New to me-wooden bowl?

[Lowbatts]

Usually bottle or coin hunting, not a big artifact hunter but I spotted this piece along the dried mud banks of a nearby river a couple weeks ago. It's light for its size, so I figured it had been tossed or lost in the drink long ago, got water logged, sank in the muck (heavily silted area) and stayed there until more relatively recent times brought it up on the bank. This year's drought has allowed a lot of that old muck to dry and crumble, revealing a few more bottles and other old things as it gets blown or washed back down into the lower water.

But being unfamiliar with these things I could only begin to guess whether it was relatively modern or much older. The Potowatamie had a village just upstream from where I found this and I know they used bowls from tree burls for collecting tree sap and other things. This one looks like maybe it was unfinished. My question would be by who? Modern folk or the older natives. Hopefully some of you who know better can give me an idea.

 

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[GaRebel1861]

I've never seen anything like it. Wooden artifacts typically do not do so well where I live. It is an interesting find but I can't say how old that is and I agree that it looks like a man made bowl. I'll be waiting to see what others here say as well. - Good luck.

 

[NC field hunter]

What part of the USA are you in? Typically wood and water don't go well together. If has no rot at all ? Also, is that paint on it? I personally don't think it is old, in terms of history,but, still cool. Hopefully reaper or gator will see it.

 

[birdpointgriswold]

I would say made within the last 100 years not an artifact

Johnathan Griswold

 

[GatorBoy]

well that sure looks like it could be. in times of drought we have found entire dugout canoes here in florida.It could be very old if like you say there is alot of natural decayed mud.I dont study alot about that tribe. I do have a friend in Illinois who may know more.I would try to find other artifacts in that area to help your confidence in weather or not it is from the tribe.also it should probably be birch or mabey maple or elm. my feeling is that it is an artifact but that is not saying alot just from me looking at a photo. nice interesting find at very least.

 

[Get-the-point]

Very interesting find. The strength of the burlwood bowl is why they used it. The knot made it harder to work but the reward was a long lasting bowl. This does appear to be possibly a bowl. The paint you are seeing john is a hole with the background coming through it. This is so atypical it is hard not to rule it as a burlwood bowl. Now in terms of rot for those questioning wood and water. There are several examples of dugout canoes that have been found along the Susquehanna River. They have been found all coming out of the mud and during drought times. One person found one in a little culvert he fished since he was a kid. He said he used to get snagged on it all the time but it was to far out and to big to do anything about. Then one year during a drought it had fully exposed and he took his chance on getting it out of there while he had it. When he flipped it he realized what it was. It is sitting in the museum now.

This bowl has a crudely cut top but again atypical of a natural formation. It has all the traits of a burlwood bowl. Hard to tell if it is burlwood, but it does look like it could have been one being made from a knot. The upper part of the cup looks to be worn. This was probably finished and worn through from use. This looks like the real deal and it has been preserved nicely. Yes it has its issues from age and being in the water but it could have been alot worse................Hope this helps ya!!.............GTP(Chris)

 

[NC field hunter]

Come to think of it, if wood is covered air tight in mud, that is how it petrifies, so rot is not inevitable . If that is the case, you have a true rarity!

 

[GatorBoy]

If it is kept in a nearly zero oxygen enviornment it can last for thousands of years. In that case though ... as soon as it hits the air it quickly degrades. High mineral content and low oxygen together could easily solidify wood. Google salt spring here in Fla. They pulled up artifacts thousands of years old from that site including gourds that still had color.

 

[Get-the-point]

One of the main things beside the lack of Oxygen is the soil PH levels. The acidity levels help aid with the rate of decomposition. If it has a low acidity level and low oxygen it will surely preserve it for many years.....................

 

[Lowbatts]

Thanks all for insight. I have found old punch top steel beer cans in the same muck, no rust except for where ever an air bubble existed in the can at one time. Virtually like new and since I know how fast they go bad on land here I could only draw on that for an example. The environment here is one of deep silt banks and anoxic muck in river bottom at points here and there depending on gradient.

The top rim does not have any modern saw indications, no coplanar or parallel cut marks, slightly uneven. I figured it was either environmental damage at the base of the bowl or imperfections causing it to be discarded at the right time to hit water and mud and become buried. I am familiar with some of the hydrology effects hereabouts and know that at any given time a tree fall will cause a deep hole beneath it in the riverbed, both washing out old items and washing in new items to buried again or for the first time.

I look for these washouts where the tree has recently been removed by subsequent flooding or rot to see if old coins or bottles have come up. It's amazing how much effect this has had in just the 175 or so years of American settlement in this area. (Northern Illinois, north of the 1832 Indian Boundary)

I'm going to see if I can find some local paleo-folk who can get it dated scientifically if possible. Thanks for the insight!

 

[bblaha]

What old coins have you found that way? that's really cool?

 

[Lowbatts]

What old coins have you found that way? that's really cool?

I live along a river with a lot of places city folk from Chicago would come out to on the weekends. Some of the smaller rivers held many church camps during summer months along their banks also around here. That and the inevitable farm dumps along the waterways, commonplace in older times, have sent many things into the waters around here.

Low water means the opportunity to look for some of those things. I haven't found a great deal of coinage, just enough to keep me looking. Late seated silver to modern coinage seems to be the limit over the years I've been wading the rivers around here. Early to pre-1800 coinage is too rare around here for me so far. I have found many bottles from the late 19th century forward.

 

[joshuaream]

As has been pointed out, wooden artifacts are often preserved in clay or muck, so it could certainly be a couple of hundred years or more old.

The style looks like it could be Native American, either historic or prehistoric. Very cool piece, I'd probably get it carbon dated. It costs about $250, but you'll know... (Well, actually you'll know the age of the tree, not the carving, but who's going to argue with you on that.)