Native American Copper Culture Awl found.

I found another Copper Culture artifact last week in a farm field that was part of a late 1800’s homestead. The artifact is an Awl. Here is some information and example photo about it from the Milwaukee Public museum. The last two photos are of the one I found.
“Awls and needles constitute one of the most common artifact types found on Old Copper Complex sites. Similar to pikes, awls functioned as perforators, probably for puncturing hides. There is ample evidence to suggest that these tools were hafted onto a handle for easier and safer use. Currently there are about 250 awls ranging in size from2 to 40 cm in length in the MPM collection from Wisconsin.”

What an amazing find! Hard to believe the plow never whacked it too! Congrats!

Incredible find and wonderful piece of history, congrats!

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Another piece of history saved - congrats:thumbsup02:

I like that !

That's an "awl"fully nice find!! :drool::thumbsup02:

Amazingly cool! I wonder how old such an artifact is? Congrats on saving an incredible piece of history, Jeff!

Wow!

Great find , these are a lot older than most realize . please give us a timeline Jeff .

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Originally Posted by Tony Two-Cent

Amazingly cool! I wonder how old such an artifact is? Congrats on saving an incredible piece of history, Jeff!

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This is from the Milwaukee Public museums website
The Old Copper Complex, also known as the Old Copper Culture, refers to the items made by early inhabitants of the Great Lakes region during a period that spans several thousand years and covers several thousand square miles. The most conclusive evidence suggests that native copper was utilized to produce a wide variety of tools beginning in the Middle Archaic period circa 4,000 BC. The vast majority of this evidence comes from dense concentrations of Old Copper finds in eastern Wisconsin. These copper tools cover a broad range of artifact types: axes, adzes, various forms of projectile points, knives, perforators, fishhooks, and harpoons. By about 1,500 BC, artifact forms began to shift from utilitarian objects to personal ornaments, which may reflect an increase in social stratification toward the Late Archaic and Early Woodland period (Pleger 2000). While copper continued to be used in North America up until European contact, it was only used in small amounts, primarily for symbolic ornaments.

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Originally Posted by del

Great find , these are a lot older than most realize . please give us a timeline Jeff .

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Thanks Del, see my reply to Tony's question on age.

That's as old and older that the bronze age stuff they're finding in the UK! Another great find Jeff!! Congrats man!

Incredible find!

Very nice Jeff! Is this your first awl?