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This piece of shell caught my eye..Rhode island beach find. It's a quahog fragment that looks worked to me? Did the N/A ever make points out of shell?
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If it is, it would be the first I am aware of. I have never heard of such. After decades of hunting, I've never heard anyone say they had found a shell triangle, have never seen such described in the literature.
Worth pointing out that purple is what the most valuable grade of wampum was fashioned from, purple from the quahog, white from the whelk. Nice jewelry still being made from our quahogs.
Well, pieces of quahog in all shapes and sizes litter our beaches, so I'm guessing it's just a coincidence. JMHO.Rhode Island -
Thanks Charlie! I pretty much assumed it was coincidental too..but had to make sure!
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I’m inclined to agree with Charlie. I’m not sure a shell-made point could survive this long, on a beach, in that condition. Just an opinion though...Comment
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I agree L2M it would've been pretty neat if it was one! I still threw it in the display case it looks
pretty cool mixed in!Comment
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Hey eman..nice frame of some NE triangles. .yes the triangle shaped shell does fit in thereSW ConnecticutComment
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Thanks Red!Comment
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For sure, definitely worth keepingComment
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It’s different and does look worked but seeing I really don’t know how a shell fractures I wouldn’t know. I’d keep it alsoNW Georgia,Comment
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Your post Reminds Me. I have a tiny small bird point from the high Desert that was Knapped from some type of Horn. Its Not made from Antler. It’s Horn maybe from Mountain Sheep. I’ll dig it out and post a pic of it.Comment
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Cool SHJ! Cant wait to see the pics!Comment
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I have no idea LOL This was found on a shell midden. Looks worked and is right for the time period Hernando point..... I'll have to look closer at it again..... I can't see it being used... We do have small shell bipoints that were used as gigs and arrows. I am not sure about the time it takes for quahog or any other shell to lose it's color but that may be a factor although I find Miocene shell in-situ with a good bit of color left....
Professor Shellman
Tampa BayComment
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Wow Tom that looks legit! Very cool! Thanks for sharing the pic!Comment
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Well, many types of shells do litter our estuary beaches. Just for giggles, here is my Brewerton Eared Oyster. No, it is not a projectile, or a knife. It's a fragment of oyster shell. But, on the day I found it, it's quite likely I picked up my pace when I saw it, hard to remember, it was years ago. So, briefly, it was a Brewerton Eared Oyster, until I got close enough to really see it, lol. Seen here next to what is likely a quartzite Vosburg, but could be a quartzite Brewerton Eared-Notched....
In-situ of an ultra-rare Brewerton Eared Oyster:
In hand!!
https://forums.arrowheads.com/forum/...n-eared-oyster
Rhode IslandComment
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I would be pretty sure that's natural breakage (the original 'triangle point' shown). Tom's 'point' is remarkable. I wouldn't know what to say without some really close examination.
You may be interested in this:
A Shell Projectile Point from the Big Sur Coast, California
Note that the point was cut and ground, not flaked.I keep six honest serving-men (they taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who.Comment
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That was a informative read, thanks. I’ve often wondered if the NA people used sharks teeth as projectiles. There would have been very little if any modification needed . I do know of the gar teeth. -
In the Squier and Davis surveys of the Ohio mounds they noted that that some of the shark teeth found “have holes drilled through them near the base; others are notched, as if designed to form spear or arrow-heads. Raleigh observed some used as such among the Indians of Carolina.”
In “Integrated Geology, Palaeontology, and Archaeology: Native American Use of Fossil Shark teeth within the Chesapeake Bay Region” (Lowery, Godfrey & Eshelman), there is this:
“Fossil shark teeth were used by various prehistoric (pre-European) cultures in North America over the past 10,000 years. Archaeological data from the Chesapeake Bay region indicate that six different varieties of fossil shark teeth were collected, modified, and used by native cultures over the past 2,500 years….
The roots of these fossil teeth are variously modified, notched, or drilled. Although most were probably used as projectile points, knives, or scraping tools, intentionally drilled holes near the root areas on some fossil teeth indicate that a few were possibly used as ornaments, for religious purposes, or as curios. A brief synthesis of the geology, paleontology, and archaeology suggests that the Chesapeake Bay region may have served as the source area for some of the fossil shark teeth documented at archaeological sites in the Ohio Valley. However, the range of fossil shark species recorded in Ohio and along the Potomac River suggests only a few species were being selectively traded.”
The modifications (apart from hole-drilling) are indeed subtle.
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