I need your brains...

[CodyPratt]

I found this oddball sticking out like a sore thumb in this area I've been finding a bunch of points and chert tools. I didn't think much when I put it in the backpack, but once I got home I realized it's stone. It kind of looks like wood that burnt, then petrified, then was knapped in places for finger holds and converted to a little hand-hoe type device. Is that a series of events that would unfold? lol Has anyone ever seen something similar or have any ideas from the photos? I'm open to hearing out all interpretations.

 

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[Tdog]

It looks like a piece of naturally formed hematite to me.

 

[CodyPratt]

It looks like a piece of naturally formed hematite to me.

How would those massive gashes on the first one form? My geology friend thought "river worn jasper" from the photos. lol I still think photo 1, 3, 5, and 6 also show fairly clear characteristic flaking or tool marks, but I'd like to hear ideas as to how those happened naturally.

 

[CodyPratt]

This is if I put my thumb and index finger in what I think look like knapped out holes. (My hand feels ever slightly too large, but I am 6' tall)

 

[Tdog]

I'd say via glacier movement or other erosive process.

 

[newnan man]

It's very common for people to say that a particular object "fits the hand". Very few artifacts were made to fit the hand or with thumb grooves, finger holes, etc.
Most celts & axes were fitted to handles and flint tools were sharpened so much that knappers would not waste time chipping in hand holds. You have what appears to be a natural rock worn smooth by natural processes. JMO.

 

[antmike915]

Agree with above comments

 

[Garscale]

Natural

 

[CodyPratt]

It's very common for people to say that a particular object "fits the hand". Very few artifacts were made to fit the hand or with thumb grooves, finger holes, etc.
Most celts & axes were fitted to handles and flint tools were sharpened so much that knappers would not waste time chipping in hand holds. You have what appears to be a natural rock worn smooth by natural processes. JMO.

Oh I totally agree. That's why I put it to those who know better. I'm a mechanical engineer and I work with machining/manufacturing research, so I like to think I have a slightly weighted opinion on interpreting "random processes" vs "various forms of tooling," and I have just been finding an abundance of arrowheads and knives and whatnot along this little stretch of creek, so I figured it would be better to explain in detail that it looks like it is clearly tooled to fit in the hand for digging rather than leaving the detail out and hoping people could infer. I appreciate the opinions though. I'll have to buy my geologist friend breakfast in the morning since the internet agrees with him. lol

 

[CodyPratt]

Also, I won't be offended if a mod moves this to rocks. Idk how, or if I'm supposed to, but no hard feelings. lol

 

[Buckleberry]

It's all good when we're willing to learn, we've all been there.

 

[uniface]

1) Under magnification in good light does it show evidence of having been used (use wear) ? Rounding/blunting +/or chipping.

2) Does that material occur naturally on that site ? (Not just in the area).

 

[Fred250]

I once read on here that “fits the hand” is only evidence for bone tools, not stone. What a crock. I have no idea on your rock, but to think flake removals weren’t made for ergonomic reasons is nonsense. How many hafted tools could you carry with you, not too many I’d think. In order to be mobile you would need hand held tools.

 

[Tdog]

to think flake removals weren’t made for ergonomic reasons is nonsense.

Mother Nature would agree.

 

[Older The Better]

I’m not even sold on this idea but I’ll throw it out there, my first impression was fire damage. Fire spalls could look like intentional removals. But that area with the straight lines is reminiscent of burned earth or ceramics with grass impressions/ tool marks fired inside

 

[Tdog]

I’m not even sold on this idea but I’ll throw it out there, my first impression was fire damage. Fire spalls could look like intentional removals. But that area with the straight lines is reminiscent of burned earth or ceramics with grass impressions/ tool marks fired inside

Potlid fire pops? Interesting!

 

[CodyPratt]

1) Under magnification in good light does it show evidence of having been used (use wear) ? Rounding/blunting +/or chipping.

2) Does that material occur naturally on that site ? (Not just in the area).

Picture 5 of the original set would be the end that did the digging. To me it looks like a big pressure flake has been taken out of the middle and the sharper edge softened from use. Also, if it is a hoe-type tool, it could really only be used to dig in one direction. The compression fractures across the surface that would be in compression while digging (picture 4), and the lack of any such features on the side that would be in tension (picture 3) led me to believe that, whatever process it has undergone, the type of stresses felt by the two opposite surfaces have not been similar. To me it definitely looks like a used digging tool that was worn smooth with use and re-sharpened multiple times, leading to the upward bevel of the edge that you can see in the bottom left of picture 2 (top left if you click on it).

I've never seen this material in my life, and I most definitely have seen nothing like this at the area I've been going to. It was so out of place that my fiancee thought I had dug a meteor out of the river mud and was celebrating the "meteor" all day. I am starting to think the hematite opinions are right, as there is quite a bit of oxidation within the "bubbly" part. I didn't want to scratch it with sandpaper to verify, but one of my best friends is a geologist, and he'll be here in the morning to go hunting with me and confirm or deny that hypothesis.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

The fact that you thought it stood out means someone else likely noticed the same thing many years ago.

It would be SO much more useful for digging if it was attached to a handle of some sort. Right?
Would you use your hands like that if technology existed to make durable useful tools designed for the specific task you were doing?

 

[DaveSmith]

I have two tools with a similar flat digging surface. Not the same type of black stone. I do have other tools that are made from what seems to be the same black stone.The flat surface is on the right side of the pic. It is similar to pic 1. Cody's seems to have a square "handle on the opposite end. Mine is shaped just like a mattock. The flat broad surface is for digging and the other end of mine is like a chopping bit.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

I once read on here that “fits the hand” is only evidence for bone tools, not stone. What a crock. I have no idea on your rock, but to think flake removals weren’t made for ergonomic reasons is nonsense. How many hafted tools could you carry with you, not too many I’d think. In order to be mobile you would need hand held tools.

No, polish and grind marks are proof of Bone Tools. Not that it fits your hand. Pretty much everything we pick up will fit our hands. It's kinda how they are made.