Native American Worked Animal Bone Expanded-Head Pin (Hair Ornament) - Santa Fe River, Florida - Middle Archaic Period, c. 5000-4500 BC

A beautiful example of a partial expanded-head spatulate pin from the Santa Fe River, Florida, USA, crafted during the Middle Archaic period, c. 5000-4500 BC.

Expanded-head bone ornaments are a distinctive form of worked prehistoric bone from the eastern and southeastern United States, with the broadened upper section providing the characteristic feature of the type. 

Such objects are traditionally identified by archaeologists as personal ornaments such as decorative hair pins and status indicators, rather than utilitarian implements.
The survival of the original expanded head and part of the shaft in this example makes the form particularly recognisable despite the loss of its lower portion.  

Submerged in low-oxygen, anaerobic river silt for millennia, the bone absorbed natural iron and tannins from the water, undergoing a slow mineralization process that preserved it for over 6,500 years.