Bone Tools Found on Remote Beach

ScubaFinder · Mar 2, 2012

Hi, I love to explore areas that are hard to get to, and recently saw a little inter-coastal beach from Google Earth that was only accessible by water. I went there looking for Sea Glass and I wasn't disappointed, but I also found some nice pottery shards and a few bone tools as well. I was hoping you guys could maybe give me more info on them.

I'm going back this weekend with a mask and snorkel and will do a more thorough investigation in and out of the water. We were so caught up in all the sea glass that I didn't notice the first bone tool until darkness was setting in. Once I started looking around, I found two more in the next five minutes. We also found 20 or so pottery shards, and about 3 gallons of REALLY nice sea glass, more in our 3 hour hunt than in all my other adventures put together.

Any thoughts on the tools are appreciated, I'm a shipwreck hunter and not well read on native indian artifacts but have always loved them. I'm betting there will be some points and other tools there as well.

Get-the-point · Mar 2, 2012

Nice finds Diver.......I'm not too familiar with bone tools like that. The first one looks like a Awl. The two square items are not anything i'm familiar with...................thanks for showing..............................GTP(Chris)

Bum Luck · Mar 2, 2012

Nice finds!

Enough to give the Archies the Greenies!

ScubaFinder · Mar 3, 2012

Thanks guys, my pics are not that great. The awl I believe was a fishing tool of some sort, in the second pic you can almost see the barb on the sharp end, there is a small one purposefully cut on that end and the point is quite sharp, maybe it was attached to a spear for primitive spear fishing?

The rectangular pieces are less than 2mm thick, and very sharp on one edge, maybe a hide scraper or fish scaler. All are definitely "worked" into their current shapes. I hope to head back out there this afternoon and find some more stuff. I'll take some pics of the pottery shards too, definitely Indian, tan outsides with black in the middle. Also found one that's red-ish clay with a dark green or black glaze on one side. Looks to me like part of an olive jar, possibly salvaged from a shipwreck. There is a ship wreck directly opposite this beach offshore. All of this is just south of Fort Lauderdale, FL. Can't wait to get back out there! Will post more later, and thanks for the info!

Jason

centfladigger · Mar 4, 2012

those square pieces look like net gauges, a good find for a washed out midden site

ScubaFinder · Mar 8, 2012

Thanks Digger, I hadn't found those in my online research but you are correct, they do resemble simpler forms of net guides. The rain here kept me away from the site over the weekend, but my better half has to work late tonight, so I'll have more artifact pics up later. Thanks for the help!

Lone Star · Mar 10, 2012

Nice finds Diver, good eye too.
Based on what and where of course, I think the bone flats were destined to be ornamental such as Gorgets, or other body adornment. They seem too perfect and similiar to be fishing related. Bone awls are the most prolific bone tool found along the tidelands. Used for everything, including fishing hooks ,pottery, and poking holes in about anything to wear or hide under.
Most of my water bound sites are individual such as this, and I always find the same sort of things in the same 10 feet of shoreline. Occasionaly I get fresh pottery shards that match ,and sometimes fit to ones I got 30 years ago, same few feet of shore.
That was a great idea of zeroing into a new place c/o Google Earth. Congratulations and thanks for showing. Lone Star

ScubaFinder · Mar 10, 2012

Nice finds LoneStar! I got back out there for a bit but it was during an unusually high tide. I found 3 more pottery shards, another of the flat bone pieces identical to the first two, and another half gallon of sea glass. Will post some pics soon, and hopefully get back out for a low tide hunt too. I did get a good shot of the old foundation though. Usually the water is murky here but because of the high tide it was clear today. Still need to do a good detector search around the foundation, the three coins I found so far were visual finds while snorkeling. Enjoy!

Jason

tmodel · Mar 10, 2012

Scuba!! nice photos only thing i see that would make them better is to have an american coin or a ruller in the photo with the artifacts so we can tell size would help us ID many things. Terry

ScubaFinder · Mar 12, 2012

Thanks for the tip Terry, I'll take new pics tonight and throw a scale in there.

Get-the-point · Mar 15, 2012

You lucky SOB......lol..........Jason that is awesome that you dive for treasure ships. I am still trying to locate Mels other half from Pennsylvania........haha......you know maybe you can answer that question......If the ship is severed in two and you find one half, does the other half belong to the salvage team that discovered the other half?? Or is it based on location of find and general vicinity?? Now back on topic definitely hit that foundation with a detector. The Pendent preform is a logical answer as well..............Looking forward to seeing more of your finds man......Good luck.....................................GTP(Chris)

ScubaFinder · Mar 15, 2012

GTP - The way I read the Federal Admiralty Court Filings, they were pretty clear about your question. They awarded salvage rights to the Fisher Family on "All vessels of the 1715 Plate Fleet, wherever they may lie". So, if you found an original 1715 plate fleet wreck, then you'd be able to get 40% by sub-contracting with the Fishers, though your state would likely have a say in that decision as well. That's how it works in Florida anyways.

If you could somehow prove it was a 1700's salvage vessel that had been salvaging the wrecks, then it would be yours, or a pirate ship that had pillaged the wrecks back in the day.

I noticed when I got home that my "unusually high tide got ahold of my camera as well. :-( I had set it on a rock on the beach, and apparently a big boat went by and the wake got into my camera. I'll try to get good detail shots with my iPhone, but I will sure miss my Nikon.

tncreeker · Mar 17, 2012

The bone stuff is neat,,,,But the glass is AWESOME!!! I searched beaches in the Jax area for years and had like a handfull when we moved,,,,close to the same in Maine,,and found nothing on the west coast. I just love that sea glass.

Congrats

ScubaFinder · Mar 19, 2012

Yeah, good quality Sea Glass is hard to come by. This place was definitely a hot spot, and believe it or not, every time I go back it is replenished. It's a tiny beach on the inter coastal waterway. It is in a full speed zone so the boats throw out quite a bit of wake through the area. The old foundation looks like maybe it was an old bar or store with a short dock. I'm sure all the old glass came from whatever used to sit atop the foundation. The boat waked ground it down into nice sea glass, and the rock and sand shoreline continues to turn over and produce more every time I go there. It's really an amazing little spot.