Does anyone know what these are? Indian beads/money??

[KnoxvilleDirtDigger89]

I met an older gentlemen that ive got to talking about hunting arrowheads with and he gave me a box full of stuff he has found over the years and these were in the collection..Does anyone have any idea what they are? Any help would be much appreciated..Thank you in advance.

 

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[AlabamaRelic]

Crinoid fossils.

 

[Indian Steve]

My grandfather called them Indian Beads. They are crinoids, like Alabama said.

 

[IDignails]

I’ve only been on here a few days and have already learned so much through post like these! You guys are awesome!

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Those are definitely Crinoid fossils. Nice examples too.

Now, here's the tricky part. They did actually use some of these as Beads. Some Crionoids will have the center either drilled out or some will erode out naturally. If you find some like that on sites where other Beads have been found then there is a better chance of actually being Beads. I have found a few on Ft Ancient sites.

 

[ToddsPoint]

Bottom left looks like coral. Vertical striations instead of horizontal. If an Indian found a crinoid with a perforation he/she would surely use it. Gary

 

[Jon Stewart]

Remember that where he found the crinoids was under water thousands of years ago. I found them in New Mexico near mountain tops. I found them separated at first wondering what small washers were doing in the desert and then I was informed that they were crinoid sections. I brought home a quart jar of them to give out to kids for show and tell at school.

Crinoids are animals related to the star fish and have been found as old as 300 million years old. Google it and you will read some interesting info on them.

 

[MosesOfTheSouth]

Everyone has answered the question on what i believe. there are huge areas where you can find these in Tennessee, it's hard to come home without a few in your pocket (at least for me). if the old hunter you got these from is located in the same area of tn as you, seems like he has the same habit.

i personally haven't found any possible to directly associate with NA culture (like Steve mentioned) yet. because of the Crinoids natural ability to decay into almost pre-made beads, very close association with other NA artifacts is needed.