Thread: Possible ancient bone bead??

Hello,

Looking for opinions on what this "rock" could be. My dad found it mixed in with some gravel while working up in northern Alberta (way up north, Manning area) and brought it to me to see if I could track down what it was. I asked around my office, and the best response I got was a bead made by indians, potentially bone. I believe it is either some sort of organic material, or a sandstone. There is a hole in the center that looks like it may have been burnt in due to the odd shape. We were able to put a couple scratches in it with a screwdriver, and the object sinks in water.

appologize for the pics, taken with an iPhone. If better pictures are required, let me know and I'll take some with my camera at home.

Thanks

i doubt that anyone could offer a definitive answer from your photographs
but
they do raise a curiousity to know more
.............
it looks a bit like a viking sewing whorl
here's a link to a picture(1/2 way down the page)

Thanks sculptor,

Is the link somewhere in you message? I can't see to find it??

oops, sorry about that
link didn't post, and i've lost it, however, whorls are common archaeological finds
google it
good luck
rod

It says here they can be 2.5 cm to 10 cm in diameter, but I'd have thought you needed something bigger for a flywheel effect.Archaeology Wordsmith

spindle whorlCATEGORY: artifact
DEFINITION: A circular object with a central perforation intended to act as a fly wheel on a spindle, giving momentum to its rotation -- an artifact providing evidence of the spinning of thread. It would maintain the momentum of the spindle rotated by the spinner while he/she teases more fibers out of a fleece. They may be of stone, bone, or pottery, varying from flat disks to spherical or pyriform, and ranging 2.5-10 cm in diameter.

It could easily be both a bead and a spindle whorl judging from your pictures. Spindle whorls come in a lot of different varieties and their size varies depending on what kind of string or thread you are making.

Here's one, quite small example (about 1,7-1,8 cm in diameter):
http://www.nordek.net/sites/default/files/dsc_2037.jpg

it looks a bit like a viking sewing whorl

Wouldn't it be incredible if Vikings ever made it all the way to northern Alberta?

My advice is to take it to a museum and/or university and ask an archaeologist.Google will not give you a definitive answer. I've found stuff before, too, and taken it to the museum to show a family friend, and he was able to 100% identify everything.

Originally Posted by Iceal

Wouldn't it be incredible if Vikings ever made it all the way to northern Alberta?

no
I'd find it likely
They likely found their way to minnisota
It was warmer when the northmen went a viking
and the canadian northwest passage is open over 6 weeks every year now

no
I'd find it likely
They likely found their way to minnisota
It was warmer when the northmen went a viking
and the canadian northwest passage is open over 6 weeks every year now

That'd be cool, but is there any evidence to support that?

Intervertebral disk off a small mammal?

Unfortunately as soon as it was removed it probably stripped of its most important information to an archaeologist--where was it located.

If was a bead, I don't think it makes much difference about the climate--such small and easy to carry items are pretty well dispersed across continents.

Originally Posted by Iceal

no
I'd find it likely
They likely found their way to minnisota
It was warmer when the northmen went a viking
and the canadian northwest passage is open over 6 weeks every year now

That'd be cool, but is there any evidence to support that?

perhaps
kensington rune stone minnesota(debated)
settlement on hudson bay(disputed)
but then again the settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows was debated for 20 years before being accepted

they went as far as the caspean sea, and africa, so traveling uprivers in america from the bays and arctic ocean wasn't beyond the ability of the boats.
but archaeology is a tricky business ---miss a good dig site by a few feet and find nothing, or get lucky
As tha arctic warms, there may be more luck ahead?