Old Cherokee pottery?

[MrMarsHill]

Today was the first "nice" day in 2 weeks. The water in the creeks has just started to go down. Perfect day to go check the banks of my favorite creek for old bottles etc. Plenty of beautiful sites, and bottles I haven't taken pics of yet. But this piece of what I believe is Cherokee Indian pottery has me a little excited. The area I am hunting was a known native American settlement before whites arrived in the 1700s. There are stories recorded that say the first settlers said there were more arrowheads on the ground than pebbles! I dont know if that was true, but they've surely mostly been picked up Haha. My question though, can anybody I'd this as authentic native American pottery? I am pretty sure by the crosshatch design in the "outside" of the piece that this is Cherokee. Anybody have any idea of a time period for a pottery fragment like this? I feel I have something special here though and plan to get back out there tomorrow. I scoured the area for more fragments with no luck. Any replies welcome! Happy and safe hunting everybody!
Jim Brown

 

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[MrMarsHill]

Thought I'd post a pic of one of the views on my hunt. Icesicles coming off the rocks near the creek and it was almost 60°f! I'm very blessed to live where I do... and I'm proud of it too! If anybody ever visits the area... I may be able to show you a few things not on any map!

 

[Digger RJ]

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[the_mad_cladder]

That is a nice find. Lots of character.

 

[ToddsPoint]

Your pottery is "cord marked". I think they wrap cord around it before they fire it, but not positive. I don't know the age. Gary

 

[sandchip]

Beautiful creek. Not a pottery expert, but I'd tend to think your shard is a bit older than Cherokee. Might post this in the North American Indian Artifacts section and get a better response. We want to see those bottles, too.

 

[Carolina Tom]

It’s certainly native made, but I’m not sure about Cherokee.

Nice big piece too.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Very nice find, congrats!

 

[SCdigger]

Yes, Native American.

 

[MrMarsHill]

Thanks for all the replies! I'm blown away to KNOW this is Native American pottery. I am heading out to check 1 more time before the next round of rain to see if I find anything else. I realize now it would have probably been helpful to post in the native American section, especially since I know NOTHING about this type of thing. The bottles from that day are mostly 1930's to 1950's liquor and wine bottles as well as some old mason jars etc. Nothing to get excited about, but great free supplies for my business and I actually sell quite a few bottles to other "makers" as well for their projects. Something useless to a bottle collector, but still "pretty" can fetch me $5-$10+ profit from some of my local artist contacts. These people even buy cool sticks and things I find in the woods... anything unique they can use for their craft purposes, lol. I'll post a few bottles when they are clean just for fun... maybe even a pic of the hill I have to climb to fetch them, it's a tough one lol. I'll report back on my finds today if I have any as well. Thanks again everybody and HSH(Happy Safe Hunting) to you all!

 

[Guardrailnickel]

Your pottery is "cord marked". I think they wrap cord around it before they fire it, but not positive. I don't know the age. Gary

I found the below with a quick google foo search. The pottery may be much older than you suspect.

In North America, cord-marked pottery is believed to have originated in the eastern United States prior to 1000 B.C. and was found in the upper Midwest about 500 B.C. Over the next 500 years, pottery-making cultures spread west, south, and northwest into the Great Plains, west of the Mississippi, and into Texas and ...

 

[MrMarsHill]

Thanks for all the replies! I'm blown away to KNOW this is Native American pottery. After more research I have concluded that the pre 1000 bc to about 900 ad(in my area, or maybe just the website I looked at?) seems to be a good date range for this pottery. I would like to narrow it down to anything more specific but I'm not holding my breath... unless there is some specialist who knows something I dont and something not readily available online. All I know and think of in my area is the Cherokee. They are who are here now and who are written about in the history books, and who have been here MUCH (an understatement) longer than my ancestors. I dont think about the fact that they are just a specific culture that basically evolved and adapted to this specific area etc and became the Cherokee. I have much to learn and hope I dont sound like an idiot, or disrespectful In my reply.
I have the deepest regard for Native American history and hope to learn lots more. I'm not looking to profit from, or lock away my finds, I'd like to share them with as many people as I can. This is my prized find at the moment and I've found some things I LOVE. Just thinking about the age of this piece literally blows my mind. I have since purchased a Riker display case that was the perfect size for this fragment and labeled it as "Native American Pottery fragment, the specific creek and I left some room on the label for a date range once I am certain I have it nailed as close as possible. I plan to visit the local museum to the town I found this in and I will bring the piece with me. Maybe they have a better idea of a specific period for THIS area. I appreciate any and all info. I lived in illinois in corn fields right near Monk's Mound in cahokia, or maybe it's in collinsville, Illinois. My dad had a friend who literally had a NA relic museum in his house just from walking creeks and fields in the area, but I never really looked for any arrow heads etc. This piece of pottery is my first definite Native American find and I'm super excited about it! It waited in that bank for a LOOOONG time for that specific rain to come and wash it out. Then by pure chance I happened by and noticed the crosshatched "dirt" on the bank. I was mainly hoping some old bottles had washed out as the site goes back to the 1700's in recorded white history. It just so happens I found this on my Grandfather's birthday(he has passed) and one day after my daughter's birthday... I said great grandpa knocked a piece of pottery out for me lol! I still get goosebumps when I hold the piece... even in its new case. Any further info to properly protect this would be great as well, but probably another question for a different thread in the NA artifact forum.Again, I appreciate the support and all the replies! Any more info is much appreciated!

 

[The Boots]

I agree with it being Native American. Nice piece, looking forward to seeing more of your finds.

 

[Greeneman215]

It's hard to pinpoint a definite tribe with a piece of pottery. Love pottery shards. It probably was part of larger vessel.
I'd definitely poke around that area more. I've got a couple of books that have pottery identification. I'll look at them today and get back. Congrats on a cool find!

 

[MrMarsHill]

Thanks Guardrailnickel! I'd like to know the story behind your name as well, Haha! I just hope I keep getting out and making these finds! Dumb luck and just putting in the footwork has done me well. And my endless hours of local history research help too, NOT including much NA history obviously. And Greeneman215, I'd love to hear back from you with your book. I'm about to post a thread in the NA relics specific forum, and I expect I'll get the best answer. But I'm very curious to see what your book says as well! I've been back to the site with NO luck, but I'm not giving up yet. This appeared after a flooding type rain. Today we had a light, cleansing rain and I hope to go check again tomorrow, after I vote of course. This thing just looked like a crosshatched design in the mud when found. Absolutely made right near the banks with the material from the banks. Very cool piece of history I'm proud to display it and say I found it! Oldest piece in my collection so far, and by far too!

 

[Guardrailnickel]

Thanks Guardrailnickel! I'd like to know the story behind your name as well, Haha!

20 some years ago I was in NJ beach hunting and got a hit on my Garrett detector. I started digging and about a foot and a half deep I hit a small section of guardrail. I swung the detector and it hit on nickel again. The guard rail had several strike marks on it from people hitting on metal but they all covered it up. Not seeing what my machine was hitting on I kept digging. I dug out about a two foot section of guardrail. After taking it down to the surf and washing it, there stuck to the metal was a silver 1953 nickel.

It was a pain dragging it off the beach and the wife wasn't happy, but I was. After getting it home I freed the nickel. The guardrail got tossed out. That coin is still floating around here somewhere.