COOL Finds(what is this?)

[crittersss]

Hi Everyone,
I am new to this site and I have a lot of Items that I have found here in Ohio. I have had some things for a long time and need help to Identify them. I also need to learn how to get them from my web album to here lol so if anyone wants to take a look at them while I am working on it they are at Picasa web albums and should be under crittersss COOL Finds (and please i am not a total idiot i just play one on computers

picasaweb.google.com/lovecritters1/COOLFinds?feat=directlink

[auriculatis65]

Cool artifacts!! Some i have no way of knowing others are obviously old indian artifacts. nice arrowhead and i would guess a spear point. wonderful pottery also looks very old to me. I'm no expert though we need Joe to look at these he can tell all of us alot more. Thanks for posting very nice artifacts
DErek

[crittersss]

Thanx for your reply i can't wait to find out!!

[arappaho]

Hey crittersss, Welcome
Funny stuff about just "playing an idiot on computers". ;D
I can relate.

But, yeah, that's alot of photos.
Let me try and break it down for a quick look, but the best thing
would be to show the stuff to someone in person. Sometimes you
can't see what you need to in a pic to tell if they are artifacts or
not.
Funny thing about the great state of Ohio, tho. All that ancient
history all over the place and nowhere to go to get a simple
answer about what they are or if they are authentic, and then
it depends on who you talk to.

I'm not sure where in Ohio you are located but here are a couple
places you might want to try to get some ID's.

www.falls-society.org/index.php

www.ohiohistory.org/archaeology/
which is the Ohio Historical Society

and if you were up for a ride to Bloomington, Indiana, the best
experts you could find in your area would be at the Glenn A. Black
Laboratory of Archaeology; www.gbl.indiana.edu/

My 2 cent quick break down would be;
Pics 1- 32, are "geofacts". Natural formations and not artifacts.

33 & 34, look like a weathered trilobite fossil.

Pics 35 - 54, Pottery. If those pieces are authentic ancient pieces,
they are worth several thousand dollars. Pottery is fairly easy to
authenticate, but alot of reprodutions have been made so it is
impossible to say looking at a pic. The Glenn Black Lab would be
the best place to have them authenticated, but call ahead.

The 11" projectile is AWESOME! But again, unless you KNOW it
was a "field find" it is hard to say whether it is authentic ancient.
I have never seen flaking like that. It is perfect, and as I have
said before, the "perfect' ones are always "suspect". And what is
the material it is made out of? Looks like a dacite. I don't remeber
many dacite points coming from your area, but the material
could've been traded.
I am not familiar enough with the point typology of your region to
to give names or dates, but I would imagine the two smaller
projectiles are authentic.
The one-hole gorget, if authentic, is spectacular! Those type of
gorgets have several suggested uses.

All in all, thank you for posting the pics, but the only way you are
going to be able to tell for sure if they are authentic artifacts is
to have someone look at them in person.

Good luck with that,and I would love to hear what you find out.
If the pottery, 11" projectile, and gorget are authentic, then you
have some REALLY special pieces.
Thanks for sharing, and sorry to be so short with answers,
Joe.

[crittersss]

Thank you Joe, after reading your reply i ask him where he REALLY got the spearhead he admitted it was not real ,(he thought he was being funny) So I have removed it from my album, and i apologize for his NOT funny joke. On the pot's the man i got them from said his friend dug them up out west but i don't remember the state he said, he said his friend sometimes breaks them when digging them up like the ones i got some pieces were clued back on I got both pots for $15 dollars so i figured if they are not real they still look good on my mantel The gorget is real his grandparents dug it up when the were digging a garden spot in back of their house they gave it to their son (his dad) then he gave it to his son (my in the dog house Big Time boy friend )then he gave it to me,and sense i heard it from his mom&dad i can believe it. When the grandparents found it is was in real nice shape but letting kids and grand kids Play yes i said Play with it it was broke in-half once & glued back together and they said some of the scratches on the back side is from the kids.Thank you also for the Links I did talk to our local museum and also to the new york museum and both told me they didn't actually have anyone there that could Identify them. I'm going to see what i can find out through your links.PS,I'm taking pictures of more things I have picked up & putting them in another album it won't be as many pictures this time ( maybe ) :-)

