Worked glass?

[JohnDee1]

For starters this is probably the most questionable thing I have ever posted. As of last summer I have found a couple of fairly old black/green glass. The odd thing is I am fairly certain these pieces of glass are older than any of the sites I detect. I posted this piece earlier to the glass forum to try and get a date, but now I noticed one of them almost looks like it was worked? It’s probably post deposit damage, but I have never seen glass break like this. I know natives were in my area until the early 1800’s. Any thoughts on the matter would be appreciated, and thanks for humoring me and my crackpot post!

 

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[GaRebel1861]

I have seen black glass shards that were repurposed by the natives and chipped into scrappers.

 

[trdking]

It looks worked to me as well. You may have a crude scraper

 

[Gaspipe]

Probably someone messing around.

 

[tomclark]

We find scrapers made out of glass on sites where historic and prehistoric meet. Seminoles, last of the original native Manasotans and Cuban fish ranchos.

 

[Quartzite Keith]

Glass is soft and chips easily. This one looks to me like a bottle bottom that spent part of it's life situated such that current or waves dinged pebbles against the protruding rim of the bottle bottom. Look at this way: Would you use it as a tool, and if so how? I'm thinking if it was me, I would rather pressure flake a straight or beveled edge on that side opposite the rim.

 

[GaRebel1861]

We find scrapers made out of glass on sites where historic and prehistoric meet. Seminoles, last of the original native Manasotans and Cuban fish ranchos.

Can you post some of them here to show what they look like? I’ve only seen them found so I don’t currently have any in my collection.

 

[JohnDee1]

Thanks for all the replies. Like has been suggested it is very probable what I found could just be damage caused by gravel or even later modified by a modern flint knapper. At the same time it could have maybe be a later-period artifact, but it is hard to tell. I would like to think I found something, but I cannot be sure. Artifacts from the historic period are quite interesting to me, and I will be keeping this. If nothing else, I have an old piece of glass with some character. Thanks again for all the responses!

 

[tomclark]

 

[oxbowbarefoot]

Looks worked to me. Also, it appears that it could be the bottom of an late 1600's to mid 1700's onion bottle, which would be the right time period in your area. I suspect it closer to the mid 1700's, earlier ones are usually more concave.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

I just received these in the mail the other day from a member here. All from a historic site in California and all without a doubt in my mind worked and utilized. I have a couple pieces I have found on old home sites that were definitely worked to a finely flaked edge.

 

[redbeardrelics]

I just received these in the mail the other day from a member here. All from a historic site in California and all without a doubt in my mind worked and utilized. I have a couple pieces I have found on old home sites that were definitely worked to a finely flaked edge.

I am not sure what to make of those Grim ?
The green 7-UP colored glass wasn't in common use and circulation until around the 1930's, and I am having trouble understanding why the unworked areas on these scrapers appears beach tumbled, but the worked areas appear fresh?

 

[tomclark]

SCHWEEEET!!

 

[MAMucker]

No doubt that there is Post Contact Period Worked Glass out there. Tom Clark’s example looks very authentic. But Redbeard makes an excellent observation here about the beach glass. I live on a rough water coast, it takes a decades to turn a piece of glass into beach worn glass.
Hmmm.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

I am not sure what to make of those Grim ?
The green 7-UP colored glass wasn't in common use and circulation until around the 1930's, and I am having trouble understanding why the unworked areas on these scrapers appears beach tumbled, but the worked areas appear fresh?

The green looks like old beer bottles to me. Not sure about the patina change. Hadn't really thought about that. I don't have a lot of glass pieces but that does raise some questions. In hand they look like small Blades and Scrapers. The edges have the same flake patterns as flint/chert pieces the same type.

 

[Fred250]

This one has always bothered me. I know the timelines don’t really add up in Mass. but because of where I found it I have always wondered if it was worked into a scraper.

 

[arrow86]

I have found a few that looked exactly like worked flint but it was modern glass ... I think glass has a tendency to fracture in similar way to worked pieces .... on one occasion the grass had been freshly cut so the mower hitting the glass left a few pieces looking worked

 

[gilmerman]

The only artifacts you can be sure are authentic, are the ones you find yourself. As in all other field of collecting, most fakes are almost undetectable from real thing. Fakes are often displayed, as authentic, in the best of museums.

 

[jamus peek]

Your piece does look worked to me to John. Here is a piece of aqua blue glass I just found. The piece is from a rectangular bottom. It's bifacially worked has a small contracting stem and it looks in hand like it has some tiny flaked edgework. Looks like a knife. This piece was found in California. To put things in perspective there were native camps all the way into the early 1900's.Rebellious Natives were being pushed out. In 1909 construction was rapid and the natives were pushed farther and farther towards the east and south of the bay. If you look up shellmounds of the sfbay area map and look on image section of google you should easily find a map of all the shellmounds that were found and documented as well as Indian camps that were still inhabited in the east bay in 1909. With the lack of workable flint and chert i'm sure glass was a gift. Who and when this piece was knapped I have no idea but the glass is old and is inline with the timeframes that the natives were still rebellious towards civilization. I have found glass worked as late as the 1940's.

You can see the little stem in the first pic. The glass is not smokey but does have a slight film.

 

[JohnDee1]

Wow that piece is really nice! It makes sense they'd utilized glass as you suggested. It's also kind've sobering to think how lasting their cultures were, yet they where removed so quickly.