Bone and Shell tools/items. Blades.

[Missouri Breaks]

These were all gathered from my main site in Sonoma County over the decades. The possible haft is identical to one Terry Baxter had on westernartifacts.com and I’d appreciate any feedback on it. I’ve shown it with a couple examples also from the site but not saying they were necessarily used with it. Also shown are some bone flaking tools and some shell pieces. Bone and shell were used for non utilitarian purposes around here as some of these might’ve been.

 

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[newnan man]

That handle/blade is awesome!

 

[Missouri Breaks]

Thanks NM!

 

[Older The Better]

Not being critical but more curious because I have a calcaneus bone I’ve recovered from a site, what about it indicates that that was its purpose?

 

[Missouri Breaks]

For me there’s a few things... probably most importantly would be the context- the site itself with the presence of multiple knapping tools as well as what may be non utilitarian/ceremonial bone pieces(these being the hardest to ID but we have documentation of such use). Then there’s the handle I saw on the now defunct westernartifacts.com which was the same anatomical part(as mine) of what I recall being identified as deer bone. So it’s looking like this was a ‘type’ of handle. From a purely structural standpoint you have the area where the base of a blade can nestle into nicely and with the tie in/sinew one would have a solid little carrying knife. The points that were used with this blade could have been shorter than the ones I’ve used as examples, given the work load the bone material would have to take with a more substantial rock tied onto it. This seems like a handle that could’ve been used for multiple blades over time.

 

[tomclark]

Most if not all of that bone material looks like they got all the marrow they could out of them... spiral fractures from blows. I don't see any deliberate work on them as tools would... One pic has a rectangular piece of mother of pearl (abalone?) that could be a worked piece of shell..

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Most if not all of that bone material looks like they got all the marrow they could out of them... spiral fractures from blows. I don't see any deliberate work on them as tools would... One pic has a rectangular piece of mother of pearl (abalone?) that could be a worked piece of shell..

I have to agree with Tom. I'm not seeing any Bone Tools in your pictures. Just pieces of shattered bone.

The first two trays are personal finds from southern Ohio and the other is from North Dakota.