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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;2manybooks, post: 9965652, member: 8267&quot;]I don&#039;t believe members on the forum will be able to answer your questions. It does not look like a European object, and there is the possibility that it is quite old. Examples of early, east coast Native American carved wooden objects are rare, due to the unique circumstances of preservation needed for them to survive. So there are few comparisons. Specialists more familiar with what has been found archeologically, and with what exists in early ethnographic collections, would be more able to help you - and doubtless would be very interested in examining the object. It would be especially valued because you know the approximate context/location for the find. </p><p><br /></p><p>As examples of the original context that <i>might</i> be relevant, there are the sketches and paintings made in the 1580s by the English explorer John White, recording early Native Americans in Virginia. His drawings were later reproduced in engravings by Theodore de Bry, and published in 1590 in Thomas Hariot&#039;s <i>A briefe and true report of the new found land of Virginia</i>.</p><p><a href="https://virginiahistory.org/learn/early-images-virginia-indians-william-w-cole-collection/theodore-de-brys-engravings" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://virginiahistory.org/learn/early-images-virginia-indians-william-w-cole-collection/theodore-de-brys-engravings" rel="nofollow">https://virginiahistory.org/learn/early-images-virginia-indians-william-w-cole-collection/theodore-de-brys-engravings</a></p><p><br /></p><p>One de Bry engraving illustrates tattoo marks that might relate to the X on your figure -</p><p>[ATTACH=full]500336[/ATTACH]</p><p>No extant John White painting corresponds to this print. The caption explains the symbols as marks worn by men to show their affiliation: &quot;whereby it may be known what Prince&#039;s subjects they be, or of what place they have their origin.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>And one of the original paintings by White shows posts with human heads carved at the top -</p><p>[ATTACH=full]500335[/ATTACH]</p><p><a href="https://www.npca.org/articles/3606-scenes-from-the-new-world" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.npca.org/articles/3606-scenes-from-the-new-world" rel="nofollow">https://www.npca.org/articles/3606-scenes-from-the-new-world</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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