Rock experts - Need help on lithic identification

[Twitch]

I'm working on finding spots to hunt around Richmond VA and was talking to a guy today who agreed to hook me up with some people he knows who have land to hunt. Anyways, he doesn't look for them but has found 2 over the years. One of them was a point that looked like a small Stanly but the material looked like translucent obsidian with irregular light banding. I only just met the guy today so I don't know anything, really, about him, but he seemed credible to me. My question is this - is it possible that there's a local source that could explain this? I've only ever seen one quartz crystal point in person (thanks NCFieldhunter) and I didn't really study the flaking or material closely. Could this have been a smokey quartz piece? I don't think pictures will help, it looks just like obsidian in the picture.

Bottom line I'm trying to make good with the guy and I told him I'd try to figure out anything I can about the material. I'd hate to come back with "it's obsidian, clearly not from VA". Any thoughts or possibilities at all are appreciated.

Thanks,
Joe

 

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[GTK96]

Trimble Knob in VA is a now extinct volcano and I know there was some obsidian around so I guess it's possible...think I remembered hearing about places in TN and NC that had some but I can't be sure...also, living in Richmond, have you ever looked around Bell Island? I know a guy who found an axe there a few months ago and has found spear points in the past...I can draw up a diagram of where he said the stuff was if you'd like, just let me know...
Sorry I kinda veered off the path there...
HH, good luck

 

[theviking]

An archy that works for the state of V.A. told me that obsidian can be found in V.A. and P.A. I have a pic of a smokey quartz Yadkin if you would like to compare. Good luck finding some new hunting grounds. GTK96 had some good advise regarding Bell Island, I have heard of some nice artifacts coming from that area. H.H.

 

[GatorBoy]

Rayholite is a volcanic product. Its all over that area. No reason why obsidian wouldn't be

 

[theviking]

Rayholite is a volcanic product. Its all over that area. No reason why obsidian wouldn't be

Not always the case. I think it depends on the type of eruption, the minerals present and how it cools. Rhyolite can be found all over the east coast, but obsidian only in a few locations.

 

[GatorBoy]

Just saying the possibility for the right circumstances existed.
And I'm sure obsidian was highly regarded and traded for long distances.

 

[GTK96]

Yeah it all depended on how fast it cooled...i think alot of times obsidian formed when the lava contacted water, but I understand what you meant gator

 

[Twitch]

Trimble Knob in VA is a now extinct volcano and I know there was some obsidian around so I guess it's possible...think I remembered hearing about places in TN and NC that had some but I can't be sure...also, living in Richmond, have you ever looked around Bell Island? I know a guy who found an axe there a few months ago and has found spear points in the past...I can draw up a diagram of where he said the stuff was if you'd like, just let me know...
Sorry I kinda veered off the path there...
HH, good luck

GTK - Thanks for the offer, I'd appreciate it - I'll take any help I can get! I actually spend a lot of time on Belle Island with my family doing various things. Could make the trips even funner!

 

[Twitch]

An archy that works for the state of V.A. told me that obsidian can be found in V.A. and P.A. I have a pic of a smokey quartz Yadkin if you would like to compare. Good luck finding some new hunting grounds. GTK96 had some good advise regarding Bell Island, I have heard of some nice artifacts coming from that area. H.H.

TheViking - I'd love to see it. Right now for me it's either odsidian or crystal smokey quartz, and I don't have any smokey quartz examples to compare against. Thanks for the help.

 

[theviking]

Hey Twitch, sounds like you are describing obsidian. Not sure I have ever seen banded smokey quartz, but just because I haven't seen it does not mean it doesn't exist. Here is the quartz Yadkin, found by a good friends grandfather across the river from me. He also found the fluted quartzite piece in the same field, just thought I would throw that in for giggles. Good luck.

 

[GatorBoy]

It also sounds like agatized wood with the banding you described. A photo would help.

 

[Th3rty7]

Although raw obsidian does exist in Va. ( the only eastern state with a dormant volcano to my knowledge ) the only recorded artifacts made of the material were thought to be traded in. Most likely from an Adena culture network from further west. The Potts site in New Kent Co. contained some woodland artifacts made of obsidian. There are materials scattered throughout the state that can be somewhat similar in appearance and texture including the aforementioned smoky quartz. Dark colored chalcedony and translucent high grade black cherts can also look like obsidian to some degree. Translucent Knox chert from eastern Tn. is similar as well. Some locals call it Cinch River obsidian. A really pure translucent piece of Knox can look like obsidian. Just some suggestions, if you can get a picture of the material I can probably be more specific.


Here's some Va. smoky quartz and some local high grade black cherts.

As far as finding some hunting spots in that area of the state I'd suggest getting to be friendly with some farmers who still plow their fields along the James.

 

[NC field hunter]

Joe, if you need some pics of obsidian points found in VA. Let me know. All of the obsidian finds near us that I know of are paleo or transitional. Hardaway/dalton is the latest I have personally seen. If you have a pic of the piece in question, text me a pic of it. It's a long shot, but I may be of some service. Good luck on finding new grounds. Also, look at local petrified wood samples.

 

[rock]

I have seen what you are talking about and I do believe it is P wood. On Ancient Native American Indian Arrowheads, Indian Artifacts and other ancient Indian relics - Home Page they have some posted under gem quality points. It looks clear but with black lines running through it. Or even Agate.

 

[GatorBoy]

They come in different shades of many colors..some show more banding than others. Here is a couple.

 

[Twitch]

I appreciate all the help. It's definitely not petrified wood. Based on the pictures Thirty7 has posted I can also say with some certainty that it's not smokey quartz. I have some exceptionally crappy pictures on my phone that I can post, but based on all of the feedback ruling out any other logical local source I'm fairly certain it's obsidian. Next time I meet the guy I'll bring an actual camera and get some good pictures.

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[rock]

That site I posted has all types of rock types on it even banned obsidian just like you described.

 

[NC field hunter]

That site I posted has all types of rock types on it even banned obsidian just like you described.

I have a piece of obsidian that I'm pretty sure is a core. Found in VA. A few months back. I'll look for the formula so that a density test can be ran on the guy's artifact. That is the only sure answer. I had a friend of mine run the test for me, I'm dodo with numbers. Here is the piece. I'll gladly mail it to you Joe, if it'll help you.

 

[NC field hunter]

http://www.lcusd.org/lchs/jwalters/density_drill.html

I hope this link will open. If the guy cares enough about the lithic in which his artifact is made of, he can run one of the three formulas to get the density of it. This is pretty much a simple and fail safe method. The piece I posted above was tested by a geology class just a few days back. I allowed a friend of mine to take quite a few samples in for his students to play with. He brought the pieces back last Friday, with this one labeled obsidian. I haven't ran the test for myself. I always thought this one was slag, however, it was found in an unlikely spot for slag. I'm not sure i trust every label given to me by the class. If they are correct on all of the minerals that I loaned them, I'm the owner of a huge silver nugget!!! Lol!