Trade bell?

[Older The Better]

I had this up on the what is it, as I did my research I kept coming back to it probably being older than white settlement of the area, possibly by up to 200 years. Thought I’d post here maybe some different people will see. I’d love to know if it’s a trade item or turn of the century horse tack. I hit it with a brass brush for what it’s worth, didn’t think there was a chance it was a trade item.

 

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[plehbah2]

That is one of those artifacts that context and associated artifacts are necessary to say for sure. The thin walls suggest to me that it might be a hawk bell or something like that. Lots of the trade bells at least in the Southwest are often "blown out" like your example due to the thin walls and age of the bell.

Here is a link to a website which includes information on a Creek Indian burial which contained bells with some similarities and some differences to the one you posted here:

Hawk-Bells

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peachstatearchaeologicalsociety.org

 

[Older The Better]

Thanks for the thin wall information, another interesting tidbit. I had seen that page when I was trying to figure it out, it definitely had me thinking a hawk bell was a strong possibility. As far as context it’s unhelpful. I was looking for a log chain someone had dropped. I was right between an Indian site and a small dump site in a wash, both probably 300 yds away. the immediate spot I was on, so far has turned up very little metal and just a few flakes. This bell is pretty much the only thing in that spot excluding the shot shell brass and slugs I find scattered pretty evenly everywhere.