Garden hoe

[coteau]

This bison scapula (shoulder blade) hoe is my finest specimen. It was unearthed by a backhoe. A portion of the joint was exposed to the sun for a couple days, hence the white area. It only takes a day or two of sun exposure, during the summer months, to bleach bone.

I like the use-wear polish on it. I think these types of artifacts are underappreciated. This is Mandan or Hidatsa Indian and around 250-500 years old. This came from a garden site, not a village (gardens were sometimes miles from villages).

Scapula hoes are one of the most common artifacts on Plains Village sites (A.D. 1000-1800s). Lars finds lots on them.

The cancellous areas are darker because when I took the pic they hadn't dried completely after cleaning it.

 

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[naturegirl]

That's nice coteau, I like the polish too. If the polish comes from use, is it a burnishing effect of the dirt against the bone? and does a high polish have anything to do with preserving the artifact? I guess I'm wondering if it "seals" a porus surface at all, like smashing the pores shut, or just "shines" it.

 

[Tnmountains]

Its a beauty and big. The patina is the best I have seen. Nice wear great tool.
HH
TnMtns

 

[larson1951]

coteau, that is a nice example
it is about as nice as it get's
i run across so darn many that have been run over by tractors and broke in half
at one time i decided to save them and ended up with 2 boxes of brokes in one afternoon so decided to quit
as of now i have only found a few that are in such exc cond. as the example you have, it's a beauty!!
these must have been used for many years if they were a good solid example and tightly mounted to the handle
you should post pictures of the ones that you took pics of at the mandan library,
ok?
thanks in advance for doing that,
larson1951

 

[joshuaream]

Those scapula hoes are indeed very cool artifacts. It's neat how the Dakota late prehistoric and proto-historic sites show the use of organic relics, aside from Steve's area there are very few areas that show that degree of preservation.

Joshua

 

[coteau]

Yeah, the sandy soils are pretty abrasive. I think the high polish could help preserve bone a little longer but I don't know.

Lars, I think you're right, they probably lasted for years. This one is pretty heavy and is very strong bone. I bet the woman that used this hoe every day developed a strong upper body!

I don't think I have any pics of hoes from the Mandan library or the State Museum, I'll look through the pics though.

Here's a pic of a woman using a scapula hoe. I believe she is using an ox scapula not a bison. By the 1800s most of the hoes were trade iron ones. Some of the women still preferred using the old fashioned scapula hoes, but since there weren't a lot of bison left they used ox/cattle.
Thanks


The previous picture was edited, the fence was removed! Here is the original pic that was taken in ND during 1914, and I guess she is using a bison scapula not a cows...


link to pic: http://www.history.nd.gov/textbook/unit3_comculcon/unit3_6_1_indiangardens.html

 

[larson1951]

that is the nicest one i have seen!
i ran across two pictures of some that i found
most of what i find are brokes

 

[coteau]

Thanks lars! Those are excellent examples and still have good bits ends on them, unlike mine.