Gorget. Better pics of previous post

[Darby]

Really enjoy the Indian artifact side of this website. Always nice to discuss and share finds with people who share the enthusiasm for this hobby! I found this Gorget back in 2007. Posted a pic of it about a year ago but didn't really have a good picture. One of my favorite pieces because of how unique and different it is from what I normally find. Had no idea what it was when I found it and thought it was modern at first because the holes looked machined and I didn't see the decorative markings. Really amazing how skilled the maker was to produce something like this way back then! Hope y'all like it and thanks for looking.

 

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[SCrocks]

Killer piece! Hard to find even a broke piece around here.

 

[GatorBoy]

That is one cool piece!
Apparently the broken section happened anciently.. Thanks to those tally marks across the broken edge.
I've just recently been looking into those marks.. They turn up quite consistently on broken artifacts... Specifically on the broken portion.
It has my wheels turning as to the reason for that I'm wondering if it was part of a ritual.. My imagination makes me think it might have been to let the spirit of the original object free before it was repurposed or reshaped.
Just guesses but it's pretty cool in my opinion thank you for sharing that

 

[katdancing]

beautiful piece, thank you for sharing it. kat

 

[bravowhiskey]

very nice find. looks like some object was being polished (from the heavy groove on top of the piece) at some point in its life.

 

[Neanderthal]

Interesting piece, where did you find it?

 

[NCPeaches]

Very nice! Would love to be able to find one of those!

 

[rock]

Looks like fish heads on each end. Strange looking gorget but it was a great find.

 

[monsterrack]

That is a super find

 

[outlawatheart]

wow! Sweet artifact! Great save... looks like farmer brown and his disc were after it too.

 

[Rege-PA]

Wow, one could study that piece for weeks. Looks to be made from a fine grained sand stone instead of slate. For some reason it was chosen for the natural groove in the center which I think is a fossil cast which are frequent in sand stone. The designs need to be studied and documented as they are not helter skelter scratchings with special emphasis around the holes and what appears to be double incised designs along the edges. The tally marks as previously noted show that it was reused after damage. Back side has been grooved to maybe fit against and be attached to a stick or piece of rounded wood, which drilled holes would fasten to. I wish this piece could talk as it has much to say. A super find!

 

[Charl]

That is one cool piece!
Apparently the broken section happened anciently.. Thanks to those tally marks across the broken edge.
I've just recently been looking into those marks.. They turn up quite consistently on broken artifacts... Specifically on the broken portion.
It has my wheels turning as to the reason for that I'm wondering if it was part of a ritual.. My imagination makes me think it might have been to let the spirit of the original object free before it was repurposed or reshaped.
Just guesses but it's pretty cool in my opinion thank you for sharing that

Yeah, in the recent Birdstone thread, I noticed both Robert Converse and Jim Bennett specifically noted it is rare when a salvaged artifact does not have tally marks. In fact that birdstone in question even resembles a boatstone that broke at one end, tallied along the breakage, and then re-drilled. This tallying broken areas on a salvaged artifact is thought provoking and does lead naturally to the question "why?".

 

[DigIron2]

That is too neat.Very nice.

 

[Darby]

Thanks everyone for your comments and input. One theory on the worked groove in the middle is they would use a beaver's tooth attached to a stick for a tool. They would then use the gorget to sharpen the tooth. I actually found three other pieces of gorgets later in that area, two of which had similar worked grooves. And yes it makes you wonder whose hands that piece was last in...just like all the relics we find...thats one of the draws of this hobby for me. Thanks again for looking and sharing your comments.