Description: This extremely rare complete Soapstone Bowl was found in the extreme northeast part of Alabama near Scottsboro. Lake Guntersville area. Bowls like this one were quarried and carved out of solid deposits of Steatite (Soapstone) in the foothills of the Appalachians, during the Late Archaic era thru the Early Woodland Era. (circa 3000-3500 years before Present) They were formed by using a hammerstone and Deer Antler. The gouge marks are still visible on the outside of the bowl. These were in use before the advent of clay pottery vessels. Their use was as cooking vessels. They were placed on fires to cook food and were complete with protrusions that served as handles on either side. Their use was extensive and broken shards of these bowl are commonly found on Late Archaic sites particularly with Savannah River Cultural material from Kentucky to Florida and all down the eastern seaboard. They are almost never found complete and rarely can you even find associated pieces, because when they were broken the pieces were often repurposed for the production of ground stone objects sure as pendants, gorgets or cooking stones etc. This example here was found all together broken into 11 pieces and has been painstakingly reassembled all the pieces were found and glued back together and professionally restored.
Provenance: Found on private property with permission Jackson Co. Northeast Alabama. Lake Guntersville.
