Some heart breakers

Unit70

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Jun 11, 2018
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ToddsPoint

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Mar 2, 2018
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Nice finds. A banded slate gorget end! You better go back and look for the rest of that one. I think gorgets were used as belt buckles. Lots of stress on them. That's why they broke. Gary
 

Mine Shaft

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Apr 11, 2017
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Nice finds. A banded slate gorget end! You better go back and look for the rest of that one. I think gorgets were used as belt buckles. Lots of stress on them. That's why they broke. Gary

Gorgets were used as Atl-atl weight they were attached to the underside of the throwing stick.
 

sandchip

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Oct 29, 2010
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Gorgets were used as Atl-atl weight they were attached to the underside of the throwing stick.

Some, that is. Just like the fact that all bannerstones were not used as atlatl weights, or that all firearms aren't used for shooting, but simply as works of art for presentation.
 

sawmill man

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You guys are bringing up alot of confusing info. I was always thought to believe gorgets were worn around the breast or neck.
 

ToddsPoint

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Indians are always pictured half naked in summer. The reality was they wore fur coats and had a belt around them to keep it shut in winter. How would you make a belt buckle if you were an Indian? Need buckles also for backpacks. A piece of rectangular slate. Easy to work and drill. Pretty strong. Drill 2 holes and tie it on to a leather belt. The other end of the belt has a slit that goes over the gorget. Look at all the metal buckles found on this forum with metal detectors. Indians needed buckles too. Two-holed gorgets were buckles. Just one more of my myth busters. Gary
 

captain redbeard

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Mar 19, 2015
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Indians are always pictured half naked in summer. The reality was they wore fur coats and had a belt around them to keep it shut in winter. How would you make a belt buckle if you were an Indian? Need buckles also for backpacks. A piece of rectangular slate. Easy to work and drill. Pretty strong. Drill 2 holes and tie it on to a leather belt. The other end of the belt has a slit that goes over the gorget. Look at all the metal buckles found on this forum with metal detectors. Indians needed buckles too. Two-holed gorgets were buckles. Just one more of my myth busters. Gary

It makes sense, but it seems they would be wayyy more common, especially in later times when groups were much larger.
 

joshuaream

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Jun 25, 2009
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Nice finds, any time you can pick up a drilled piece of slate is a nice day.

Use of gorgets. They were used for quite a long period of time, and there is a lot of variation. I agree that some them probably functioned with sliding knots as fasteners/buckles (not necessarily exclusively on a belt like we use.) Many of them have been found in Adena and Glacial Kame burials clearly positioned on the wrist. At the Hind Site in Ontario a couple of them were found with birdstones and hooks that look atlatl like.
 

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