7/1/19 Report - Native American Copper Artifacts and Finds. Drought Uncovers Palace.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Copper Native American Artifacts Found by Detectorist.

This copper cache was recovered by Oliver Anttila while using his metal detector at a small secluded beach on Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It was the sixth cache he had found on the bay and contained 122 pieces including a 6 5/8 inch awl, several conical and square socketed points, two crescent knives, and over 100 hammered copper nuggets prepared as preforms for future tools. (From PeachStateArcaheologicalSociety web site.  See link below.)

Illustration by C. B. Moore showing a copper-covered mammal jaw bone from the Mt. Royal site in Putnam County, Florida.

Not all metal artifacts found in Florida are of European origin.  Native Americans had sources of copper in the north and traded widely.  Some Native American copper artifacts have been found in Florida, including the one shown above, which was found at the Mt. Royal site, which is west of Bunnel.

Wikipedia says, The Mount Royal site was occupied beginning about 4,000 years ago. The site was largely unoccupied from 500 BCE until AD 750. Mount Royal was occupied again after 750, and after 1050 it grew into the main town of an important chiefdom with connections to the Mississippian culture. The town lost importance after 1300, but a settlement, called Enacape, was still there when Europeans entered the area in the 1560s. The Spanish mission of San Antonio de Enacape was located in the town from 1595 until after 1656.

Below is a reconstructed headdress very much like one found by C.B. Moore at the Mt. Royal site in Putnam County, Florida.  

Reconstruction of Headdress Made With Native Copper.

In the 1890s C. B. Moore traveled the rivers by houseboat and made arrangement to investigate mounds.

Although it is unlikely you will find anything as extravagant as those shown above, you can find Native American artifacts on Florida beaches.  In this blog, I've shown some Native American artifacts that were found on the Treasure Coast beaches.

I'd recommend taking a look at the PeachStateArcheaologicalSociety web site to become familiar with a variety of copper Native American artifacts.  It is an excellent web site.

There is much more to see there, such as these items.

Copper Fish Hooks and Knives.

Here is the link.

http://peachstatearchaeologicalsociety.org/index.php/20-copper-artifacts

You might remember that Irma uncovered thousands of Native American artifacts.

The first Native American artifacts I ever saw and recognized in nature in Florida was by the natural bridge that is now in Arch Creek Park in North Dade County.  The bridge was on a path used by Tequesta and early settlers.  The park now has a small museum.

I first learned of the site when I saw a photo of Thomas Edison collecting artifacts on a mound under a banyan tree.  The banyan tree and mound was still there.

Before the park was as developed as it is today, there was a trailer park on most of the property, but it was removed before I was there.

I have a friend that found some significant Hopewell Culture copper ceremonial artifacts up north.

---

You might also want to take a look at the National Archives web site.

https://www.archives.gov/

---

A 3,400-year-old palace has emerged from a reservoir in the Kurdustan region of Iraq after water levels dropped because of drought...

Here is that link.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/iraq-palace-drought-scli-intl/index.html

---

Expect another week of one-foot surf.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net