by Bob Reeves, Dandridge, Tennessee
Volume 60, Number 1, January 2013
I’ll be willing to bet that most of you have never heard of this word or have a clue what it means, manuport. From Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia we find that: In archaeology and anthropology, a manuport is a natural object which has been moved from its original context by human agency but otherwise remains unmodified. The word derives from the Latin words manus, meaning “hand,” and portare, meaning “to carry.” Examples include seashells found inland or water-rolled pebbles away from any river.
On most sites that we hunt for Indian relics, there are probably many stones brought in by the Indians and used for some purpose that did not require them to be modified in any way. Heavy stones to hold down a shelter’s sides, stones to line a cooking pit, stones for hammering, and so on. The problem with manuports is that they cannot be differentiated from any other naturally occurring stones in the area. Occasionally a stone of an unusual material, or one not common to the area you are hunting, may be encountered and these could possibly be manuports. Yet there are certain unmodified stones that can be identified as manuports due to their arrangement and association with other artifacts. Here in the east, slabs for stone box graves would be one, and I have read that years ago in the western states, circles of stones could still be found on camp sites indicating where tepees had been erected. We also find clusters of fire-broken rock indicating fire pits, which are stones that have been modified from their original shape after being brought to the site, but not intentionally by man, even though he made the fire that caused them to break.
There are other items that I have found on sites that I am quite sure are true manuports. Over the years of hunting relics, I have found several dozen quartz crystals on Indian sites far from any area where these crystals naturally occur. I am certain that the Indians discovered them while out and about, and intentionally brought them back to the camp because they thought they were special or just pretty. I have also found unworked lumps of hematite on sites where this material does not naturally occur. On almost every site where I have found these unworked lumps, I have found others that have been ground on one or more sides to make red ocher.
One last type of manuport that I have found on sites is nodules of flint, usually Knox flint. These were picked up in the gravel beds in nearby streams and brought back to be knapped into projectile points and tools at a later time.
Up along the Tennessee–Kentucky border there are places where fossil crinoid stems can be found. These are usually in masses embedded in rock and look like a fossilized pizza, but by searching around these outcrops, individual sections that look a lot like stone beads can be found. I have found these small round bead-looking fossils on Indian sites miles from these outcrops and suspect that the Indians may have utilized them as beads or other adornment articles.
So the next time you are out at one of your favorite sites and not finding much, look around at all the stones lying about. Try to picture which ones may have been carried there by some ancient Indian to be utilized just as they are. You might be surprised at all the manuports you never noticed before!