Sully County, South Dakota, United States, North America
Accession Date:
12 Oct 1979
Collection Date:
1949 to 1962
Notes:
A MARINE SHELL GORGET; IDENTIFIED BY RAYE GERMON (1997) AS A MARINE GASTROPOD; TWO PERFORATIONS ARE PRESENT AT THE LARGER END OF THE SHELL; A LINE HAS BEEN INCISED AROUND ONE OF THE PERFORATIONS; 14 HATCH MARKS HAVE BEEN INCISED ALONG THE LEFT TOP EDGE (LOOKING AT THE FRONT OF THE SHELL WITH THE PERFORATIONS AT THE TOP), THE MARKS PROBABLY CONTINUED TO THE RIGHT, BUT A PIECE OF THE TOP OF THE OBJECT HAS BEEN BROKEN OFF, THE MARKS ARE 1.5 MM APART AND THE ARC OF THE MARKS IS ENCLOSED BY AN INCISED LINE; 5 SIMILAR HATCH MARKS ARE PRESENT ON THE RIGHT TOP EDGE BUT THESE LINES ARE NOT ENCLOSED BY AN INCISED LINE; 4 MM FROM THE LAST HATCH MARK A SERIES OF AT LEAST 16 NOTCHES (FORMING A SLIGHTLY SCALLOPED EDGE) ARE PRESENT ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE OBJECT, EACH NOTCH IS 3 - 6 MM APART; A FRAGMENT OF SHELL IS MISSING FROM THE TOP RIGHT, ANOTHER SMALLER FRAGMENT IS MISSING FROM THE BOTTOM RIGHT; ONE FRAGMENT OF SHELL ON THE TOP RIGHT SIDE HAS BEEN GLUED BACK INTO PLACE; RED AND GREEN STAINING IS PRESENT ON THE FRONT OF THE SHELL--THE GREEN STAINING IS CUPROUS IN NATURE, THE RED STAINING LIKELY OCCURRED AFTER CURATION; THE INSIDE OF THE SHELL IS A DARK BROWNISH-ORANGE COLOR; A SERIES OF SEVERAL LINEAR CLUSTERS OF SCRATCHES (CA. 1 CM IN LENGTH) ARE PRESENT ON THE FRONT OF THE GORGET, THERE IS NO PATTERN TO THE CLUSTERS, ALMOST AS IF THE SHELL WAS USED AS A CUTTING BOARD; SEVERAL SCRATCHES ARE PRESENT ON THE BACK OF THE GORGET AS WELL, HOWEVER, THEY ARE SINGULAR IN NATURE AND RANDOMLY PLACED
