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Artifact Blogging Grounds
A community of blogs from ancient artifact enthusiasts. Blogs pertain to Indian relics, ancient artifacts, and artifact collections.
I was talking with a customer a few days ago about pottery and how hard it can be to detect restoration. I mentioned to him that I had access to the analysis of some rare Quapaw pottery that the Museum of Native American Artifacts had sent out for CT scanning and study to a company called Rare Collections (www.rare-collections.com). This company is on the cutting edge of identifying reproduction and restored artifacts for museums and collectors around the world.
The analysis consisted of CT scanning, high-resolution photography, thermoluminescence (TL) testing, microscopy, UV and IR analysis. While we can look at a flint point under a 10x loop or scope and see what we need on the surface - for pottery you need to be able to see inside it to actually see all that needs to be seen.
A few images from the analysis have been graciously provided by for this posting by Rare-Collections (© 2007 Rare Collections) and it is greatly appreciated as the sharing of infomation about topics such as this need to published.
Most of us will probably never own the high end type vessels shown here - but this study represents what kind of restoration is being done on all levels of pottery, not just the museum grade relics.
  
I have only come across a few examples of what are called "Flint Saws" in the last decade or so, but I know that many are out there. Saws are made off a large spall or flake, and are unifacially flaked (flakes off one side only)
Of the millions of artifacts that have been collected over the years, a few are so exquisite they become well known throughout the artifact collecting community. Many of these rare few artifacts take on their own name along the way as a tribute to their individuality and rarity. Examples of this would be the Sweetwater Bi-face, one of the thinnest and largest blades in existence - or the Rinehart Dove, a massive Dovetail knife that will have Dovetail collectors drooling for decades to come. Another such example of the personification of an artifact is the artifact pictured here, known for obvious reasons as "Old Scarface".
Old Scarface is in the collection of Mr. Charlie Wagers in Ohio, and recently I was honored with an invitation to view this magnificent collection with permission to photograph some of the artifacts for my upcoming books. While I was at Mr. Wager's, I was amazed and intrigued by many of the super relics this collection houses, and I was able to obtain some great photographs for the Bannerstone Artifact book I am completing for the late Lar Hothem - yet - while I was there, I just couldnt leave Old Scarface sitting on the shelf. While the main purpose of the visit was to photograph bannerstones and atlatl hooks, standing only a few feet away for the display case that housed Old Scarface was too much to bare. Towards the end of the evening, as I was finishing shooting photographs of some wonderful bottle banners and composite atlatl hooks, Mr. Wagers invited Old Scarface out of his case for a short visit. As I held him and turned him over in my hands, I was amazed at the amount of detail that was put into this centuries old work of art.
We all know that an artifact in one's hand is like holding a link to the past. Iit is hard not to visualize in our minds the ancient crafter making the item, and then using it for its intended purpose. While many artifacts are similar and their use pretty much the same (example - flint dart points), others have something about them that is different, and their link to the ancient past has more to tell. Anciently salvaged artifacts are an example of this - and I find them fascinating to collecting. A broken point that was renotched, a knife that was reworked, a pendant that was broken and then redrilled are some examples of such salvaged items. But adding another layer of intrigue to salvage relics are those artifacts which were broken and discarded, only to be picked up hundreds or thousands of years later by another ancient one and then salvaged and put back into use.
Think about this: You are walking along 5,000 years ago - you look down, and there is a big knife with a broken base. First, it would be a curiosity even back then to pick it up and look it over - see how it was made, what the material was, etc. Then, if it were possible to add a couple notched and use it again, why not? It would save time as it is already made. Add in the fact that we do not really know the mystic qualities of such items in ancient times, but it is possible that they viewed such items as good luck, or a link to their own past. Who knows. What we do know, is that tools were in fact picked up generations later and put back in use, and such items are a favorite of mine to collect.
With that being said - I came across this flint hoe not long ago.
I was sitting here writing descriptions for the artifacts that are going into our next auction, and I came across this knife. I picked it up, turned it over in my hand and thought to myself, neat relic - it's a backed-knife. Then as I set it aside, I began to wonder if everyone knew what a backed-knife was? So, I decided I would stick a couple of pictures up here and some info in case anyone out there hasn't run across a backed-knife.
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