✅ SOLVED A Monsterrack Give Away !!!!!!!!!

[monsterrack]

1st READ ALL THE RULES

#1 To enter this give away you must have made a post or a comment on a post on the N.A. artifact site in the last 30 days.

#2 Mods. can play on this give away for just being a mod.(they do a lot of hard work for us)

#3 Pick a number between 1 and 500 and put the date of your last post or comment.

#4 You can only have 1 pick of a number and if someone picks the same number the 1st one that picked that number gets the number. So check on the post for the numbers already picked.

#5 This will end on 3/18/17 at 7pm central time.

#6 I will use a random number generator to pick the winning number(that is the only fair way) and take a screen shot of it and post it on the night that this ends. Who ever gets the closest to the number with out going over that number will win.

What is up to win is an original monsterrack eccentric stone blade and believe me they don't just fall out of trees. I will pay the shipping USPS priority mail. This is a one of a kind and who knows it may one day be a collectable. Under stand this IT IS A REPRODUCTION. Hope you enjoy and good luck to all.!!!!!!!!

 

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[dts52]

Wow, that is some beautiful work!
3/11/17 - 126
Thanks.
HH
dts

 

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[naturegirl]

last post was 3-13-17...my number is #315..that's a very unique dinosaur effigy

 

[quito]

Very generous of you monsterrack!
im gonna guess 185 and my last post is this one. 3-15-17

 

[theviking]

Cool piece, Monsterrack. Wish my napping skills where at that level. 3/15/17, 289, thanks for the chance.

 

[PullTabSlayer]

169

 

[jmaschal]

313

 

[NCPeaches]

Last post 3/14/17 and I pick number 117. Great job on that one monsterrack, fine workmanship!

 

[creekhunter]

33 and thank you for this generous offer, your knapping skills are well known and I can see why!!!!!

 

[GB Paleo]

3-13-17 #60

Nice knapping skills!

 

[weekender]

Nice piece.

3/15/17

# 55

 

[monsterrack]

those look like man hands/ so how are you called monsterrack?

You got your mind in the gutter. Lol!!!!! I use to make a deer mineral block for antler growth and it was called monsterrack. My e-mail was set up that way and after I sold out they changed the name to the block but I kept the name for myself.

maybe this will explain what this is and why I made it. Mr. Tussinger was a master and I'm not a drop in the bucket. The photos did not show up so just google his name and you will see his work.
PAGE 1
MR. TUSSINGER'S
MAGNIFICENT
ECCENTRICS
CIRCA 1920's AND 1930's
PAGE 1 OF 1 PAGES
COPYRIGHT AUGUST 31, 2010 PETER A. BOSTROM
Mack Tussingers eccentrics.
TUSSINGER ECCENTRICS




Abstract image of Mack Tussinger and his eccentrics.


ABSTRACT
MACK TUSSINGER'S ECCENTRICS
CIRCA 1920's to 1930's
OKLAHOMA

This article describes and illustrates several examples of Mr. Tussinger's famous collection of eccentrics. Approximately half of the eccentrics in the pictures shown here have been published in the 1940's and 50's. As more of them come to light from collections all over the country there are more opportunities to study them. A few of the designs do relate to either Mayan eccentrics or Egyptian symbolism. But most of the designs are unique and can only be attributed to Mack Tussinger's collection of eccentrics. Many of his complex eccentric forms can be categorized into specific types. It's now obvious that different lithic technologies were used to make the bifaces. So more than one person did make them. The skill level used to produce the bifaces varies from random percussion to highly developed parallel oblique percussion flaking that relates to early Paleo-Indian technology. Although the original story explains how Mr. Tussinger discovered the eccentrics in a mound, today's understanding of lithic technology is advanced enough to clearly identify the eccentrics as old bifaces (artifacts) that were rechipped along the edges. But irregardless of how the original story explains them, more and more people are crediting the eccentrics to Mr. Tussinger, and rightly so. His eccentrics are uniquely intricate works of art that would have required an inordinate amount of patience to produce. Some people have referred to best examples as "lacework."



