Clay Effigy Contest...who can guess first?

[intensecrasher]

Here is an Iowa piece that is from the Oneota Culture. I know what this is and it is easier to tell in person but lets see what you all think! I know that the effigy is but I have no idea of why it has the deep bowl indentation in it.

 

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[rockheadhunter421]

Lol. It's a Koopa from Mario Bros! Or an ancient action-figure of one....

 

[intensecrasher]

Lol. It's a Koopa from Mario Bros! Or an ancient action-figure of one....

LMAO....Pretty close Rockhead!

 

[GatorBoy]

At the risk of looking foolish I would like to ask about the authentication of that piece because it looks like a fossil formation or some other natural piece of material to me.
Where did this thing come from?

 

[GatorBoy]

Why I'm saying that is I do a lot of fossil hunting and this is the inner ear bone of a ancient marine mammal

 

[intensecrasher]

At the risk of looking foolish I would like to ask about the authentication of that piece because it looks like a fossil formation or some other natural piece of material to me.
Where did this thing come from?

No worries GatorBoy. It is absolutely made from clay and was found by me at an Oneota Site in Dickenson County Iowa.

 

[monsterrack]

looks like a turtle

 

[intensecrasher]

looks like a turtle

Well that was easy! Honorable mention goes to Rockheadhunter421 for him Mario Koopa post

 

[intensecrasher]

If you look close you can see two legs on both sides behind the head and you can see where the segments of the shell were in the center and on both sides. In person the separation lines for the shell are deep and easy to define.

 

[rockheadhunter421]

Lol. You know I knew what it was! I made that one easy for the next person, esp. if they know Mario Bros. At least I was mentioned honorably.

 

[rockheadhunter421]

Why I'm saying that is I do a lot of fossil hunting and this is the inner ear bone of a ancient marine mammal

I actually have one of those in my collection; got it off the beach many years ago. It has that unusual looking crystal on the side too. To think of it as a fossil is cool b/c I always thought mine was like a sedimentary rock. I really didn't know I'd find the true answer until now.

 

[redbeardrelics]

Cool piece! I know zilch, nothing, nada about the Oneota culture. What time frame did this culture exist? Glad it has been identified as a turtle effigy, I would have guessed fertility figure, for some reason I see boobs all over that piece (but that is probably just the way my brain is wired. lol)

 

[GatorBoy]

I don't see something man made.
Jmo.

 

[intensecrasher]

Cool piece! I know zilch, nothing, nada about the Oneota culture. What time frame did this culture exist? Glad it has been identified as a turtle effigy, I would have guessed fertility figure, for some reason I see boobs all over that piece (but that is probably just the way my brain is wired. lol)

LOL...I can understand where you are coming from! The culture is from the Mississippian period and there are only a handful of known sites in Iowa. One place is called Blood Run (my piece is not from there) and it is now a National Historic Landmark. It was last occupied by the Oneota and was continuously occupied by Indians for the last 7000 years. It is famous for producing Oneota pieces like the one pictured here. You can google it and you will find a ton of information. I believe archaeologists used different colored chalk to show the outlines on the stone, which is catlinite. I hunted this site with my grandfather for many years with the permission of the land owner (before it was designated as a historic landmark). We would be disappointed if the two of us didn't come home with at least 150 perfect points per day. Sometimes we found over 200 per day. The ground was literally littered with artifacts. It got to the point where we would leave thumb scrappers and broken points because we had so many of them.

 

[intensecrasher]

I don't see something man made.
Jmo.

It's cool. If you could physically hold it I think you would have a different opinion. But no worries I see stuff sometimes and have the same opinion.

 

[intensecrasher]

I dont understand why it has the indentation in the back of it. It fits my thumb almost perfectly. I can only use my imagination and guess that someone grabbed it with their thumb and forefinger before it was completely fired and well....ouch!

 

[yakker]

150-200 points in a day? Leaving the bro...I can't go on. REally- I'm feeling queezy. ack- falling over holding throat...

 

[GatorBoy]

Lol.. Don't flip over

 

[intensecrasher]

150-200 points in a day? Leaving the bro...I can't go on. REally- I'm feeling queezy. ack- falling over holding throat...

When we hunted there the state was trying to buy the land that a portion of the site was on...farmers field. The state kept making low ball offers to the guy and made him mad. In the spring the guy plowed his field and set the plow as deep as it would go because he was angry with the state. He called us and told us what he did. After the first hard rain we went and picked up 58 stone hammers. We couldn't possible carry them all and left the majority hidden in a fence row. Every time we went to hunt we would carry as many out as we could. I know it sounds hard to believe but it is the god honest truth. I will eventually post pictures here of every single one of them!!!

Archeologists believe that as many as 6000 Oneota Indians lived at this site at the same time. It is believed that the site encompasses 1250 acres and possibly more. Here is a picture that kind of shows the size of this place. There were originally 275 burial and ceremonial mounds at the site including one that was a snake effigy, which was 1/8 of a mile in length. Some of the mounds are 6 feet tall and 80 feet in diameter.