Having seen Bob Perry's "LITTLE BEAR" and other Poverty Point stone beads one immediately has to wonder how these were made using prehistoric technology. It appears that they would have been quite difficult to make using the supposedly primative methods were availiable to the Poverty Point people approximately 3500 years ago.
I pondered over this for some time after first seeing "Little Bear" but pondering was all I did. Luckily, my friend Mike Price did more than just ponder the subject. Mike is familar with the Sargent Beach area where "Little Bear" was found. Helping stem his curiosity about working jasper was some unusual artifacts that he has found in nearby Brazoria county that appear to be crudely shaped utilitarian objects, possibly including crude atlatl weights and nutting stones. The function of these crude jasper artifacts is something that we are still unsure of and will be left as a topic for another day but they are almost certainly man made.
I may be getting ahead of myself somewhat, but here is the result of Mike's Jasper study.
Left side view.
Drilled nose view.
Right side view.
Drilled back side view.
I will let Mike tell his story in his own words:
"This is my attempt to replicate little bear? It took 12 hrs of slowly shaping to get to this point. I have learned alot in working with this Jasper! As for the Man by the fire, he was a patient man, with time sit and grind. I have used some of the same tools, and techniques that I believe he used to make his. Most of what I used can be picked up on the beach, or out of the yard. I now know the hole was probably done with a bow drill, fire hardend stick and sand. he probably used his feet to hold the stone in order to drill. Someone might have held it for him if not for the time that it would have taken it to do it this way. He had good calusis on his fingers and a grip to match? I found a chert scraper-knife works descent to help shape and sand stone fragments are great for shaping and detail work! The porosity and grain of this Jasper is important in selection so as not to waste time in some thing that chips, breaks or fractures. Too dense and it wont drill, or is very hard to shape or work. A stick works to smooth the details,clay and leather to polish! I know it is not as good as the master before me but I hope to have contributed in understanding how he made such a pretty bead!!!"
Mike found that simple was better in learning the old methods used to work a jasper bead. Most the work can be done with flint flakes, sandstone grinding and finished with leather and wet clay polishing. The drilling did prove extremely difficult, as could be imagined, but he was able to drill the stone using the bow and fire-hardened stick sanding method. After proving this method worked, the labor intensive drilling was completed with more modern tools.
Some of the actual sandstone tools used.
Here are additional views of the Mike Price Little Bear replica:
Right side view.
Top view.
Left side view.
Bottom view.
As noted before, I am not sure we can say what the use of these types of objects was. Mike has generously given the replica to me for study and it will be kept among my most prized posessions. But I also plan to wear it on special occasions so if you see me at an Artifact Show I will be glad to let you examine it in person! Since my instinct is to wear it I am leaning toward a cerimonial use for this class object.
Hearing that I would wear the bead cerimonially, Mike completed his Little Bear replica as a necklace and included three Poverty Point style jasper tube beads and a slightly softer material petrified bone bead to cushion the jasper pieces:
I want to include a little more of what Mike had to say regarding the completed necklace:
"I used the Bone spacer bead as a softer cushion to keep the Jasper beads from clacking (chips). This bone frag was a piece I picked up off of the beach it is almost petrified glass. The two twin beads was made from one, it is easier to work this way and then divide. The main effort and time is the Hole. If it chips, fractures or breaks it is in the drilling process. And the started broken piece is made into something else, as I made these smaller beads from a bigger project that failed. The carving, detail,and finish work is easy in comparison to drilling that hole!
Mike's instinct was to add a softer piece of cusioning material between his Little Bear bead and the bead above him on the necklace. Looking at the Bob Perry's original "Little Bear" there is a small chip near the drilled hole on each end. I had noticed these chips, wondering if they were damage recieved after Little Bear was lost or possibley in the drilling process. After Mike's observation I wonder if these small chips came from contact with other Poverty Point beads strung on a necklace with him?
Click here to see Bob Perry's original "LITTLE BEAR" found on Sargent Beach in Texas.
Another known Poverty Point example of similar style is Charley Moore's "DOG BEAD" from Arkansas.
I wish to thank my friend Mike Price for his hard work in replicating these rare objects. His work in determining how these were made may be a completely unique study. As rare as Poverty Point beads are, Mike is probably the first person to make a "Little Bear" bead in several thousand years! This type of study helps us understand our unwritten past.
References Cited:
Peter Bostrom
"PREHISTORIC BEADS"
Mr. Bob Perry
Personal communications
Mr. Mike Price
Personal communications
Photos by Mike Price used with permission.
(c) David Crain / Texasarrowheads.com