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That's an excellent find!

Great Find! Id of hated to get wacked with that!

Funny thing is, dad and I had that conversation. We both agreed. Plenty of heft to leave a nasty mark! Plus the careful stone selection just seems to say "this ain't my building ax, this is my thumping ax". However, I think the smaller ones were more likely to be the war clubs. Kind of hard to recover and get a second swing if you missed your mark the first time...

Went to a very interesting talk the other night about local archaeology. The Professor had been studying a site on the North end of the lake for 40 years. The particular archaeological culture was Oneota and were in the area from AD 1000-1450. He was theorizing they pretty much killed each other off based on some pretty beat up skeletons, some with bashed in heads. The whole group dispersed at the end of that period and very little sign of Indian activity after that until the early 1800's. Which was when new groups were pushed in from more settled regions.

It is even recorded that Abe Lincoln (prior to presidency) while in the Illinois militia chased Chief Blackhawk up to the area. During that excursion he had his horse stolen.

To be honest I have no idea what era that ax is from. I believe many of my points are far older than the Oneota period and plenty of other finds dating back 1000's of years.

Also found out my pottery shards have a name in the books (Bussyville Cord) for the town they were first formally discovered and the markings on them. Found almost nowhere else. Neat place to kick the dirt around for sure.

My small collection.

First picture is some bone beads I got about 1/2 mile from where I live now. Picked them up working fields at a produce farm when I was a kid.



Next is some arrowheads picked up right here on the family farm.



Lastly my pride and joy. Ax head picked up right here where I live.

Nice axe Shade Tree!

The top photo are fossils. Crinoid fossils. They are getting pretty rare too. Kind of worm like sea critters. Tennessee state fossil, BTW.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/387098530440811132/

Alright, experts. Here are a few that I have in my 'curious finds' category. Very mineralized but almost positive bone, not what I would be associate with older fossils. I doubt I could purposely drill better holes than what is through these with a drill press. They were all found after a heavy ice season tore up a shoreline...also my best years for pottery and points! The one sure looks like a claw doesn't it? What ya'll think? Worked on stuff or natural occurrence.

Tough time getting a decent pic.

That one is definitely bone. Like an awl. Other items appear to be pieces of broken Clay pipe stem to me.

The long, drilled pieces look like breast beads.

The other is definitely an awl. I found one just like it. Very rare piece! They used it to sew with using sinew as thread. An ancient needle, if you will.

Like broken stems from pipes like these;



They were a cheap and major trade item with natives and whites alike. There are some communities in the older parts of town that you can't dig a flower bed with out finding bunches of pipe stems. ( fyi ground up pipe clay was also used to "Blanco" white leather military belts, cross belts, cartridge box straps, any white leather). As you can see they break easily. I broke that one just now photographing these! 😂

Oh! Archaeologically speaking many time one of the tools used aging a post contact site is from
Looking at the size of the holes in the pipe stems. Older pipes generally had a larger hole in the stem.

Very well could be, Bob!

Sorry you broke that pipe!

Did you at least cuss a blue streak?

LOL! Pipe was already broke! No biggie. 😂I have good ones too!!!

See the one I repaired with river cane??

I did!

Remember those old long cigarette holders?

LOL!

Thanks for the replies. I thought maybe pipe stem as a possibility. Laying the pieces side by side (assuming consensus is correct) it makes sense too. They do form a taper, albeit with pieces missing. No less thrilling a find thinking about who smoked that last pipe yards from where my dad's pier now sits...I like to sit there too, but more of a cigar guy. Maybe kinder'd spirits.

The stretch of land is called Thiebeau Point, named for a French trader that was there from late 1700's till 1836. Maps I have been reviewing could put his cabin within a stones throw of dad's place. Rumor has it that he was murdered by his Indian wife. That he disappeared is a fact. Perhaps this was his last pipe prior to head meeting club in previous post.

Hard not to love this stuff...and let imaginations run.

Those crinoid fossils will blow up or pop loudly when you throw them in a campfire. Don't ask me how I know.

Cool. Learned something new.

Cool thing is you go back there an look you will probably find LOTS more Clay pipe fragments. A Clay pipe was like a pack of cigarette. They were dirt cheap. And folks went thru them like cheap socks! A disposable item. The broken stems were also
Used by the natives for beads! Generally they tried to make them look like a regular bead.

In the same vein, the French made a pipe Clay bead, fired and salt glazed them to look like a Venitian white glass bead. They were much cheaper to make than the glass bead! I have several strings of them. I'll try to post some pics of them tomorrow! The Venitian glass bead trade was extremely lucrative. The guilds guarded their manufacturing secrets with the death penalty. European traders were pretty much at their mercy. Although some
Offshoots did appear. Lots of stuff ended up coming out of China. Like "Padre" beads. Cool thing is lots of original beads that are 300-400 years old are still available to collect. West Africa is full of them! Same beads traded here 300 years ago!!

found another gooder, a busted mid-section and a crude tip.

Real nice Don...