What is this?

[bela9680]

Can anyone tell me what this is,  what it's worth? I've been trying to find out for decades!

It is made out of a single piece of wood.

It appears to be a yoke for a single animal as I can't see two using it with those knots on the back of their necks.

I found it in Connecticut barn around 1970.

TIA,

Paul

[tdebuys]

I think you are right and I think the single animal is "man". I've seen similar water bucket yokes in third world countries. To the best of my memory the rope went on both sides of the peg and then down to the bucket or pot to keep the buckets balanced and the part that goes on up were used as hand holds to balance the load an to slightly shift if forwards or backwards for comfort's sake. I've seen similar but not this exact configuration. So, thought I'd share what I've seen. Hope that helps.

[66msarah]

Could have been used for a single ox.