what is this?

[larson1951]

is this a bone pulverizing tool?
or?
thanks in advance for any opinions
steve

[Neogeo]

It sure looks the part,lots of use on that end...Cool tool..

[joshuaream]

It almost looks like a little antler billet for knapping. Do you think it could be antler?

I am not sure if the Mandan used the classic elk antler scraper but it could be the cut end off one.

[flintdigger]

I agree it look's like it, what ever it is, the end shows a lot of wear from use. great item Steve. you can come up with the some of the oddest things I've ever seen. Look's almost like a piece of antler to me.

[11KBP]

It almost looks like a little antler billet for knapping. Do you think it could be antler?

That was what came to my mind, although very short it appears to be billet related.

11KBP

[tmodel]

from the condition of the end i think it is a pestle for crushing and grinding nuts and berrys. i read that some of them ground berrys into the meat they dryed. wonder how long it was when it was made. Terry

[flintdigger]

I have been thinking about this piece and came back for another look, Steve do you think it might be a section of antler from near the base area where it would have been more solid and not as pithy. Something about it just look's more like antler than bone. What are your thought's on it ?

[Neanderthal]

A short antler billet was the very first thing that popped into my mind as well. I saw a pretty small billet (similar to that one) found in a prehistoric knappers toolkit in AR. last week. The cache contained a few billets, 2 pressure flakers, 3 decent preforms and 2 incredibly thin finished Dickson points.

[The Grim Reaper]

My first thought was a Billet as well. I've never seen one that short, but it sure looks like one.

Killer find Steve. Did you just find that piece this year?

[larson1951]

just found it two days ago
one of my friends found one just like it last summer
maybe it was a masher for making pemmican?
i will try to figure out if it is antler or bone
thanky for the ideas
steve

[joshuaream]

maybe it was a masher for making pemmican?

Last summer we went to visit some friends in New Mexico and one of the local dishes is Carne Machaca, which is pounded dried beef that is then cooked in a stew with chile and other seasonings. They slice it very thin on a lunch meat slicer, marinate it and then dry it. The cowboys used to take it dry into the field and munch on it or cook it up into chile.

Pulverizing thin sliced dried beef was hard, and they used stone morters for it. I can imagine free range wild buffalo, hand cut, would be as tough or even tougher. I'd think some of those big groove mauls would be the hammer of choice for pounding dried meat.

If it was used as a hammer, maybe it was for the berries or seasoning like tmodel suggested.

[tmodel]

yes Lars!! pemmican is the name i lost in this crazzy brain of mine thank you for finding it for me! Terry

[larson1951]

yes' i still think maybe a pemmican pulverizing utensil
i looked at it closer and it appears to be antler

[flintdigger]

Steve, I agree it does look like antler, from what I can tell and see in the photo's it does not have a marrow core like bone would have. The end that is sort of rounded look's like it has been used a lot and look's very worn. That is a interesting piece.