2/15/20 Report - Beaches Around The Treasure Coast Today. Fossil Find. Shell Artifact Possibility. More Surf Predicted.

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

John Brooks Around Noon Saturday.

The surf got a little rougher today, as was predicted, however it didn't improve beach conditions much - at least not the ones I saw.  

Above and below you can see John Brooks as it looked around noon Saturday.

John Brooks Around Noon Saturday.

I moved on to take a look at Frederick Douglass beach.  It wasn't much different.

Frederick Douglass Beach Around Noon Saturday.

Frederick Douglass Beach Around Noon Saturday.

Later in the day I was in the Vero area and had time to stop at Turtle Trail.

Turtle Trail Saturday As the Hide Tide Was Receding.

Turtle Trail Saturday Well After High Tide.

DJ visited Frederick Douglass and Middle Cove today and made his first find of a fossil horse tooth.

Fossil Horse Tooth Found by DJ.

Photos by DJ.

Congratulations DJ.   Its always great to get a first.

Keep your eyes open for fossils.  Check areas with shells.

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I didn't get any opinions about DB's beautiful shell artifact find, however found an illustration of a hafted gorges fish hook that could be relevant.

Here it is.

A gorges fishhook is meant to be swallowed and catch deeper in the fish rather than hooking his lip.   The size of the hook would be dependent upon the size of the targeted fish.

A lot of sinkers and weights are one sided and meant to hang down, however DB's item was doubled ended.  That doesn't mean that it couldn't be a net weight or simply ornamental, however it also would allow hafting, as shown in the above illustration.  You can see where a sharp pointed object is attached to the bottom of the double ended carved shell.

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Fort Pierce was alive Saturday.   Pirate Fest was in full operation and well attended.  It will continue Sunday.

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Sunday the surf will decrease slowly from the 5 - 7 feet we had today.

Surf Forecast for Fort Pierce Area.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

I'm not expecting much new to happen tomorrow, but next Friday looks interesting.  Hope it doesn't fizzle out.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

2/13/20 Report - One Beautiful New Find and A Variety of Miscellaneous Non-Metallic Finds. A Good Reference Link.

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

Beautiful Carved Columnella Shell Artifact

Find and photo by DB.

Here is one beautiful find by DB.  From what I can see,  it looks like a carved Native American columnella artifact.

Shell Artifact.

Find and photo by DB

This is one nice find.  I think it is the most beautiful Native American shell artifact I've ever seen.

DB said he was hesitant to drive all the way to a spot where he had previously found numerous bottles, shell artifacts, pottery, etc., but had a feeling that the conditions were right so did it anyhow.

He would like to know what you think it was used for.  Send me your thoughts and opinions.

 

Sometimes you have to go a little farther than you really want to or do something that is not the easiest thing to do, but when you have that feeling, it can pay off.

In my younger and more intense years one guiding principle I often repeated was, "If you don't want to do it, do it."  And that was a key to a lot of my success.  Of course, there are times when better judgement says you shouldn't do it, but the point is that if you are really driven, you'll push yourself to go a little farther and do a little more than the easy thing.  I tried to find those spots that were overlooked or frequently avoided by others.  It depends upon where you are in life, and what you want to accomplish at the time.

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I've been picking up a few easy finds lately when beach conditions haven't been good.  These are just some miscellaneous finds I picked up within walking distance of my house.  

Sometimes just a little walk will take the edge off the urge to search.  

Now that is an odd one.

A Couple of the Stopper Top Bottles I picked up.

Two Views of Recenlty Found Cone Carter's Ink Bottle.

There wasn't much the day I found Carter's cone ink bottle, I was surprised to find it.

Below is a photo of a partially submerged old Gordon's Dry Gin bottle.

Partially Submerged Gordon's Dry Gin Bottle

And here is a metal find -  a short aluminum arrow.   Seems too short for a standard bow.  I wonder if it had anything to do with the pig.

Aluminum Arrow.

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Below is a link to a thesis you might like to browse - Prehistoric Shell Artifacts from the Apalachicola River Valley Area, Northwest Florida, by Eric Eyles, University of South Florida.

https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=2025&context=etd

There are a lot of good examples to look at.

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The surf is nearly flat but will be increasing up to four to six feet this weekend.  The tides are high too.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

7/7/19 Report = Unidentified Button Find. Possible Shell Tool Find. Resource on Shell Tools. Florida Laws Web Site.

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

Old Unidentified Button.

Here is one old button find that I can't identify.  I can't make out the design on the front.  The back says "EXTRA FEIN."

