Found these this past week...

PhipsFolly

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Sep 30, 2005
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Hi all... I know that this is not specifically shipwreck material but because of the relationship between the Ays Indians and the shipwreck survivors/salvagers, I just thought that you all might like to see these pieces...

I found these two gorgeous artifacts this past week in Vero... In the area where the main Ays Indian Village was thought to have been located. These two finds were high up on the beach in the shells close to the dune escarpment. I also found several Ays Pottery shards but because they are more commonly found, I didn't include them in the pics...

I am not a collector of Indian artifacts so I don't know much about these pieces but the carved bone hairpin, I have been told, is extremely rare so I am pretty pleased with that find. The other artifact is a Florida Chert Scraper/Knife with an unusual notch carved out of the base.

If anyone knows anything more about these pieces, please add to this...
Best, Phips
 

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Still it's treasure.great job
 

I find similar looking scrapers where I live.
 

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They can be very thin and sharp.
 

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cool finds phips!!!
 

Thanks guys for your interest, input, and comments...
 

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I may be wrong but the hair pin looks more like a sewing awl, either way it is a very rare find:notworthy:
 

That bone piece is exquisite!!
You may need to conserve that.. I know a couple ways if you don't as I am experienced in that type of thing.
What is its length?
The other pieces while still artifacts by definition are not completed tools.. they are only debris from reduction during the tool making process.
Good eye..and great find!
 

The Ays/Ais bone sewing needle typically has a hole drilled on the end as in eyelete.
It is possible that those grooves would work.. if it is short it may be a sewing tool rather than a hairpin.
Here is one of my bone needles.. unfortunately the eyelete is broken but you can still see it was there.

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A piece of Spanish glass from the same site.

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My Ays Indian bone hairpin is approx. 4.25 inches long and would have been a bit longer but it is missing the very top portion where the eye would have been... It is the second one I have recovered and this one is much more ornate than the first one I found. This one has the two lines carved around the hairpin and then a "twist" that was carved out above the two lines... I wish the top part wasn't missing as it could have been quite interesting!
They are extremely rare to find but the private property where I have had permission to work seems to produce some pretty awesome finds as it is located near the area where the main Ays Village was located as I had mentioned previously.

The other find pictured with the hairpin is a scraper/knife and is complete... It is just relatively worn... These are less commonly found tools than the arrowheads/points.
 

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Okay..
Just tried to help ..
I don't want to argue but the scrapers and tools by far outnumber the arrowheads.
I've hunted and recovered Native American artifacts in Florida for decades.. again nice finds.
I should explain I was referring mostly To the examples shown by Red Desert.
 

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GatorBoy... Who's arguing?

I was merely reiterating what I have been informed of by others that collect these types of pieces in the area... If you have had more luck finding more scrapers than arrowheads, I guess your experience is different than either myself or the folks I spoke with in regards to these pieces... Nobodies arguing... Just sharing my experiences and what I have been told... I am not into Indian artifacts and do not have any great knowledge about them... My thing is shipwrecks my friend...
 

I just saw that you edited your posts after my response is all.
 

What do you mean edited my response? I added more to what I was posting is all... And I wasn't addressing you with my post other than your comment about "the other pieces not being complete"... I only posted the hairpin and the scraper and both of those are complete so I don't know what you're getting at but I appreciate your efforts to inform me...
 

The notch was most likely for shaping wood and bone shafts much like your hairpin. "Spokeshave"
The next step would have been an "abraiding stone" most likely made of cochina if near the beach.
 

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