Broken Catlinite pipe

[diggingthe1]

I found this years ago, I should have screened the area. I haven’t tried to glue it but I don’t think it is all there. I found it with about 4 perferators in one specific spot. It was in an amazing place where you could look out at lots of valleys. Southern Colorado has places that seem untouched, very remote. The point was found about 2 miles above by a small seep spring we liked to camp at. I crawled out of the tent and before I got up there it was. The shell pieces show signs of being drilled. I don’t know if they were making these there or what. They were found about a mile below. The only turquoise piece I have found was by the pipe also. Happy Hunting!

 

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[welsbury]

Something interesting went on there. I would've had to screen to see if I could find more of that pipe.Cool find.

 

[joshuaream]

Interesting, could have been intentionally smashed/killed.

I'd start with the rim sections, you probably don't have all of it, but you might have enough to piece together the shape.

 

[diggingthe1]

I do remember taking a bucket of dirt home and going through it carefully to try and find it all. I have been back many times to try and find more. That was 20 years ago. I have pondered it quite a bit because the location was precisely where you could view as much as possible. I am not sure I will ever glue it, but I need to put it in a better display. It seems like it was small compared to others I have seen. Definitely one of my favorite finds.

 

[arrow86]

That’s a heartbreaker but still amazing find , that point is sweet too I like the red band going thru it. Also cool to think about camping on the same spot they camped so long ago

 

[joshuaream]

I do remember taking a bucket of dirt home and going through it carefully to try and find it all. I have been back many times to try and find more. That was 20 years ago. I have pondered it quite a bit because the location was precisely where you could view as much as possible. I am not sure I will ever glue it, but I need to put it in a better display. It seems like it was small compared to others I have seen. Definitely one of my favorite finds.

I probably wouldn’t glue it either, but you could get a lump of playdough and form an inner mould to build around to see what you have even if only temporarily.

 

[diggingthe1]

I probably wouldn’t glue it either, but you could get a lump of playdough and form an inner mould to build around to see what you have even if only temporarily.

I really like that, thank you very much!!! I could take a picture and put it with the display!

 

[diggingthe1]

That’s a heartbreaker but still amazing find , that point is sweet too I like the red band going thru it. Also cool to think about camping on the same spot they camped so long ago

Thanks arrow, it is an amazing spot with three canyons that meet up at this spring. Lots of trees and open meadows. We had our wedding reception below where we also camped a lot. Check out this snowflake obsidian scraper we found in the area! It fits nice in the hand! I bet it was used for generations!

 

[unclemac]

I do remember taking a bucket of dirt home and going through it carefully to try and find it all. I have been back many times to try and find more. That was 20 years ago. I have pondered it quite a bit because the location was precisely where you could view as much as possible. I am not sure I will ever glue it, but I need to put it in a better display. It seems like it was small compared to others I have seen. Definitely one of my favorite finds.

i know a spot like that in Nevada. You can see up and down the valley and all around. There are so many reduction flakes that i don't even touch them. there are stone shelter rings under juniper trees, mortars and other things just sitting there. Great place to just sit and watch from, it gets a breeze too and in the desert that is important.

 

[diggingthe1]

i know a spot like that in Nevada. You can see up and down the valley and all around. There are so many reduction flakes that i don't even touch them. there are stone shelter rings under juniper trees, mortars and other things just sitting there. Great place to just sit and watch from, it gets a breeze too and in the desert that is important.

It would be nice to spend more time at those places, a breeze in the desert sounds pretty nice! Many people must have enjoyed that area like you!

 

[tamrock]

Neat! Never herd of a Catlinite anything found in Colorado. There was this fella that was always at the lariat bar in Buena Vista who worked at the prison who had a big collection of artifacts, most found in the San Luis valley he said. He had abalone jewelry, mano's, matate's, bone tools, pottery and a large number of beautiful blades. He said only he was allowed to hunt on a ranch down there by a women who owed the ranch. In other words he didn't want to give up to me his location. He said also there was a cave the natives used down there.

 

[diggingthe1]

Neat! Never herd of a Catlinite anything found in Colorado. There was this fella that was always at the lariat bar in Buena Vista who worked at the prison who had a big collection of artifacts, most found in the San Luis valley he said. He had abalone jewelry, mano's, matate's, bone tools, pottery and a large number of beautiful blades. He said only he was allowed to hunt on a ranch down there by a women who owed the ranch. In other words he didn't want to give up to me his location. He said also there was a cave the natives used down there.

