if you would be so kind as to return them to me I will gladly pay the shipping! Dont let an unscrupulous dealer try an lowball you! Maybe in this case since you are looking to sell you should consider getting it appraised and authenticated. Now that said I am not a fan of authenticators and coa?s. You may do just as well to save your money on a pro and sell to someone on here like SRV.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Hi , thanks everyone.

Hombre, I'd love to speak with your friend, i am in Atlanta, so I'm not too far away.

Mr. SRV (Stevie Ray?) I would love to hear what you have to say about the pieces. I have been looking at your stuff, great finds and we have some similar stuff. It's funny I said to my wife ( about the disc pipe) the same thing you said ... 20 years ago we would have never hesitated, we'd have loaded this thing up with skunk and relived history...LOL

I like your way of thinking. lol

 

[Ohio John]

These items came from Southwest Ohio in an area near the Great Miami River in Hamilton County. The majority of them were found in a gravel pit operated by the Watson family in Ross. Most are Ft. Ancient artifacts. I assume these were found in my foot locker at Mike's house in Locust Grove.....

 

[Marc Kaden Ridgeway]

These items came from Southwest Ohio in an area near the Great Miami River in Hamilton County. The majority of them were found in a gravel pit operated by the Watson family in Ross. Most are Ft. Ancient artifacts. I assume these were found in my foot locker at Mike's house in Locust Grove.....

I have talked with Ohio John and deemed that the information he has on these items is valid. Although legally he forfeited the items long ago through abandonment, and the fact the items were forfeited in a foreclosure, I have decided that in good faith I will be returning the remaining items to him.

 

[hombre_de_plata_flaco]

WOW! Small world!

 

[buzzgator]

That is a nice thing you are doing! Makes me proud to be part of such a great group of people! I want to vote BANNER but am on my phone and it wont give me that option! Certainly a BANNER worthy thing you have done!

 

[Theakiki]

Holy Crap!
What a collection!
What a story!

 

[LECTRICHEART]

Picture 17 and 18 I believe may be fire starter tool. The tool is used to put down pressure on the shaft to keep from burning your hand while whriling the shaft with the bow.

 

[1320]

That is a nice thing you are doing! Makes me proud to be part of such a great group of people! I want to vote BANNER but am on my phone and it wont give me that option! Certainly a BANNER worthy thing you have done!

We can't give him a banner but what about an Honorable Mention....I used to see those a while back, can we still give those?