Written by the TreasureGuide for he exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Copper Native American Artifacts. |
The dates show that early Native Americans were among the first people in the world to mine metal and fashion it into tools. They also suggest a regional climate shift might help explain why, after thousands of years, the pioneering metallurgists abruptly stopped making most copper tools and largely returned to stone and bone implements....
When researchers began to date the artifacts and mines, they saw a perplexing pattern: The dates suggested the people of the Old Copper Culture began to produce metal tools about 6000 years ago and then, for reasons that weren’t clear, mostly abandoned copper implements about 3000 years ago. After that, early Native Americans used copper mostly for smaller, less utilitarian items associated with adornment, such as beads and bracelets. “The history is just so peculiar,” in part because many other ancient cultures didn’t abandon metal tools once they learned how to make them, Pompeani says...
Here is the link for more about that.
Ancient Native Americans were among the world’s first coppersmiths | Science | AAAS (sciencemag.org)
For me, one of the most interesting things in the photo above is the clump of copper with copper sulfate on it.
My late friend, Larry, found an excellent copper arrowhead that was thought to be ceremonial.
I had an arrowhead pendant I found somewhere that I decided to look at more closely. I never paid any attention to it before figuring it was nothing but a novelty. Anyhow, this closer look shows nothing to suggest it is any good. Under magnification it looks like it was made as a cheap ornament. The stem, although I can't see it becauses of the winding, looks like it was made as a pendant. Also notice the strangely indented area just ahead of the neck as well as the regularly spaced indentations along the edge.
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| Arrowhead Pendant Find. |
Too bad I didn't have my Celestron microscope many years ago. It is a handy device. It makes finding marks much easier. I overlooked several that were easily found with the microscope, as shown below.
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| Silver Mark on Ring. |
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I picked up a lot of milk glass over the years. I just like milk glass, even though nobody else does. I kept it around, like I often do, and eventually I found a good use for it. The milk glass cosmetics containers make excellent containers for cleaning items. They come in various sizes. Many, such as those made for things like rouge, have curved bottoms so small items don't get stuck in the bottom corners. They are more easily removed. And the biggest thing I like, is the white container shows every little speck of anything that comes off the item. You can see smallest particles against the solid white background in the smooth bottom of the container.
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| Milk Glass Cleaning Containers. |
I used to like going there before it would get crowded. Used to find a lot of junk jewelry. I have found some shipwreck items near Urca De Lima, but became so popular over the years never went again. I usually tell people go visit the S.E.A.L. Museum. Can say very dirty sand for a public beach.
The jewelry there is typically junk. Pepper is over-detected, but there are still a lot of beer bottle caps there. That has been how it has been for years.
The surf will be decreasing for a few days, so don't expect any improvemnt in beach conditions real soon.
On the plus side of things, there are a lot of spring-breakers and beach-goers now, so you should be able to find some modern stuff.
The tides are still small.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net