"During the past two years the attention of archaeologists and collectors has been directed toward peculiar types of chipped stone objects purportedly found in Delaware County, Oklahoma."---1939, Forrest E. Clements and Alfred Reed, "Eccentric" Flints Of Oklahoma," American Antiquity, Vol. V, July 1939, No. 1, p. 27.
"It is believed that a further study of these relics (Tussinger eccentrics) will establish a connection between the Maya culture and the territory where these artifacts were found (Oklahoma)."---1937, "Oklahoma Notes," Hobbies, The Magazine For Collectors, p. 99.
"At first some of the smaller specimens (Tussinger eccentrics) were sold at twenty-five cents each; eventually prices in the larger ones reached as high as $40.00 and $50.00 each."---1950, "The Oklahoma Eccentric Flints," Wisconsin Archaeologist, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 77-78.
"We must not forget the small group of lithic craftsmen who became master artists, confident of their ability and completely in control of their tools; able to play with their art, to satisfy their creative desire by producing beautiful or fantastically eccentric artifacts."---1948, Ruth DeEtte Simpson, "Eccentric Chert Points---The Work Of Master Craftsmen," The Masterkey, Vol. XXII, July 1948, No. 4 ,pp. 128-130.
"He (J. G. Braecklin) highly valued the Rhoades Mound ceremonial blades (Tussinger's eccentrics), and owned several, as have President Claude Stone of the Illinois State Archaeological Society, and a number of other collectors and professionals."---1996, Jim Iler, "Oklahoma's Buried Maya Treasure," The Ancient American, No. 13, p. 3-6.
"------Mr. Elsing's collection----now includes more than a thousand of the points (Tussinger's eccentrics) found in the original Rhoades Mounds cache."---1948, Ruth DeEtte Simpson, "Eccentric Chert Points---The Work Of Master Craftsmen," The Masterkey, Vol. XXII, July 1948, No. 4 ,pp. 128-130.

Abstract image of Mack Tussinger eccentrics.

MACK TUSSINGER'S ECCENTRICS
CIRCA 1920's to 1930's
OKLAHOMA

Tussinger eccentrics are uniquely artistic. Many people have been and still are proud to own them. It doesn't seem to matter if they believe they were made by an unknown ancient culture or if they believe they were made by Mr. Tussinger himself. Professor Robert Bell gave me his eccentric not long before he died. He had gotten it from Mack Tussinger himself and had kept it as an example of Mr. Tussinger's flintknapping ability. On the other hand, I was recently shown a nice "classic" Tussinger eccentric that once hung in a Doctor's office. The Doctor had kept it as an exquisite example of an ancient culture's flintknapping work. In 1940 H. Holmes Ellis reported that he could account for and had located 3,000 Tussinger eccentrics that had been distributed to collections from California to New Jersey. The numbers of Tussinger eccentrics that have been held in any one collection across the country can be counted from as little as one to Willard Elsing's collection that once held over a thousand.



Mack Tussinger, colorized black & white photograph.
PHOTO FROM CLAUDE STONE COLLECTION----LITHIC CASTING LAB COLLECTION OF IMAGES.
COLORIZED BY PETE BOSTROM
MR. MACK TUSSINGER

Mack Tussinger probably sent this picture to Claude Stone when the Illinois collector was building his personal collection of Tussinger eccentrics. Or it might have even come from Alfred Reed who once owned about 900 of the eccentrics and was also selling them to different people. The original image is a black & white print which has been colorized for this article. This picture was probably taken sometime in the late 1940's or sometime in the 1950's. The back of the picture gives the address at that time as Mack Tussinger, Sparinaw, Oklahoma, Star Route.
Mr. Tussinger is reported by the Tussinger family to have been a gentle man and a Grand Artisan of the Wyandotte people who was able to create lovely pieces of art from stone and clay. He was also known as a rockhound and avid trader who frequented gun shows and trading posts. The family reports that he was a quiet man who worked hard to take care of his wife, children and grandchildren.



