bear medicine

[larson1951]

here are some images of a Mandan Dandee's Bear medicine

this grizzly bear claw was carried for so long that first hole wore out and a second one was drilled.......(like we see on elks teeth sometimes)

.......this must have taken decades and could have been passed down from an elder to a friend or relative of a succeeding generation

this is the only one i have ever found and am proud to be the current caretaker of it

it has an awful lot of polish to it

 

[Harry Pristis]

That bear claw core really has been worn with use! Here's what an unmodified bear claw core looks like:

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[kansa54]

Wow, you continue to produce amazing artifacts. Thanks for showing.

 

[larson1951]

thanks harry pristus and kansa54

this morning i went to my partner (artifact partner) john's house to get a photo of one more claw that I knew he had and we ended up finding three
here they are........i am pretty sure most of them came from some terrible large grizzly bears.............

here they are:

 

[catherine1]

Cool "Bear Medicine Artifact" Lawson. You have the most interesting finds. I guess those long winters help to preserve the bone artifacts. Plus dry summers. Thanks for the pics.

 

[curious kat]

....how wonderful to be the "caretaker" of that bit of history....if only claws could speak, right?

 

[Harry Pristis]

That is interesting . . . all three have been altered (aside from being drilled). The underside of the blade portion has been ground. I'd bet it was done so that the claws would present well when worn in a necklace or as a pendant.

 

[monsterrack]

Those are way past cool Steve, thanks for posting

 

[old digger]

Those are some really awesome finds, thanks for sharing them! Thanks also to John for letting us see some of his collection. Those grizzly claws are neat.

 

[larson1951]

That is interesting . . . all three have been altered (aside from being drilled). The underside of the blade portion has been ground. I'd bet it was done so that the claws would present well when worn in a necklace or as a pendant.

thank you for pointing that out to me harry
i never realized that

 

[Kevin in IN]

So cool. You find some very well preserved artifacts in your area.

 

[Harry Pristis]

Here's a bear claw core with the keratin sheath:

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[larson1951]

Here's a bear claw core with the keratin sheath:

View attachment 950358 View attachment 950359​

ok thanks
your knowledge is always appreciated.......you know what this reminds me of harry?

when we find buffalo horns around here ....we find them to be almost prolific at the village sites....
......now when we do we just find the core also and only once do i remember finding the sheath of a buffalo horn.....only once.......
....but we find enuff cores that we sometimes put them on metal t-posts (fence posts) around our garden area or what not.........
.....for use as decoration such as a 'finial'

 

[fongu]

I've heard of these, but never seen any. thanks for posting for all to see.

 

[Harry Pristis]

ok thanks
your knowledge is always appreciated.......you know what this reminds me of harry?

when we find buffalo horns around here ....we find them to be almost prolific at the village sites....
......now when we do we just find the core also and only once do i remember finding the sheath of a buffalo horn.....only once.......
....but we find enuff cores that we sometimes put them on metal t-posts (fence posts) around our garden area or what not.........
.....for use as decoration such as a 'finial'

Bison horn is the perfect analog to the claw sheath and claw core. The bone core stops growing, but the keratin grows throughout life. It's a shame that the keratin doesn't survive very well . . . never as a fossil.