What is this???

[SeaninNH]

I'm hoping you experts can give me some info on this.

Is it man made or natural?

It was found in a New Hampshire river that was regularly traveled by native Americans.

I walk this river every day during my smoke breaks and today this jumped right out at me.

Thanks in advance for any information you can give.

[flintdigger]

Looks like a axe to me with a bit of damage to the poll end.

[SeaninNH]

Thanks


That is my thought as well, but it's my first native American find of ANY kind so I'm pretty excited.

Not too bad for my first find

[oxbowbarefoot]

It very well could be an axe. It could also be a rock with an intrusion that is more resistant to weathering. That may have created the raised band. But it looks an awful lot like an axe to me

[flintdigger]

That edge look's awefully straight and it look's fairly thin, I don't know if the ridge could have been caused by an inclusion and the surrounding rock erroded away around it or not the ridge look's pretty straight also. I am not a expert it will be interesting to hear what others might say that have a better eye than I do. It look's very interesting though.

[SeaninNH]

A few more pics of other angles.

[joshuaream]

Surprisingly enough, that is a natural formation.

[iowa trout]

That is one of the most natural axes I have ever seen good find maybe a native found it and thought the same ?

[SeaninNH]

Surprisingly enough, that is a natural formation.

Why do you think that? A friend of mine that collects points looked at it and he seems to think it's an axe head as well.
(not saying you are wrong, just asking why you think that).

[joshuaream]

Let me see if I can dig up some better pictures, but I've found a couple myself and seen several others that people have found. If you compare it closely to actual celts/axes/adzes you'll see that it doesn't share any of the use wear/polish and there is no evidence of pecking and grinding. The profile shot shows it oddly thinned in the middle of the piece, something that would probably break.

Beyond that it doesn't really match any of the basic ax forms styles in the eastern US. There are some very well polished adzes that have a single ridge on one side, but they are some of the most well made and polished stone tools you'll see.

[RGINN]

I don't see any evidence of human manufacture. But yeah, a cool rock and I would have brought it home too!

[SeaninNH]

I was thinking the same thing, but then I was thinking that being in a pretty fast moving river for a couple of hundred years would erode it and wear the marks away.

Oh well... It's a neat find anyway.

[Lone Star]

Rock Dudes, If I'm seein' those pictures right ya'll be be off on this one. Now I'm not at all familiar with ground axes from the northern states, but that to me looks like a 3/4 groove or a Keokuk (or something like that) axe. It could be worn or not finished I don't know. Check out the C.S.A. Journals the past few years. They have had a lot of articals about stone axes, and that one looks mighty familiar. The cover the of april 2000 issue has one real similiar. Thanky Lone Star

[Treasure_Hunter]

Looks like a 3/4 axe to me that has spent a lot of time in a stream or river...A couple hundred or more years in a river can erase most all of the easy to recognize signs of man's work....

Looks like it was started and never finished...

[joshuaream]

I was thinking the same thing, but then I was thinking that being in a pretty fast moving river for a couple of hundred years would erode it and wear the marks away.

Oh well... It's a neat find anyway.

It's a neat piece and obviously some other people have different opinions about the origin that I do. I would have have brought it home on most days. If you know any local collectors, let them take a peek at it in person.

The main difference I see from an eroded 3/4 grooved axe is that the ring is raised vs a groove being put into it. It would have taken a lot of work on a rather crude axe to remove that much material while leaving a thin ring.

[riverrocks64]

i agree with treasure hunter...heavily river washed 3/4 axe....very nice for your first artifact

[ancientworldantiquities]

Surprisingly enough, that is a natural formation.

Totally agree with you Joshua, natural formation with the general shape of an axe. There is no evidence of it being "worked", pecked, or ground, no use polish on the bit or near the raised rim. I would have picked it up too, you never know until you get it home and rinsed off.

[BJS in Iowa]

Here is one similar that I found. I still feel it is man made although some were of other opinions when I posted it last summer.

[Gecko]

Crazy, ain't it, what nature can do. Great conversational pieces at least.

[tmodel]

NH!! and BJS!! i think you both have very unique mother nature made axes. man makes several that look as close to the same as he can by plane, mother nature make one of a kind by chance. no two look just alike look at all that have been posted. wish i could find at least one of each nature and man. Terry