Collectors and flintknappers have verbally referred to them as Tussinger's. But in print and from many different publications, they have been referred to as "the Oklahoma eccentrics," "Oklahoma eccentric flints," "the eccentrics of Oklahoma," "eccentric flints of Oklahoma," "ceremonial flints," "eccentric chert points," "eccentrically chipped points," "eccentric points," "eccentric ceremonial flints," "Mack Tussinger eccentrics," and even "Oklahoma's buried Maya treasure." In 1960 Irene Heeringa (M. A. Western Michigan Univ.) wrote that "This pre-historic art in flint (Tussinger's eccentrics), in Mr. Elsing's opinion (a man who once owned over 1,000 of them), will eventually prove to be one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the ancient world, as brought to light in this atomic era. So there is no doubt that these unique artifacts have stirred the imagination of many different people for many years.



Mack Tussinger eccentrics. Most in frame are published.
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
PRIVATE COLLECTION
MACK TUSSINGER ECCENTRICS
CIRCA 1920's AND 1930's

The eccentrics in this picture can been attributed to Mack Tussinger's collection. The picture in the center shows Mr. Tussinger in about the 1940's or 50's. Approximately half of these eccentrics have been published in 1948 by Claude Stone and by Willard Elsing in a photographic prints pamphlet, sometime in the 1950's. They represent a good cross section of the now famous "Oklahoma eccentrics." Most of the design features are unique to the Tussinger eccentrics and do not appear anywhere in the archaeological record. For instance, notice the eccentrics that have one, two or three small projectile points chipped onto the bases. Or the ultra fancy forms that have been referred to as "lacework." One eccentric in this frame was once owned by professor Robert Bell (small orange example at lower left corner next to the white eccentric). Seven eccentrics in this frame was once in the Willard Elsing collection and the rest were once in the Judge Claude Stone collection.
The longest eccentric in this frame measures 7 7/8 inches (20 cm) long and the smallest eccentric measures 1 13/16 inches (4.6 cm) long.



There is no question that most, if not all, of the eccentrics sold by Mack Tussinger in the 1930's were ancient artifacts. But this is only in reference to the bifaces and not the edge work. At least one or more of them date to the Paleo-Indian period well over 10,000 years ago. The bifaces from which the eccentrics were made can be identified as various forms of projectile points, knives, spades and other tools. What makes them unique is the edge work that transformed them into works of art, or maybe it would be more appropriate to call them folk art. It's a remarkable accomplishment when you consider the skill and patience it took to produce thousands of these complex artifacts. Especially at a time when no one else had ever done such a thing in such an aggressive a way in all the modern world.



Published articles about the Mack Tussinger eccentrics.
PUBLISHED ARTICLES ABOUT THE
MACK TUSSINGER OKLAHOMA ECCENTRICS
CIRCA 1939-1945

Many articles have been written about the Tussinger eccentrics for at least 73 years. Most of them explain how 3,500 eccentrics were discovered in the 1920's by Mack Tussinger in a mound in northeastern Oklahoma. They disagree as to who made them. Some of the articles explain how they were made by an unidentified ancient culture. Other articles argue that the eccentrics were made by Mr. Tussinger by rechipping the edges of broken artifacts. The very first article appeared in 1936 in "Hobbies, The Magazine For Collectors"



The Tussinger eccentrics really are a reactionary phenomenon. Archaeologists, collectors and authors have argued strong viewpoints about them for seventy-three years. One source will say they were found by Mr. Tussinger in a mound in northeastern Oklahoma while another will say that Mack Tussinger made them himself. It's understandable that archaeologists in the 1930's wouldn't have been able to interpret different types of lithic technologies nearly as well as they can today. There are still some ancient flintknapping techniques that are not completely understood and have yet to be mastered by modern flintknappers. But most of today's lithic technologists have a good understanding of the complexities of the science of stone tool making and how to duplicate most flake removal techniques. This knowledge can be applied to the Tussinger eccentrics in order to better understand them.



