buffalo scapula hoes in action

[larson1951]

for you to look at are some shoulder blade hoes which were also used as shovels when mounted parallel with the handle
these images were from about 60 some miles south of me at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation near Fort Yates, North Dakota
some images could be from north by the Knife river/Missouri river confluence
a few years ago i picked up a box of over 30 broke hoes in a very short time...lots of brokes laying around











these are a few examples i have they can be dated new or old by the way the ribs were removed on the back side
the older ones were removed by a flint knife which are like these pictured
the newer ones were removed by a metal blade

 

[flintdigger]

Very interesting post Steve.

 

[NC field hunter]

Larson was kind enough to send me a scapula. He sent every thing in that frame, as a matter of fact! I love showing it to people!

 

[monsterrack]

Very good post I wonder how they where hafted to the handle, does anyone know. I can't tell from photo

 

[bci101tractors]

Very Cool...
A close up of the 3rd pics shows the hafting. Very interesting, thanks Larson.
Looks like some Giant Zuccihni Squash??

 

[NC field hunter]

Steve, how old are these pictures? I'm looking at them on a small phone screen. They are actual black and white photos, aren't they? They look look similar to old lithograph pictures. The scene of these picture would make a pretty lithograph. Nice post!

 

[larson1951]

Very Cool...
A close up of the 3rd pics shows the hafting. Very interesting, thanks Larson.
Looks like some Giant Zuccihni Squash??

pink banana squash

the sweetest yellow flesh..................had a lot of them when i was a kid

Steve, how old are these pictures? I'm looking at them on a small phone screen. They are actual black and white photos, aren't they? They look look similar to old lithograph pictures. The scene of these picture would make a pretty lithograph. Nice post!

pictures are over 100 years old i think

 

[Tnmountains]

It is always amazing to see the bone used as tools. Nothing like some buffalo bone to hoe out that garden. Tragic how the buffalo were almost destroyed.
Thanks for sharing the tool in action.Glad you are rescuing so much.

 

[NC field hunter]

pink banana squash

the sweetest yellow flesh..................had a lot of them when i was a kid

pictures are over 100 years old i think

Wow! Those are defiantly pictures to cherish. Thanks for allowing us to view them.

 

[larson1951]

another use for the scapula was to use as platters for serving food

shown below are a squash knife made from a scapula for preparing squash to dry





here is a side view of a cache pit

 

[johnfile]

Not the most beautiful, but coolest....

Stevie B...I love this one you so kindly sent....although this photo doesn't do it justice....on the bottom, where it was broken, it's been sharpened to be some kind of secondary tool....my sis said it looks like a giant bottle opener. It is like a bone awl and hoe combined...I wonder what it was actually used for like this....thanks again my friend!

 

[larson1951]

ok john i remember that one
it was typically used until broke then just kept being used in the same way which is why the broke edge has much use polish

i have tried to share examples of these with tnet friends................seems harder to find them as they are still laying around but all broke from tractors running over them


once again john thanks much for sending me that MacCorkle

larson1951

 

[ncnurseryman]

Great photos. Its always amazing to see how things have changed or not from 100 hears +- ago.

 

[fongu]

Nothing was wasted in their village. Such ingenuity. Thanks for the photos.

 

[Buckleberry]

Those are some really great pictures, always nice to see artifacts mounted and in use.

Kelly sent me a piece of a squash knife, amazing how sharp they ground the edges...I'm building a new frame for my Dakota pieces and will post a pic here Larson when it's done and they're mounted in it.

 

[painterx7]

Awesome pictures that is very cool