Today’s Cool Coastal Finds

[MAMucker]

Two well-worn Small Stemmed Quartz Points

One Quartz Ovoid Knife

One Slate (?) Tally-Marked and Scored Artifact.

 

[Charl]

Here are a series of 4 triangles incised on a soapstone bowl. Impossible to actually tell from the photo, but the triangles are connected, making this a zig-zag line...



Zig-zag pattern at a petroglyph site on Narragansett Bay...

 

[Charl]

Here’s an interesting comparison. Found by a friend in a Rhode Island coastal field....

 

[southfork]

Great day the slate pendant is a real prize .

 

[Older The Better]

Got zig zags over here in Kansas, some are very similar, like the double pattern... I really like your piece there’s something more human to it than your average stone tool

 

[Charl]

Wigwam and wetu are the two terms used to describe the dwellings used by southern New England Algonquin groups...

View attachment 1884160

It’s a very cool find. I would guess it was a pendant, or some “decorative” piece. As far as the triangles, it’s a very common design element in native rock art, often displayed as zig-zag lines.

Someone can dig into this, but I remember Jim Bennett and one other individual, whose name escapes me, wrote an article once stating their conclusion that, for who knows what reason(s), items that broke were often then tallied after the fact. They claimed natives often tallied broken pieces. Just a thought. If I had the article, I’d post a link. Just remember Bennett delved into that observation.

OK, I remembered the other guy who observed tally marks were often added to salvaged artifacts was Robert Converse. Here is an essay he wrote:

https://kb.osu.edu/rest/bitstreams/297107/retrieve

No obvious reason, however, to simply conclude the tally marks on MaMucker’s find we’re not part of the original design...

 

[Tdog]

I've seen the zig-zag pattern on soapstone pieces from the San Diego area.

 

[H.P.]

What a nice find, don’t see those layin around everywhere, good for you.

 

[Jeff H]

Mucker it's finds like that that make me want to get out and look.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Awesome finds. The Tally marked and incised piece is very cool and very rare.

 

[choo]

Very nice! That tally marked piece is so cool! Congrats!

 

[southfork]

Slate with zig zag pattern from Tilly's Hill N California

 

[uniface]

Great Converse essay, Charl. Many thanks. Interesting (IMO, extremely) that tallying begins in Middle Archaic.