A Mack Tussinger eccentric made from a Paleo biface.
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
PRIVATE COLLECTION
TUSSINGER ECCENTRIC
MADE FROM EARLY PALEO BIFACE
CIRCA 1920's AND 1930's

This eccentric was once in Claude Stone's collection. At one time he had the largest collection of Tussinger eccentrics in Illinois. This particular example is technologically inconsistent when it's compared to other examples in the collection. The biface from which it was made was manufactured using an advanced lithic technology that was in use almost exclusively by early Clovis culture flintknappers well before 10,000 years ago. In fact it may have once been a Clovis point. The large percussion flake scars form a pattern that are parallel and oblique. This is a classic Paleo-Indian bifacial reduction technique. But the edge work that finished the biface can only relate to something done by a much later Stone Age culture. There is nothing in the archaeological record that even comes close to the design pattern of this eccentric. Another contradictory point of interest is the fact that much of the deep surface patina was removed along the edges when the eccentric was punch flaked into shape.
So in the very least, if this eccentric was discovered in a mound, the ancient knapper would have made it out of an old biface that he found. There have been Clovis points found that were rechipped by a much later culture. But they only side-notched the bases for hafting in order to re-use them as a knives or projectile points, never as a ceremonial object in the form of an eccentric. There are no officially recorded large caches of flaked stone artifacts ever found that were anciently made by someone who rechipped them from even more ancient artifacts.
This eccentric was made from a good quality colorful chert and it measures 4 7/8 inches (12.4 cm) long.



The bifaces from which the Tussinger eccentrics were made are one of the most important factors when determining if one person or even if one culture made them. It's sometimes fairly easy to find out if a cache of artifacts were made by one or more craftsmen. The artifacts might exhibit a higher or lower quality of workmanship in the form of large or small flake removals, angle of flake removals, thickness of the bifaces, sources of materials, and so on. Sometimes, when bevel resharpening of the edges is concerned, it's even possible to determine if the person was right handed or left handed. Each Stone Age culture used a limited range of flintknapping technology to make their stone tools. Some flintknapping technologies were never mixed within a single culture. But the bifaces from which the Tussinger eccentrics were made are mixed. They have a stone tool manufacturing technological time span of several thousand years.



Mack Tussinger eccentrics, Egyptian and Mayan designs.
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
PRIVATE COLLECTION
MACK TUSSINGER ECCENTRICS
MAYA & EGYPTIAN DESIGNS
CIRCA 1920's AND 1930's

These three Tussinger eccentrics represent design qualities that might relate to Mayan eccentrics and Egyptian symbolism. The wing design eccentric at the top has an Egyptian symbolic quality to it. Other published examples of Tussinger winged eccentrics and this example have design features that relate to wings. They appear to be fully spread wings which is an image that is seen in the Egyptian wings of Horus designs.
The two eccentrics at the bottom of this picture do seem to have a certain design quality about them that might relate to the Mayan eccentrics of southern Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. The area where they do seem to have a Mayan shape are their rounded bases. They have large offset notches, one larger and one smaller, that give them a sort of human-head-with-headdress appearance which is a Maya lithic type feature or trait.
Only a very tiny percentage of the Tussinger eccentrics can be identified with any ancient cultural design theme. Almost all of the eccentrics do not have any design reference outside of the Tussinger collection of eccentrics.
The longest eccentric in this picture measures 3 7/8 inches (9.8 cm) long.



At least one eccentric from the collection, that is illustrated in this report, was made by a lithic technology that was used almost exclusively by early Paleo-Indian flintknappers well over 10,000 years ago. One side of the biface has very well done parallel oblique percussion flaking. This is a classic Paleo-Indian bifacial reduction technique that suggests that this artifact may in fact be a Clovis point. The majority of today's modern flintknappers would not be able to duplicate this biface.



"Classic" Mack Tussinger lacework eccentrics.
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
PRIVATE COLLECTION
TUSSINGER'S "LACEWORK" ECCENTRICS
CIRCA 1920's AND 1930's

These three Tussinger eccentrics represent the most elaborate and delicate design pattern in the collection. They are the most impressive eccentrics and are best described as having "lace-work edges." They represent some of the most delicate edge work of all the eccentrics. The design was applied using large round expanding notches all along the biface edges. Then another series of V-shaped notches were applied between the large notches which formed the thin and delicate "branches." On some of the notches, as can be seen on the example to the left, in order to further complicate the design a small projection was left isolated at the center of the V-shaped notches.
The longest eccentric in this picture measures 6 3/4 inches (17.1 cm) long and 3 1/8 inches (8 cm) wide.