[arappaho]

Well don't worry about a little glue, crittersss. There are artifacts
in museums everywhere that have been glued back together.
As long as you have all the pieces, that's what matters most.
Take good care of them from here on out. The gorget is special.
And the pots, if authentic, are still valuable museum quality
pieces. I would "guess" the pots are Mississipian period and are
from the Lower Mississippi valley area. ie; Arkansas, LA, or Miss.
I've been trying to find a good link to help ID them but haven't
found one yet.
Joe

[crittersss]

This is one reply I got back


Hi Rhonda,

The two clay pots appear to be Mesoamerican in origin (probably Mexican).

The faces represent important persons, or perhaps, deities, wearing ceremonial headdresses.

Since they're not Ohio pieces, that's about the best I can do.

I suggest contacting the Columbus Art Museum or the Art Institute of Chicago for more information.

Best wishes,

Brad

[crittersss]

Sorry didn't say from who.


Bradley T. Lepper
Curator of Archaeology
Ohio Historical Society
1982 Velma Avenue
Columbus, OH 43211-2497
[phone]
Fax: [phone]

[arappaho]

Way to follow-up there, crittersss.
Thanks, Joe

[crittersss]

I would still like to find more Info on the stone face It's 1 of 3 I found along the mad river here in Ohio all 3 was found at the same area but different days I'll try to post pictures of the other 2. I am also going to try and call Mr.Lepper and ask him to take another look and give me his opinion. If anyone else has any thoughts or opinions let me know

Rhonda



picasaweb.google.com/lovecritters1/COOLFinds?feat=directlink

[Steve S.]

Thing is that without holding them and looking for tool marks, etc... it would just be a WAG.

My Wag is that it is NOT a face at all, but just a rock... The human mind has a way of attaching significance to something that might tigger a previous pattern. This is called Pareidolia. This is what makes cloud gazing fun, and potatoes look like nixon.

Here's from Wikipedia (a wholy untrustworthy source in most circumstances...)

Pareidolia

Pareidolia (pronounced /pærɪˈdoʊliə/) is a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant. Common examples include seeing images of animals or faces in clouds, the man in the moon, and hearing hidden messages on records played in reverse. The word comes from the Greek para- ("beside", "with", or "alongside"—meaning, in this context, something faulty or wrong (as in paraphasia, disordered speech)) and eidolon ("image"; the diminutive of eidos ("image", "form", "shape")). Pareidolia is a type of apophenia.


Not trying to rain, and I'm not saying it isn't just hard to guess with just pictures.

I'm around Toledo, what river did you find it by?

-Steve S.

[writerman2255]

Either way, that's pretty cool stuff! Love and Light, TB Wright.

[crittersss]

First : Thank you Writerman2255, I think it's pretty cool stuff too! But i will have more on that later. I uploaded some pictures of a Big Rock,it's about the size of a regulation football or maybe a tad bigger, it's weight is 34.1 lbs I tried to get as close as i could, so some of the pictures are blurry can any one tell me if this looks like it could be a geode or something else? or just a Big ugly rock all feed back is welcome even the ones with definitions lol. Here is the link thanks Rhonda


picasaweb.google.com/lovecritters1/ROCKSRoCk?feat=directlink

[crittersss]

I also added to the other link, I got closer pics of my non face lol. and a couple other things.
If your Bord take a look.

picasaweb.google.com/lovecritters1/COOLFinds?feat=directlink

[romare]

Looks as though Big Ugly could be (if from Ohio) a type of septarian nodule or concretion from the Ohio River Valley shale. Open it up and let's see! I'm guessing it is about 13-14 inches across? One of the Ohioans on here will probably know for sure.

Mark

[earthnhands]

could be a face...could be a fertility rock of some sort (that isn't very potent) ;D
what is "WAG"?

[crittersss]

romare, How do I open up big ugly ? He seems pretty tough, I don't have a sledge hammer.

