Not sure if this is okay to post this here, so please direct me where I should go if this isn't appropriate. I love this sub and its great information from its historians so just thought to go here first.
First of all, here's a link to the album I created. I can take more pics if needed: http://imgur.com/a/q9lC3
My father comes from a long line of Iowan farmers, and this was found on a plot of their land in the "timber" as they call it (out east we call it "woods"). He was 7 or so and was out looking for mushrooms (not the magic kind!) and was sort of shuffling his feet along the ground. He struck a rock and hurt his toe, and instinctively reached down to examine the offending stone, and found that it was actually this AMAZING artifact, partially buried in the earth. He took it home to his mom, my grandma ,and it has sat in my grandparents' den up until a few months ago when Grandma went in to the hospital.
I'd always held the tomahawk (if it is indeed a tomahawk- not even sure that's correct) as a child and been so intrigued by it- it really is an amazing artifact and would love to know more about it. My family is still deciding what to do with it. I've heard some bad stories about loaning to museums- that loaning is the same thing as donating pretty much- and some people advise to just hold onto it in the family.
So I guess my questions are:
Can anyone give me more information about the artifact itself? Is it indeed a Tomahawk? What was it used for?
Should we keep, loan, or donate? If the latter, to what museum- a local one in Iowa or a bigger one?
Thanks so much!!
Nice artifact. My wife's Iowa family has one a lot like it - and I suspect most old Iowa families have them as well since they were ubiquitous. The problem with keepsake artifacts is that context is everything to archaeology. Archaeologists don't learn from a single artifact as much they do form the context in which the artifact is found. The Iowa State Museum - an excellent institution - would probably not need another one of these without knowing its context. It would not be put on display, but it might be curated. Your local historical society might want it, but it will be placed on a shelf together with a lot of other things and a handcrafted note that won't take the story too far. In short, I suspect, your family would enjoy this more as a curiosity than it would have value in a public repository.
I am not familiar with Native American archaeology and/or ethnography of the Midwest, but I believe these were woodland axes rather than weapons. perhaps someone else can address this, or you may want to post the image with /r/askanthropology.
And also, let me add an obligatory caveat to raise awareness: artifacts should not be collected by amateurs. Collecting destroys archaeological sites much like tearing illustrations out of books ruins our ability to learn from a book. Your father was not a sinner for collecting this artifact. He was a young boy living in a different time, but ideally artifacts should be left in place for the professionals to collect and document.
I hope this helps.
Hi there. I'm an archaeologist. You have a lovely greenstone axe head there. As others have said, the value in the piece is its context which has been, for the most part, lost.
If you brought this to my curation facility I would ask you for the closest to exact place you found it, and ask for permission to take a walk out there with you. Registering the site location and type of artifacts found there help archaeologists make comparative analysis.
As for the axe itself, I would not take it for my research collection, but might add it to my educational collection- that is the one I take to schools and fairs and the like. Or, you could keep it. What would make archaeologists twitchy is if you were to go out and dig the site- let an archaeologist do that. One artifact kicked over isn't going to destroy a site.
The folks listed at the bottom of this page are the ones who will be able to point you in the direction of site registration. They might even let you name it after your grandpa.
Commenting based on things I've learned from a good friend who is an archaeologist.
What you have there is a stone axehead. The grooves are of course where it would be lashed to its handle.
As awesome as the object is, much of the historical/archaeological value of objects like this is in their context: here was it found, what was found with it. Those are the clues to the really interesting information: who made it, who used it, for what, and when. Otherwise all we know about it is what we can infer from other objects like it that we know more about.
If your family could reconstruct the precise location where it was found, it might be of some interest. I see that University of Iowa houses the Office of the State Archaeologist. That might be a good place to start to learn what value it might have and where it might do the most good.
May be an idea to post in /r/MuseumPros as well.
Although, as has been said by the other comments in this post, without provenance the artifact is rather useless. It's pretty much limited to vague statistics. That being said there are [way too many] museums who exhibit items that don't have a known context.
Hi! Museum artefact tech here!
I'm very impressed with what you have! Excellent find. I am not a specialist in Native American artefacts, but I hope I can help a bit.
My first advice would probably be to stop handling it. I know that's hard, but if you do, try not to with your hands. It isn't massive issue with this, but the oils from your hands can cause the wood to degrade. Just an fyi!
Secondly, look around your local area for a cultural heritage museum, even one that specializes in Native American culture! Call and tell them what you have. If you want to keep it in the family, talk to them about loaning it.
If you can't really find a suitable museum, call the university of your area. Odds are they have an archaeology/anthropology department that can help you out, and they may put on displays and exhibits themselves.
Even if you don't put it up for loan or donation, they can give you excellent advice and knowledge about how to care for and maintain the tomahawk so it stays around a long time :)