There are some amazing collections the locals have down in the valley, lots of paleo points. I have heard of the cave with the crane inside, some of those overhangs down west of Antonio in those foothills have a lot to be discovered. I wonder if they came from the ranches around Sawatch. That would be my guess. Bone tools would have come from a cave I imagine. Those springs around the valley are so full of flakes it’s unbelievable. The ranchers are always finding things. I have some nice permissions but it’s so hard to find the time. I am planning a trip down with the family to camp and hopefully hunt a little. Sometimes you walk up to a blowout from a dune, sometimes the roads went right through the camps. The pipe came from an area west of Manassa in the foothills. The Spanish trail goes right through there. There are some old markings I can’t figure out for the life of me to the north. They are zigzag like rock lines that make no sense at all to me. I want to go back and get pictures. They are on a low hill to the north. They would not be to heard animals or fence them in. It almost seems like a map to me. I could go on and on about that valley, that pipe is a long way from Minnesota!

 

[tamrock]

Yeah I knew the catlinite came from Minnesota. It's definitely a long lost story how it made it's way to southern Colorado. Maybe some fur trappers took there as a trade item. I read a story of how the natives on the plains trading buffalo hide for silver coins once. The hide buyer said they'd start the bidding at one hide for a few coins and then the natives began to up the ante in a bidding war by offering more hides for the same amount of silver coins. The writer went on to say he saw some natives wearing long coin belts strung together in their hair.

 

[redbeardrelics]

That is a very interesting find. I am not familiar with catlinite, nor prehistoric pipes made from that material. Is it usual for them to be polished on the interior surfaces as yours appears to be? The interior and exterior surfaces both being polished gives it the first glance appearance of being glazed to me, and I might have mistaken it for being a historic period redware artifact if I had come across it. It does appear from the photo to be stone rather than ceramic, so I am learning once again from Treasurenet.

 

[quito]

I am less than 40 miles from the pipestone quarry. The site I hunt has the convergence of two creeks running through it that both come out Minnesota south of the town of Pipestone, where the quarry is located. I’ve yet to find a pipe, but have found a few pieces of one. I do find lots of pieces of the material, some show signs of alteration.
I do have a decent pipe that I purchased years ago.

 

[gilmerman]

Very exciting reading. Thanks to all of you.

 

[diggingthe1]

That is a very interesting find. I am not familiar with catlinite, nor prehistoric pipes made from that material. Is it usual for them to be polished on the interior surfaces as yours appears to be? The interior and exterior surfaces both being polished gives it the first glance appearance of being glazed to me, and I might have mistaken it for being a historic period redware artifact if I had come across it. It does appear from the photo to be stone rather than ceramic, so I am learning once again from Treasurenet.

I’m learning to! Thanks redbeard, now you have me wondering more about this piece. Looking at the pipes online they show much thicker stems and bowls. The ones I just saw at the American history museum were large also not thin walled like mine. I wonder if it was an older style? Pipestone is easy to polish and I think someone very skilled made this one with the walls being so thin. Maybe it wasn’t a peace pipe and maybe it was a pipe, but I thought all pipes used by native Americans were peacepipes. Darn Hollywood. I also thought the only pipes they made were made out of pipestone. Tnet helped me with that and all your beautiful pipes you all find. Maybe someone has some examples of thin walled ones, I can’t find any authentic examples.

 

[diggingthe1]

I am less than 40 miles from the pipestone quarry. The site I hunt has the convergence of two creeks running through it that both come out Minnesota south of the town of Pipestone, where the quarry is located. I’ve yet to find a pipe, but have found a few pieces of one. I do find lots of pieces of the material, some show signs of alteration.
I do have a decent pipe that I purchased years ago.
View attachment 1722365View attachment 1722366
View attachment 1722367

It is neat place to visit, I walked around the quarry a long time ago. My wife is from MN. It’s always good to check where two trails or rivers meet. That is an interesting oval piece with the scratches, it looks like the inside of the bowl part and looks thin. Your pipe looks like the traditional style, where mine would be much thinner. Thanks for posting the pictures!

 

[diggingthe1]

Very exciting reading. Thanks to all of you.

Especially arrows curiosity!