[crittersss]

Earthnhands WAG Is a wasted %#ss guess

[romare]

Might be able to chip off edges with a regular hammer enough to see the interior but sooner or later you're going to need some heavier steel for collecting and breaking things. Best way would be with a large slab saw, but a regular claw hammer or rock hammer with indirect edge blows may remove enough to tell. Wear eye protection!

[colorshapetexture]

WAG = Wild A$$ Guess..

[Steve S.]

RE: "Big Ugly"

If the "bumps" look like they are sticking out of the rock, it could be some type of iron concretion. The concretions usually had a core from the mud ball that started rolling and picking up the mud and rocks. Sometimes if it was plant or animal material it could be fossilized in the center or it could be crystalized.

I agree with above about using a large rock saw... Find a local rock club and ask about having someone open it up. For Ohio clubs, consult Mid-West Federation web pages:

www.amfed.org/mwf/members.htm

That at least will save you the cost of a saw for a one time deal... Some clubs may require you to become member or talk really nice to them... ;D

As for face, It could of been a broken hand tool? Again, the best answere is to consult the closest local experts. In this case, you might ask at the local college or rock club. Someone should have some anthropological experience at one of the two.

The tools are cool. But the Vase thing looks mexican in origin, I hope you didn't find that in Ohio. If so, you better run to the nearest college and show them were to dig and then become famous for that find.

Again, just more WAG's...
;D

[crittersss]

I was close wasted , wild LOL

[crittersss]

Steve, Thanks for the link I'm going to e-mail the president of the one here. I guess I will invest in my own rock saw real soon, any tips on a good saw? that won't burn up after a couple uses. For Big Ugly I think I'll just go rent one for an hour what do you think is the best way to cut it ? length ways kind of tip to tip or just across the middle ? I did find the vase looking thing in Ohio,but at the flea market or I could have been famous lol

[crittersss]

Mark, I found it here in Ohio along the Great Miami River

[Steve S.]

Feb 14, 2010 21:28:07 GMT -5 crittersss said:

Steve, Thanks for the link I'm going to e-mail the president of the one here. I guess I will invest in my own rock saw real soon, any tips on a good saw? that won't burn up after a couple uses. For Big Ugly I think I'll just go rent one for an hour what do you think is the best way to cut it ? length ways kind of tip to tip or just across the middle ? I did find the vase looking thing in Ohio,but at the flea market or I could have been famous lol

I'd say consult first, cut last... local club may have similar rocks already cut and it turned out to be nothing... don't want to waste a perfectly good door stop, right.

As for what saw, only you can answere that... Again, start local. See if you have a rockshop around. Cheaper to buy a used/refurbished one than new. ESPECIALLY, if you want a BIG one. ($4000+ for a covington 18" saw, that has a 9" vice... How big was big ugly???)

Also a club might cut it under supervision in their shop if you become a member.

Rentals.. Tile saw @ local home store... buy any insurance in case you ruin the blade. An 18" blade is $165 new. Don't want that bill.

Cut... Usually a geode or thunder egg will have a ridge that tells you how it was oriented in the matrix... If this is a concrtion, you might just guess, but I'd say gravity would flatten it some, so go through the wide part with what looks like the line. That line might of been an orientation remnent. I think thats what you meant by lenghtwise, right?

(-----)

Not

( | )

As for the vase, isn't it amazing what you can find at flea markets! But don't give up being famous, you still might finds diamonds in the glacier muck left from Canada...

[crittersss]

yea, that is what i meant ---- I am waiting for reply from local club, well while I'm waiting on that care to give me some hints or tips where to look for those diamonds lol I'll even share the credit on the find "oh" I'm in Dayton

[crittersss]

Well looks like "Big Ugly" is my coffee tables new center piece I still have yet to receive any reply from the local rock club On the bright side the more I stare at it the more things I notice on it Like if I stand it up on the wider end (like an egg) that end has 3 ( swirl like ridges? ) I'm not really sure how to describe them and one of the (bumps) is a hexagonal shape? I'm still soooo confused. Maybe if I show it on u-tube ? that might help.