mussel shell ornament

[larson1951]

turned the field over a week ago and got a few rains
three quarters of an inch total
now this morning here is a mussel shell ornament which
this is a river mussel which is called an 'unio'
the indian pottery here is made from ground ashes, these shells, and river bank clay
these shells were also used for making game pieces, gaming coins' (large and small), and other ornaments
this particular shell is a big one and most would have been too small and thin to produce such a big ornament
larson1951

 

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[Neogeo]

WoW Thats a great one!Congrats my friend..

 

[tomclark]

LOrdy that's awesome, Larson!

 

[flintdigger]

Fantastic Steve another great artifact. Thank's for posting it very interesting.

 

[old digger]

Nice find Steve. Congratulations!

 

[larson1951]

another thing i just remembers frrom my studies is that
the 'unio' mussels from the missouri were not regarded as a very desirable food back then, although they were used at leaner times for emergency when then the corn and squash caches were used up
and like i said, the scraps were ground or pulverized for the mix when doing the pottery paste for making pottery
i am just trying to offer my best description of what the hard times must have been in the dakota winters
larson1951

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Man oh man Steve, that is on every fine piece. Congrats on the killer find.

 

[larson1951]

thank you,yes i agree it is a fine piece
i want to say that this was found by one of my best friends, ('J') this morning and not by me
i feel fortunate to hunt with true friends who are always willing to help drive tractor, pull weeds, and water the garden
especially TWitko my guitar playing friend of about 40 years
and to 'J', who is the person in charge
can't forget about Russy either
steve
larson1951
we owe a lot to 'J'

 

[Get-the-point]

Very very nice find Steve......looks like you are having another great year to look forward to!!! Wow after looking at it further it is awesome how they incorporated the round section of the shell on that corner. That is a really nice find.....I vote Banner on that it is very unique and so nice a find it warrants it!!!!........................GTP(Chris)

 

[larson1951]

thanks gtp,
as i just mentioned my friend found this piece
steve

 

[Get-the-point]

thanks gtp,
as i just mentioned my friend found this piece
steve

Sorry Steve missed that. He tell J his piece was nominated for banner........haha it still is a awesome find............Chris

 

[larson1951]

thanks gtp
that would make him happy
steve

 

[T Witko]

thank you,yes i agree it is a fine piece
i want to say that this was found by one of my best friends, ('J') this morning and not by me
i feel fortunate to hunt with true friends who are always willing to help drive tractor, pull weeds, and water the garden
especially TWitko my guitar playing friend of about 40 years
and to 'J', who is the person in charge
can't forget about Russy either
steve
larson1951
we owe a lot to 'J'

Another cool piece, I'll bet he was pretty fired up. There is always something different and unusual turning up. We're extremely fortunate that "J" lets us trade our time helping out for hunting privileges.

 

[larson1951]

i agree 110% my friend, we are almost spoiled
living in the dakotas is good
larson1951

as far as the ornament goes i thought the tnetters would want to see it
we always say to each other "all i wanna do is see it"
i am thinking this has become more about the information gathered than who owns what
that is why i will share a few pieces with those that are interested