1/29/20 Report - Spikes Found. Diving Neanderthals. Columbus and Caribs. Searchable Database.

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

Spikes Found Early Last Week.

Here are some spikes I found last week.

Shipwreck spikes?   Nope.

They are railroad spikes.s

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Neanderthals went diving for shells to turn into tools, according to new research, suggesting our big-browed cousins made more use of the sea than previously thought.

The study focuses on 171 shell tools that were found in a now inaccessible coastal cave in central Italy, known as the Grotta dei Moscerini, which was excavated in 1949. Dating of animal teeth found within layers alongside the shell tools suggest they are from about 90,000 to 100,000 years ago – a time when only Neanderthals are thought to have been present in western Europe.

The tools had previously been thought to have been formed from shells collected by Neanderthals from the beach where they had been tossed by waves. But now experts have peered at the shell tools through microscopes, revealing many do not show the wear and tear that would be expected from such a fate, such as the presence of barnacles or marks on the shells...

Here is the link for more of that article.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/jan/15/neanderthals-dived-for-shells-to-make-tools-research-suggests

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Christopher Columbus’ accounts of the Caribbean include harrowing descriptions of fierce raiders who abducted women and cannibalized men – stories long dismissed as myths.

But a new study suggests Columbus may have been telling the truth.

Using the equivalent of facial recognition technology, researchers analyzed the skulls of early Caribbean inhabitants, uncovering relationships between people groups and upending longstanding hypotheses about how the islands were first colonized.

One surprising finding was that the Caribs, marauders from South America and rumored cannibals, invaded Jamaica, Hispaniola and the Bahamas, overturning half a century of assumptions that they never made it farther north than Guadeloupe.

“I’ve spent years trying to prove Columbus wrong when he was right: There were Caribs in the northern Caribbean when he arrived,” said William Keagan, Florida Museum of Natural History curator of Caribbean archaeology.  “We’re going to have to reinterpret everything we thought we knew.”

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/carib-skulls-boost-credibility-of-columbus-cannibal-claims/

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I started talking about Kang Hsi porcelain and other pottery and then got off on some other things, but you might find the following web site helpful if you pick up shards.

It is the Florida Museum of Natural History pottery database.

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/flarch/blog/new-searchable-guide-to-florida-pottery/

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I thought that blog Followers might get notice of new posts, but someone said he didn't think so. 

I have some topics that I need to address, but they'll have to wait until some other time because they are fairly complex and it will take me a while to get them put together.

For now,
Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

11/3/14 Report - Very Unique And Neat Find. Fossil Hunting Web Site. Surf Increasing For Today and Tomorrow.

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


Item Dug By Dan B. 
Photo submitted by Dan.
 

Once in a while a very unique item is dug up.  You never know when it is going to happen, and when it does happen it can take a while to figure out what it is, and seldom can you figure out how it got there. 

This morning I received an email with photos of a very unique dug item. 

Take a look at the above photo and see if you can guess what it is before I tell you.

Below is another photo, which might help you. 

Another View of The Same Item.

At the top this reads "$5 GOLD" and "DIMES."   Actually it has slots for all denominations including the $5 gold coins.

You probably figured it out by now.  It is a coin sorter.  Really nice find.

As you insert the coins in the top slot you can see them accumulate as they add up in the calibrated slots.  Notice that it would hold $125 in $5-dollar gold coins.  Actually it looks like it would take two more.

Dan's Find As It Would Have Looked New

Here is a picture of what the item would have looked like when it was new.

Very neat find Dan.  Thanks for sharing!



One additional thing that Jeff C. had to say about his Hardee hat pin find, The reason I didn't suspect it to be civil war material was I had found so many things more modern nearby. Also it was only 2-3 inches deep.
The WW II hat badge that I found was not with other old items.  It was a bit of a surprise too, although it came out of dredge sand.

Once you do find something old at a site, check to see if there might be other old items.  Very often there will be, but once in a while you'll only be able to find the one.

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Very few fossils are being found on our Treasure Coast beaches these days.  There have been times in recent years when fossil hunting on the beaches was very good.  Still there are a few.

This web site by the Florida Museum of Natural History can be very helpful if you do find a fossil.  Not only does it provide a lot of information about fossils, it also tells how you can get help in identifying a fossil.  You can email pictures to them and they'll tell you what you have if they can. 

Take a look at the web site and especially the part about how to get help with identification.  This is good service that they provide.  I've used it in the past.

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/

Speaking of Florida fossils, the water level is improving at the Peace River, which is a great place to hunt fossils.  I've been there before and had a great time. 

If you take up fossil collecting you might want to get a permit.  The above web site also tells you about the permit.  The cost is small and the requirements very reasonable.

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On the Treasure Coast we've had some cool weather lately as a cold front moved through.  Today (Mon.) we are supposed to have North winds.  Monday and Tuesday we'll have a higher surf - up to around six or seven feet.  That is getting close to what often creates improved beach detecting conditions.   Of course it partly depends upon other things, including the angle of the waves and also the timing with the tides.   I'll be checking on the beaches to see if we get any improvement in beach detecting conditions. 

The surf will be getting higher later today if the predictions are correct. 

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide @Comcast.net