Opinions on this stone found with some of my Grandfathers stuff.

[VERMONTPACKRAT]

A few years ago I was helping my brother clean out the garage and barn of our Grandparents home. I found a box with a bunch of odds and ends as well as this stone.
The "edges" have been worked, or so it looks to me. You can see the scratches all of the way around. The stone is pretty smooth.
What do all of you think?

VPR

 

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[Peyton Manning]

could be a dinosaur gizzard stone

 

[VERMONTPACKRAT]

could be a dinosaur gizzard stone

I hope its not my Grandfathers gizzard stone

 

[BosnMate]

I found a rock like that, a D-8 building a road on my land uncovered it near a spring, totally out of place from the rocks around it, however there were no other artifacts found in that location. Closest flaked artifacts were along the creek by the house, about a half mile away. There is no way to prove my find is an artifact, but it's still interesting enough that I'm going to keep it. Tomorrow I'll try and post a photo, and hopefully we'll get an answer from someone that knows.

 

[BIGSCOTT]

maybe a favorite pocket warmer

 

[RJ55]

I would say how the edges look it's more than likely a pecking stone.

 

[cooper36]

might be a worry stone

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

Grinding stone for a metate.

 

[NCPeaches]

That's a beauty there! And my guess is definitely Native American. More than likely a pecking stone or grinding stone.

 

[Tony in SC]

I've got one like that, but different color.. I always thought it was a grinding, or smoothing stone. Tony

 

[VERMONTPACKRAT]

Thanks for all of the replies.

I have no back ground info on this stone either. I dont know if it was found locally (Vermont) or not. I do remember one day being out in the woods with my grandfather. I always rode on the back of the tractor. He was cutting wood and I was playing arround. I was probably 8 years old. He shut his saw off and walked over to me and handed me an indian head cent. He had just picked it up out of the middle of the skid road. I still have it today. He passed in 1981.

VPR

 

[monsterrack]

I'm thinking like Jeff-Gordon, it does not show enough man made wear or that man changed it for their use. It does have a few marks on it but that could have come from someone playing with it for just a little while or it being in a box of other items for years. It is a cool looking item and since it belonged to your grandfather you should keep it.

 

[VERMONTPACKRAT]

Here are a few more pics in natural sun light. Also a shot of the Indian Head that he gave my in about 1979.

VPR

 

[NCPeaches]

I love it! I think it's a smoothing stone and that penny is incredible!

 

[RJ55]

Cool Indian head.

 

[ncnurseryman]

The stone doesn't have any significant amount of wear that would be seen on a heavily used hammer stone, however it may have been used for something. Either way its nice and I would keep it for sure. The penny you have is a real beauty and since they both have history related to your grandfather that alone makes them valuable.

 

[NC field hunter]

I think it's a hammer stone or pecking stone. I have found a few similar. They are unnaturally smooth.
A couple are in this photo.

 

[BosnMate]

OK, here's the one I found. It was totally out of place, all other rocks in the area were shale, this guy is basalt, heavy for it's size, and around the center it's really polished,
way more that would be done naturally, and each end is rough, like it was used for pecking something, but not really pounding. My first thought was for it to have been sewn into a leather wrap to be used as a sap, but that doesn't answer the polished portions, and it sure looks a lot like VermontPackRat's rock, only we are about 3000 miles apart.
Looks to be about the same size, and note the polish. The crossways scratches have the same patina as the polish.
The damage on this side was caused by the D-8 blade or a track running over it.
It's rough on the end, but not beat up.
And the same with this end. Probably just a pecking stone, but ??

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Just what are you guys seeing that lead you to believe it's an artifact? I don't see any evidence of it being altered by man. No pecking or grinding on it anywhere.

 

[BosnMate]

I'm not saying it was altered, it's the fact that it was found completely out of place, is polished around the middle, and the ends are rough perhaps form being used for pecking or grinding, and I still want to believe that it was possibly used as a weapon. Yellow Wolf, a Nez Perce warrior in the book Yellow Wolf His Own Story told the author, McWhorter, how the Nez Perce men made rawhide saps using a rock like this one, and it hung from their wrist all the time. I have no idea if the local Umpqua Indians did the same thing, but anything is possible, and I'm thinking VermontPackRats rock might have been used the same way. Anyhow, I can't prove if it is or isn't, and even in my mind I don't know if it's an artifact, that's why I'm posting and asking, but the rock is interesting enough to me, that I'm going to keep it and display it with my other stuff, just because of where I found it, and under the conditions it was found, no matter what the general consensuses is here. I've been hunting and collecting Indian relics for at least 70 years, and I've posted photos of my collection in the past, so bear with me, this rock is kind of unique, and perhaps someone here will be able to let Vermont and myself have an idea of what we have.