steatite vessel salvage

[dognose]

this vessel rim is interesting for the salvage work performed on it, as well as the nine talley marks on the rim top. made of steatite this rim part is petty hefty.

I thought initially it could be part of a gorget.

 

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[Blackfoot58]

Interesting piece for certain

 

[Nwohseeker]

Found by a later culture and salvaged the repair holes into a 2 hole pendant? Patina change in the "side" cuts and Tally's. Center piece for a chiefs necklace? 9 kids lol

 

[scruggs]

Interesting piece! Good find!

 

[newnan man]

That's a pretty cool artifact.

 

[CreekSide]

That’s funny cause I had just taken some pictures of a few soapstone pieces I have found and one has a hole in it. I was going to post them

 

[CreekSide]

That’s some strong cordage to hold that bowl by the groves in it. Some with the drill holes were used as cooking stones later. Waste not want not. Your piece is definitely to large to be a cooking stone. I really like it

 

[dognose]

I don't think it was going to be used as a gorget. The grooves to hold the bonding cord angles down and to the sides.
I think if this was intended to be a gorget the grooves to hold the bonding cord / wear would have more towards the top.
Also the sides do not exhibit any wear or grinding to smooth it out.

 

[pepperj]

Interesting piece, it's a lot thicker than I first thought also.
It's probably just the Pareidolia kicking in though it sure looks like a game animal toting a set of antlers.
(Just below the drilled hole)

 

[dognose]

Interesting term: pareidolia
păr″ī-dō′lē-ə


I had to look that one up:
The perception of a recognizable image or meaningful pattern where none exists or is intended, as the perception of a face in the surface features of the moon.

Thanks for using that term. I learned something new.

Of course, at my age I tend to forget a few things, so I could relearn this again, maybe every day after forgetting it in the evening.

Thank you.

 

[CreekSide]

Interesting piece, it's a lot thicker than I first thought also.
It's probably just the Pareidolia kicking in though it sure looks like a game animal toting a set of antlers.
(Just below the drilled hole)

View attachment 2096514

Those look like chisel marks

 

[Older The Better]

What is the theory on the grooves? So the cordage would lay flatter? Would that really be worth the effort? If it was wear you’d think the hole would be oblong

 

[antmike915]

Very interesting piece; thanks for showing us.

 

[dognose]

What is the theory on the grooves? So the cordage would lay flatter? Would that really be worth the effort? If it was wear you’d think the hole would be oblong

Laying in a single location and not moving around, potentially stressing the cordage sounds like a reasonable theory as why the grooves. Other than that, no idea.

Would it be worth the effort? I guess so, they did it.

The steatite is very strong, and dense. It's not soft like slate which often shows smoothness, and the hole diameter changed from the wear.

 

[Older The Better]

Gotcha, definitely agree worth trying to repair, I meant was it worth it to cut a groove just so the cord would lay flatter… I wonder if their cordage would get stretched or break and they’d rip it out and replace it, do that many many times and you get a groove

 

[dognose]

not sure if a groove helps.

We see salvage holes like these in some bannerstones, such as slate wing bannerstones. Some of these have grooves, mostly not on the examples I have seen.

I would think that the cordage would be a soaked leather or sinew, that when dried would shrink and become tighter, holding the vessel parts closer together. If it was not tight enough to pull the two sides together without moving, I would think the sides would exhibit more wear than I am seeing.