Most of the bifaces from which the Tussinger eccentrics were made can be attributed to basic random percussion flaking. This technology was used during all periods in North America during the Paleo, Archaic, Woodland and Mississippian periods.



Mack Tussinger three point base design eccentrics.
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
PRIVATE COLLECTION
TUSSINGER "3-POINT BASE" ECCENTRICS
CIRCA 1920's AND 1930's

These three eccentrics represent one of the most unique basal patterns that is repeated in various forms throughout the collection of Tussinger eccentrics. The archaeological record does record anything remotely similar to these unique designs. These eccentrics have either one, two or three projectile points flaked onto the basal ends and various styles of notching or serrations along the blade edges.
The longest example in this picture measures 3 5/8 inches (9.2 cm) long.



The Tussinger eccentrics are radically different in design from any other stone artifacts that have ever been found. Although they've often been compared to Mayan eccentrics from southern Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. Almost none of them have any pattern that relates to Mayan lithics. But that is not the case for all of them. There are two examples that are illustrated in this report that were originally in Claude Stone's collection that do have definite Maya design features. Their rounded bases have large offset notches, one larger and one smaller, that give them a sort of human-head-with-headdress appearance which is a Maya lithic type feature or trait.



Various types of point base type Mack Tussinger eccentrics.
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
PRIVATE COLLECTION
TUSSINGER "POINT BASE" ECCENTRICS
CIRCA 1920's AND 1930's

These three eccentrics are good examples of the "arrow point on the base" design. Each eccentric is unique unto itself. They are very fanciful forms that are so representative of the Tussinger eccentrics. The deep notching and delicate points along the edge of the center example would take a lot of patience and skill to produce. The example on the right measures 4 1/4 inches (10.8 cm) long and the notch measures 2 3/4 inches (7 cm) long.



Another cultural design trait that can be observed in the Tussinger collection of eccentrics seems to relate to Egyptian symbolism. Some published examples and one that is illustrated in this article have design features that relate to wings. They appear to be fully spread wings which is an image that is seen in the Egyptian wings of Horus designs.



Mack Tussinger eccentrics, large expanding notches type.
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
PRIVATE COLLECTION
TUSSINGER "LARGE NOTCH" ECCENTRICS
CIRCA 1920's AND 1930's

These two forms of Tussinger eccentrics were shaped with large expanding notches around the edges. This "first stage lacework" design is common on many of the eccentrics. To produce the "lacework" pattern, the space between the notches would have been cut with V-shaped notches. The largest eccentric in this picture measures 4 3/4 inches (12.1 cm) long.



The vast majority of the Tussinger eccentrics do not relate to any ancient cultural artifact design type. A large number of them are much more elaborately and delicately flaked than most Mayan eccentrics. The majority of the design features that were incorporated into the eccentrics are unique to the Tussinger collection. The archaeological record does not report similar examples. Some of the most notable type designs from the collection feature either one, two or three projectile points that were flaked onto the basal ends with various styles of notching or serrations along the blade edges of the biface. But the most impressive eccentrics are best described as having "lace-work edges." They represent some of the most delicate edge work of all the eccentrics. These eccentrics have large round expanding notches that were placed all around the biface edges. Then another series of V-shaped notches were placed in between the large notches to form the most thin and delicate "branches." On some of those examples, in order to further complicate the design a small projection was left isolated at the center of the V-shaped notches.



Mack Tussinger eccentrics with small serrations.
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
PRIVATE COLLECTION
TUSSINGER "SMALL SERRATION"
ECCENTRICS
CIRCA 1920's AND 1930's

These two points are good representative examples of Tussinger's small serration eccentrics. Small serration eccentrics actually don't seem to be one of the more common designs, even though they would have been easier to make. The longest point on the left measures 3 3/4 inches (9.5 cm) long.



