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Gouges, Two Types from NYS

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  • Gouges, Two Types from NYS

    The round-bit gouge is identical to one pictured in Ritchie's Archeology of New York State, and the author places it in the mid-Archaic, 'Brewerton Phase' , about 4000 years b.p. Other than the polish of the bit end, this entire piece shows peck marks all over its surface. On the other hand...is the squared bit gouge (or 'chisel'? ) that I just acquired: don't quite know what to make of it. I see NO peck marks; rather, its entire surface is highly polished. quite remarkable. You can see how the entire piece is squared; flat bottom, flat sides; 'sharp' corners. There is a ton of work put into this artifact! It must be from Woodland Period, wouldn't you say?
    Cayuga County, NY Finger Lakes Region

  • #2
    Very nice pieces. The one is really squared off at the bit. You don't see gouges found too often.
    Central Ohio

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    • #3
      triple monkey pump!
      Professor Shellman
      Tampa Bay

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      • clovisoid
        clovisoid commented
        Editing a comment
        A triple monkey pump, that's a high compliment!

      • Jethro355
        Jethro355 commented
        Editing a comment
        It’s almost like Bruce is back!

    • #4
      Very nice artifacts.
      TN formerly CT Visit our store http://stores.arrowheads.com/store.p...m-Trading-Post

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      • #5
        Those are sure nice gouges. I like the different types
        South Dakota

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        • #6
          Awesome!
          Hong Kong, but from Indiana/Florida

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          • #7
            Couple of beauties, on my bucket list.. but don’t think I’m in the right area to walk over one

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            • #8
              Nice pieces
              !
              SW Connecticut

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              • #9
                Man, that square bit one is really nice!
                Wandering wherever I can, mostly in Eastern Arkansas, always looking down.

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                • #10

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                  • #11
                    Originally posted by Jethro355 View Post
                    Man, that square bit one is really nice!
                    Wish I knew more about WHY it was squared off and so finely polished. So much work went into polishing the underside, makes me think it was more than a utilitarian wood working tool.
                    Cayuga County, NY Finger Lakes Region

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                    • #12
                      I wasn't going to take the time, but Chris is one of those collectors who soaks up every bit of information he can to educate himself. I wish every collector ( minus the forum members! ) would do that!
                      In theory, gouges are used on any, and all wood working projects. So of course what comes to mind first, is the dug out canoe. The many varied forms of gouges are just like a modern wood carvers tool chest. A certain form will work here, at the angle, but a more rounded bit won't. So the forms of gouges are dependant on the job it's intended to do. There are short and long gouges, ridged, grooved, knobbed, long channels called ( celery stalk ), and short bit channels. Some gouges are hand held, and some did have a handle attached. Some were no doubt just pushed against the material ( if wood ) , and some were held in place while being hammered at the pole end. The surface will take on a variety of finishes. This simply depends somewhat on if the gouge being made was suitable for a designated purpose. The extreme smoothness we see on some gouges was no doubt intentional and made for a better tool to swiftly do it's job. While the polish on others are the result of using the tool , and is use wear polish. These all began as being pecked in the preform stage. The material used, whether it's softer argillite, siltstone, slate, vs. harder material, diorite, granite, quartzite, will be dependant on the type of wood being used and the wood's hardness. And the better the material, the sharper the bit, and the more use they will achieve from a single tool. Now to answer your question, the gouge was simply squared off because that is the favorite form needed to do a specific job. The extra polish you see is because it's a better, harder material, and some of the polish is incidental, from being handled and used. On some gouges I see a lot more polish on the back side, which leads me to believe they may have used some sort of oil, maybe bear or animal grease in conjunction with using the tool. Hope this helps! I don't have time to take photos, but in my store I have a photo of seven or eight different forms of gouges from the northeast as examples.
                      Last edited by pkfrey; 02-21-2020, 09:54 AM.
                      http://www.ravensrelics.com/

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                      • pkfrey
                        pkfrey commented
                        Editing a comment
                        OH, P.S. Gouges are normally found from the Early Woodland to the end of the Middle Woodland. In N.Y., the Adena/Hopewell, the Point Peninsula culture, Kipps Island people, and the Intrusive Mound people were responsible for making most of the gouges.

                    • #13
                      Originally posted by pkfrey View Post
                      I wasn't going to take the time, but Chris is one of those collectors who soaks up every bit of information he can to educate himself. I wish every collector ( minus the forum members! ) would do that!
                      In theory, gouges are used on any, and all wood working projects. So of course what comes to mind first, is the dug out canoe. The many varied forms of gouges are just like a modern wood carvers tool chest. A certain form will work here, at the angle, but a more rounded bit won't. So the forms of gouges are dependant on the job it's intended to do. There are short and long gouges, ridged, grooved, knobbed, long channels called ( celery stalk ), and short bit channels. Some gouges are hand held, and some did have a handle attached. Some were no doubt just pushed against the material ( if wood ) , and some were held in place while being hammered at the pole end. The surface will take on a variety of finishes. This simply depends somewhat on if the gouge being made was suitable for a designated purpose. The extreme smoothness we see on some gouges was no doubt intentional and made for a better tool to swiftly do it's job. While the polish on others are the result of using the tool , and is use wear polish. These all began as being pecked in the preform stage. The material used, whether it's softer argillite, siltstone, slate, vs. harder material, diorite, granite, quartzite, will be dependant on the type of wood being used and the wood's hardness. And the better the material, the sharper the bit, and the more use they will achieve from a single tool. Now to answer your question, the gouge was simply squared off because that is the favorite form needed to do a specific job. The extra polish you see is because it's a better, harder material, and some of the polish is incidental, from being handled and used. On some gouges I see a lot more polish on the back side, which leads me to believe they may have used some sort of oil, maybe bear or animal grease in conjunction with using the tool. Hope this helps! I don't have time to take photos, but in my store I have a photo of seven or eight different forms of gouges from the northeast as examples.
                      Consider the info 'soaked up.' And thank you as always, Paul. Great lesson.
                      Cayuga County, NY Finger Lakes Region

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                      • Jethro355
                        Jethro355 commented
                        Editing a comment
                        Yeah, I soaked that up too. Sorry if that’s not allowed, but I ain’t giving it back.🧛🏿‍♂️
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