Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Two Views of Silver and Ivory Higa \ Dug on Treasure Coast Beach. |
Did you ever dig a higa. I dug one long ago. In fact it was too long ago. It was when I was much less experienced, and I didn't know what I had. I've learned a lot since then.
When I first dug it up, I didn't think much of it. I just didn't pay much attention to it, and now I wish I would have taken it more seriously when I dug it. Those initial observations can be important. Exactly where was it found? What was the context? What other items were found with it? What was the original condition before cleaning and the passing of years? I would now like to know the details and whatever else I could have observed at the time I dug it up.
For years I didn't think a lot about it. I didn't have a lot of reason to believe it was old, other than the darkened silver. I thought it looked like plastic. I couldn't tell the difference then between ivory and plastic. Later I learned how to test ivory. But I didn't even think that it might be ivory until I found another example just like it. That example was found in the Mel Fisher artifact database on the Mel Fisher web site.
As it turns out, higas, or figas, as they are sometimes called, are very common - and evidently have been around for a very long time, but they are still made and worn today. They are made of a wide variety of materials these days and were made of a variety of materials hundreds of years ago. Those documented from Spanish colonial sites include examples made of quartz, wood, jet, bone, ivory, and undoubtedly others.
I've seen examples from Sedwick auctions, the Florida Museum, the Mel Fisher artifact database and Deagan's book on Spanish Colonial personal possessions. If I had known about those when the I dug this one, I would have taken it more seriously. The one that influenced me the most is the one in the Mel Fisher artifact database, which is, as far as I can tell, exactly like the one I dug, and was also made of ivory and silver.
I posted pictures of that find before but am talking about it now as an example of a fail and how you can learn more about a find over the years. I didn't take it as something that was Spanish Colonial when I dug it up. I had it for years before I saw the Fisher example and later learned how to test ivory.
Here is a link that tells how to test for ivory.
http://www.cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/resources/pub/E-Ivory-guide.pdf
This dug example fluoresces yellow and you can clearly see the cementum rings on the ivory.
The Florida Museum artifact database shows two. One is from a St. Augustine site (that one is bone), and one of jet was found at the Mound Key site. You can also see one in Deagan's book. Unfortunately, the Mel Fisher artifact database has been down for some time now.
Here is the link if you want to see the higas on the Florida Museum web site.
Colonization and Conflict – St. Augustine: America's Ancient City (ufl.edu)
The carving of this one seems to be of higher quality than most that I've seen. Below is a closer view.
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| Very Realistically carved Fingers On Dug Higa. |
Some examples are either crudely carved or intentionally stylized.
There are several things I learned. One is that you can continue to learn a lot about finds as the years go by. Things aren't always (perhaps never) as simple as they seem. \
I've reported several times about how I've made the mistake of dismissing a dug item too quickly. I've misidentified items and either discarded them or not stored them properly, only to regret it later.
One mistake is to think something is good when it is not. To me, that is a less dangerous mistake. You will probably hold onto an item that you think is good and treat it well. That gives you the time you need to learn more about it. You might be disappointed when you find that it is not as good as you thought, but at least you won't discard or ruin something that is actually valuable.
It can take time to learn the true nature of an item and the story behind it. That can take years. It helps if you treat the item as possibly something good and treat it well and study it over the years. Your knowledge and expertise will improve and you will likely get closer to the real story as time goes by.
There will be items that you are never completely sure about. We accept the conclusions of those we consider expert, but they make mistakes too. The history of science proves that.
In the case of the dug higa, the best evidence of it being Spanish colonial is the exact likeness of the one so described in the Mel Fisher databasee, which, of course, assumes they are correct.
I think it is highly unlikely that it could be a replica made of ivory and silver, and made exactly like the single example found in the Fisher database, which is not widely published or known other than in the treasure community, and there are so many other examples that could have been copied, if you wanted to make a replica. At this point, I think it is Spanish colonial based upon it being found on a treasure beach near a Spanish Colonial shipwreck, and being exactly like the one example in the Fisher database.
At the beginning I didn't pay much attention to it, but over the years I continued to learn, and my thinking about the object continues to develop as time goes by.
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I added some new bottles to my tgbottlebarn.blogspot.com web site. I need to make room. I'd consider moving some of those.
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The surf is now around 3 - 4 feet, but will be dropping. We'll have a period of calm surf.
Nothing on the hurricane maps to watch.
Good hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net