Guess who's back!

[Indiana_acklac]

Why hello there friends!

Found these in a creek near a documented Adena mound.

Anything special? Or am I just in la-la land again?

 

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[Indiana_acklac]

And I tossed one of these back today

Thought it was too smooth to be an artifact...

 

[Indiana_acklac]

Made of Clay? When rinsed with water it started to get slimy?

 

[sandchip]

Not seeing any artifacts other than the glazed piece of stoneware and it's white man of course.

 

[Indiana_acklac]

Not seeing any artifacts other than the glazed piece of stoneware and it's white man of course.

This isn't possibly a cupstone?

 

[Indiana_acklac]

Kind of looks like a knife-point, no?

 

[Indiana_acklac]

Maybe?

 

[newnan man]

Nice to have you back. All natural rocks. IMHO of course.

 

[Indiana_acklac]

OHAI newnan!

 

[joshuaream]

It could be a slate knife or point, but looking at the creek shot you posted with piece you have identified as a cupstone, I see a lot of naturally fractured slate/shale. Makes it tough because a lot of it will fracture into a thin sharp edge.

The cupstone looks like part of a fossil shell has eroded out. You can see another cup on the side, and that white part above the cup is probably another shell.

This is a cropped part of your picture. You could likely split this piece with your hands, or a good freeze. Tumble it a bit in the creek and you might have something that looks worked.

 

[Indiana_acklac]

It could be a slate knife or point, but looking at the creek shot you posted with piece you have identified as a cupstone, I see a lot of naturally fractured slate/shale. Makes it tough because a lot of it will fracture into a thin sharp edge.

The cupstone looks like part of a fossil shell has eroded out. You can see another cup on the side, and that white part above the cup is probably another shell.

This is a cropped part of your picture. You could likely split this piece with your hands, or a good freeze. Tumble it a bit in the creek and you might have something that looks worked.

View attachment 1822711

I try and "crush" every piece I find.

If I can crush it with my hands? It gets tossed...

Everything posted I failed to crush.

I tend to agree with you on the washed-out fossil part.

What about that piece constructed of clay?

 

[joshuaream]

What about that piece constructed of clay?

It's glazed, so not ancient North American. I don't think it's historic crockery because of the dimples in the finish, but maybe. It's hard to tell from the angles what it looked like. (Crocks and bowls came in standard sizes.)

A lot of fields in the Midwest needed tile drainage systems. Most of the old stuff I have seen doesn't have that type of glaze, but it might have been used. It does look a bit like old household/city drain pipe material.

Pipes ? Clay | The History of Sanitary Sewers

 

[Indiana_acklac]

It's glazed, so not ancient North American. I don't think it's historic crockery because of the dimples in the finish, but maybe. It's hard to tell from the angles what it looked like. (Crocks and bowls came in standard sizes.)

A lot of fields in the Midwest needed tile drainage systems. Most of the old stuff I have seen doesn't have that type of glaze, but it might have been used. It does look a bit like old household/city drain pipe material.

Pipes ? Clay | The History of Sanitary Sewers

Great link (seriously)

That said, this piece is made of ceramic, and glazed, it has no place in a sanitary sewer. It's Origin? Up for debate.

 

[Indiana_acklac]

This one: This one is different.

This one; this one dissolves when rinsed with water. This one appears to be sculpted by man?

 

[Indiana_acklac]

There's more...

 

[Indiana_acklac]

 

[Indiana_acklac]

*From a Different Site* (Purportedly near another Adena Mound)

Obsidian? (strong as sheet!)

Stronger than the supposed Obsidian above, wtf is this stuff??

 

[yakker]

V. cool fossil piece (cupstone- notcupstone)! The others will be impossible to id. Your lithic (as has been mentioned) cleaves in a way that make fragments appear/present as a point shape. I have the same trouble where I am. But you need to take a close look at signs of manufacture. NAs were not a crude people- and they made their tools with intent and care. In few instances, they used crappy material which didn't hold up well over time. Sometimes the chemical/mineral content of your local soil (for whatever reason) degrades your stone faster than under typical circumstances. Regardless, there's always, always more than 1 indicator proving you have an artifact, and 'shape' is only one.

The slimy/dissolving stuff is probably some stage of siltstone, but not 'stone' yet. Clay, sure/maybe, but not something worked or made by NAs. They fired their work, and it's a fairly durable thing- with preserved textures and patterns, shapes and so on. Washing fired NA pottery- even if using a soft brush- will not degrade the material. Also, drain pipes were glazed. But I have no idea what that glazed shard you have actually is. Sometimes there's simply no way of knowing for certain. If you want to take the deeep dive into pottery, glazes and the eras during which they were produced and the items those glazes typically were used on, that's your business. People have spent a lifetime's work studying pottery shards and glazes as well as how they were produced. So... good luck with that...

I admire your enthusiasm! Keep looking- and be sure to truly think about what you're finding. A triangle shape is not necessarily a point- even tho it's pointy. A cup in a rock is not necessarily a cupstone. Right now is a really good time to spend some time on line- on archaeological sites and not just Google image searches, so you become familiar with verified artifacts, lithic characteristics, etc. Good luck!

 

[Indiana_acklac]

V. cool fossil piece (cupstone- notcupstone)! The others will be impossible to id. Your lithic (as has been mentioned) cleaves in a way that make fragments appear/present as a point shape. I have the same trouble where I am. But you need to take a close look at signs of manufacture. NAs were not a crude people- and they made their tools with intent and care. In few instances, they used crappy material which didn't hold up well over time. Sometimes the chemical/mineral content of your local soil (for whatever reason) degrades your stone faster than under typical circumstances. Regardless, there's always, always more than 1 indicator proving you have an artifact, and 'shape' is only one.

The slimy/dissolving stuff is probably some stage of siltstone, but not 'stone' yet. Clay, sure/maybe, but not something worked or made by NAs. They fired their work, and it's a fairly durable thing- with preserved textures and patterns, shapes and so on. Washing fired NA pottery- even if using a soft brush- will not degrade the material. Also, drain pipes were glazed. But I have no idea what that glazed shard you have actually is. Sometimes there's simply no way of knowing for certain. If you want to take the deeep dive into pottery, glazes and the eras during which they were produced and the items those glazes typically were used on, that's your business. People have spent a lifetime's work studying pottery shards and glazes as well as how they were produced. So... good luck with that...

I admire your enthusiasm! Keep looking- and be sure to truly think about what you're finding. A triangle shape is not necessarily a point- even tho it's pointy. A cup in a rock is not necessarily a cupstone. Right now is a really good time to spend some time on line- on archaeological sites and not just Google image searches, so you become familiar with verified artifacts, lithic characteristics, etc. Good luck!

Seriously, thank you!

Excellent feedback!

 

[Indiana_acklac]

Right now is a really good time to spend some time on line- on archaeological sites and not just Google image searches, so you become familiar with verified artifacts, lithic characteristics, etc. Good luck!

A lot of what I have seems to match up with legit images, for what it's worth. Not etsy, not pintrest, like legit images.