Mohawk Valley / Carved Lead Animals

[Derek752]

Greetings Everyone....

I wanted to post several photos of carved lead animal figures found at a Mohawk valley indian site.

I spent a few hours looking thru past posts in this forum ( AMAZING finds by everyone in here !!!! ) looking for similar relics....I saw the lizard that mnlineman found and I was intriqued to see a similar recoverey.

Thing is I've never seen these anywhere...certainly not in any indian museums around here and I do believe they are oneofakinds !

Anyone that has any info on rarity,websites,or books pertaining to this type of find would be GREATLY appreciated !!

All came from one site that was attacked and destroyed by the Dutch in the 1650's

As you can see 3 are turtles , 1 is of a dog / wolf and the best one / my favorite is of a hawk ( my oppinion ) and are quite unique little guys !

Last photo is of a trade silver piece from the same site...Possibly a silver ring

So what do y'all think ? HAve you seen such relics before ?

Thanks and Good Hunting !!

Derek

 

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[Airborne80]

I wish I had more info for you but I will say this.... those are FANTASTIC finds!!!! Thanks so much for sharing them with us. I would work every inch of that site if I were you

 

[Tricia]

Take them over to Ft. Stanwix and ask one of the docents if they've seen anything like that.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

I doubt these are Indian related and are probably early settlers and brought over from Europe.

 

[Marc]

I would love to put this in the banner - if we could get a little more info - did you find these Derek? Someone emailed me and said they are possibly Copper Culture artifacts. Any more info would greatly appreciated! Whatever they are they look amazing!

I will ask an archaeologist friend of mine to take a look and 'will report back!

Thanks!
Marc

 

[Derek752]

Hi ....First of all I'd like to thank everyone for replie & imput

The story of this site is interesting .... It was discovered in the early 20's ( Amoung other sites nearby ) and has been searched off & on since then.

I had read of it and after some investigation found the owner of the property and asked permission , and permission granted !

The owner , John , is a great guy and told me alot about the site and of all the people who've searched it. And of the relics he & his daughter had found there. ( I gave John one of the lead turtles , his daughter is grown now and live in Texas and she really really wanted one )

This site is is one of the indian settlements visited and meantioned in the journals of Van den Bogaert in the year 1634.

The metal relics and carvings we've found fit the scene , a time when metals were being introduced to the native people ( I am NO expert but simply my oppinion )
I put my nose to the grind stone and pattern / grid searched the entire area in sections ... but each time I go there I do dig another relic ( mostly cut brass points )

As for the lead animals its my thought that this site was turtle / wolf clan hence the wolf & turtle carvings. Notice the dog / wolf has a pin-hole where it may have been threaded and worn around the neck.

At any rate we did make some amazing finds here and there are more relics in the ground I'm sure . I'm including photos of the display case of the better finds and the Phillip IV cob found there. ( Sorry the photos are'nt the best..my Nikon is old )

Oh and a photo of the only flint point I found there 3 weeks ago !

P/S This piece of land is pretty much void of modern trash , except for a few pulltabs it is basically "clean"

Derek

 

[pickaway]

Wow great finds,thanks for sharing.

 

[MarkDz]

Ooooh, jealousy. Great finds. I love the contact stuff.
I've seen totemic designs, usually animals, used as signatures by 1600-1800s Indian chiefs that look a lot like these. One that stands out is the turtle of the Seneca (Iroquois) Turtle Clan, which looks almost identical to the little guy on the right.

 

[Derek752]

Thank you all for the replies

Derek