Let me know if you can identify this one or anything about it.

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Israel officially opened a stairway, known as "Pilgrim's Road," that Jesus is believed to have walked on in ancient Jerusalem as another place with the significance of "biblical proportions" to billions, especially for Judeo-Christian visitors to the Holy Land.

The City of David Foundation unveiled the 2,000-year-old main thoroughfare from Roman-era Jerusalem that it says served pilgrims ascending to the ancient Jewish Temple from the Pool of Siloam built by King Hezekiah. Until recently, it was hidden under a potato field and discovered by accident in 2004 after a pipe burst...

Here is the link.

https://www.foxnews.com/science/israel-road-jesus-temple-ancient-jerusalem

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Scott B. sent me the following photos and email. 

Shell Item Found by Scott B.

Photos by Scott B.

After seeing the picture you posted recently, I remembered this piece of shell I found a while back. At the time, it just seemed like an interesting smooth piece of shell. I’m pretty sure I found it at a Treasure Coast beach, but not 100% positive.

After looking closer at it, the item really fits well in my hand including a thumb stop and two notches on the other side where my middle and ring fingertips fit. It’s quite smooth, the years in the elements haven’t left any visible signs that it was worked with tools.

I think this may have been some type of hand blade for skinning or slicing. The thinner side is a bit worn, but could have been sharpened, I imagine.

Perhaps this is all coincidence, but thanks to your picture of the celt, I gave this a closer look and realize it could be a neat piece of history.

As always, thanks for all you do.

Scott 

Thanks Scott.  I'm glad my post inspired you to take another look at the item.   There are a variety of online resources you might want to consult, but when I'm not sure about an item nothing helps like talking to a knowledgeable person at a university, museum or trade show or just getting the opinions of others who are more informed.  People who know what to look for can identify the signs of the item being worked or used.

Maybe some of my readers will add their thoughts about your item.

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If you are interested in learning more about Florida shell artifacts, here is a lengthy thesis of over 200 pages.  It presents many examples of various types.

Here is the first paragraph, which will give you some idea of the contents.

With this thesis, I aim to fill a gap in our knowledge of shell
artifacts from the northwest part of the state of Florida. It represents
a first look at the range of shell artifacts in the collections of the
University of South Florida (USF) obtained during the ongoing program
of archaeological investigations in the Apalachicola Valley and
surrounding region. There are 46 sites in the study area that have
been identified as yielding shell artifacts, of which samples from 27
sites are curated in the USF Archaeology Laboratory. The proposed
typology is based on an analysis of over 2300 specimens collected
from archaeological sites in northwest Florida, including the Gulf Coast,
barrier islands, St. Joseph Bay, and the Apalachicola River drainage.


Here is the link.

https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=2025&context=etd

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Most detectorists don't know much about stone or shell artifacts.  I certainly don't.  But we should know enough to realize that they are out there and how to identify and respect them.  We also need to know something about the applicable laws.

I added the following to yesterday's post late yesterday, so in case you didn't see it, I'm posting it again.

As you probably know, there are laws regarding archaeological resources.  They are many and complex and can be very confusing.  I can't summarize or interpret them all, so don't ask me to.  Do, however, realize that there are penalties for removing artifacts from state and federal lands.  If you have WRITTEN permission, you CAN collect artifacts on private land.  That is my understanding.

On the Treasure Coast it is not extremely unusual to find artifacts on the beach or on your own property.  I've been asked several times while on the beach, about items just found by tourists.  I've found artifacts on my property and have posted some examples.  

Beachcombers, shell collectors and tourists often pick up unusual or interesting items on the beach without knowing what they are.  If you look through any large collection put together by a shell collector, there is a very good chance you will find a possible artifact or two.  

Metal detectorists do not generally go out looking for artifacts and might not recognize them.  I think I've shown that they can be difficult to identify unless you have studied a little.  I am not good at identifying stone and shell tools in particular and have to ask those who know more about them.

We all want to respect artifacts and follow the laws.  Laws can be broken unwittingly, and I hope this post will help you begin to become more familiar with artifacts so that you will be better able to identify, respect and protect artifacts and follow the applicable laws.

As a beginning, you might want to look at this summary of the Florida laws.  Here is a link.

https://dos.myflorida.com/historical/archaeology/underwater/laws/

I know that this quick summary might give rise to more questions than it answers, but that is the best I can do.

Here is one good principle: when in doubt, just take photos of the item and report your find.  Most of us carry smart phones with good cameras these days, so that is easy enough to do.

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Keep learning,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net