I last wrote an article about the Tussinger eccentrics in 2002. It caused quite a bit of interest and several people did contact me. There were writers for a newspaper and for a magazine, a professor from the Oral Roberts Institute and two members from the Tussinger family did call and write. I believe most everyone is ok with the evidence that shows that Mr. Tussinger made the eccentrics and sold them, actually very cheaply, especially if you consider the time and skill that went into making them. The degree of craftsmanship he accomplished using indirect flaking, also known as punch flaking, stands out as quite an achievement. There are no other ancient or modern collections that have such complex lithics which can be attributed, in these large numbers, to one person. Mr. Tussinger's eccentrics reflects someone who had and developed a high degree of patience, flintknapping skill and artistic ability. It would be an understatement to say that the Tussinger eccentrics are unique. At this point I would say they really have become legendary.


"REFERENCES"

1935, Mason, J. Aldren, "Preserving Ancient America's Finest Sculptures," (picture of Mayan eccentrics) The National Geographic Magazine, p.542.
1936, Reed, Alfred, Hobbies, The Magazine For Collectors, March.
1937, "Oklahoma Notes," Hobbies, The Magazine For Collectors, January, p. 99.
1939, Clements, Forrest E. and Reed, Alfred, "Eccentric" Flints Of Oklahoma," American Antiquity, Vol. V, July 1939, No. 1, p. 27.
1940, Ellis, H. Holmes, "Study of the Oklahoma Eccentric Flints," Vol. 49, No., 2, 7 pages.
1948, Stone, Claude U., "Journal of the Illinois State Archaeological Society---Eccentric Flints", pp. 3 & 4.
1948, Simpson, Ruth D., "The Masterkey, July, 1948," pp. 128-130.
1950, "The Oklahoma Eccentric Flints," Wisconsin Archaeologist, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 77-78.
1953, Townsend, Earl, In an article by Earl Townsend, Ohio Archaeologist, Vol. 3, No. 1, p. 20.
1960, Heeringa, Irene, "Treasures From A Pre-Historic Age---The Eccentrics of Oklahoma", 15 pages.
1996, Iler, Jim, "Oklahoma's Buried Maya Treasure," The Ancient American, No. 13, p. 3-6.
2004, Whittaker, John C., "Mack Tussinger And The Oklahoma Eccentrics," American Flintknappers,
2006, Warford-Perry, Janet, "Mack Tussinger And The Oklahoma Eccentrics," Treasure Cache, January, p. 38.
19--, "Album Prints", Frontier City Museum, pictures of 5 frames of Mack Tussinger's Oklahoma eccentrics (dates probably sometime in the 1950's or 1960's).

 

[Backwoodsbob]

My number is 357 last post 3-14

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[Jon Stewart]

OUSTANDING

My number is 310

 

[Buckleberry]

Very cool, If I won that I'd call it The Stegosaurus.
356

 

[rock]

today 3/15/17 #411 I look forward to winning one of your repros Rack. I saw the biggest piece of white slag in the creek the other day might have to go back and get it if the owner lets me. Good luck everyone.

 

[kingskid1611]

3/13/17 todays scratchin.....my number is 333. Just gotta say that is one nice piece you made there. Looks cool and dangerous....

 

[monsterrack]

Ok mods. if you want to play put a number in and I know more folks have made a comment on here in the last 30 days than what has placed a number on here already.

If this works well I'm going to step it up on the next one, lets have some fun.

 

[Tnmountains]

Ok mods. if you want to play put a number in and I know more folks have made a comment on here in the last 30 days than what has placed a number on here already.

If this works well I'm going to step it up on the next one, lets have some fun.

I am bumping this generous post back to the top. I think I will just be happy to see a mamber win it. I really like it. I have some pics of eccentrics from S.America a friend collected. I will find them for you sometime.
Thank you for the fun!

 

[oldsilver]

386 thank you!!

 

[GoldenEagle09]

Last comment 3/03/2017 #77