Larry (IL)
Well-known member
(from google): Tinklers are shown in archival photographs, were pictured by early travelers on the northwestern Plains, are found in archaeological sites, are on display in numerous museums, and are present in local artifact collections. Metal tinkers were made from a pie-shaped or wedge-shaped piece to produce a conical form, small at the upper end and more open at the lower, manufactured by wrapping the cut piece around a small metal awl. The completed conical pieces, usually about 3/4 to 1 inch long, are suspended from a shoe, shirt, or other garment. Finely made tinklers were generally obtained through trade, as Hoebel noted in his ethnography of the Cheyenne:
That was interesting reading and it is starting to make sense now that they apparently "tinkled" when they hit each other.
That was interesting reading and it is starting to make sense now that they apparently "tinkled" when they hit each other.