Found in Austin TX--what is it?

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Greenie
Oct 16, 2018
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It fits perfectly in the hand with a distinct pointer finger print. Maybe a couple lbs. That is my wife's hand holding it but it actually fits better in my hand (bigger). thanks

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Greenie
Oct 16, 2018
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From The University of TX Anthropology Dept.---

“Groundstone” artifacts were used for several thousand years, so in general they are fairly common; that one is kind of unusual though. My guess is they took advantage of a void left by a natural inclusion (producing the really distinct cup shape) and it was subsequently shaped by frequent use. It may have been multi-functional—it very well could have been used for dressing antler billets along with a mortar/pestle-type function (grinding ochre and whatnot for paint, grinding herbs for medicine, etc.). Mortars and pestles (some of which are impressed directly into exposed bedrock for grinding acorns and/or xerophytic plants) have been found in central Texas archeological sites, although more slab-like metates with manos tend to occur more frequently. In this area, I doubt if it would have been a fire stone.
 

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Greenie
Oct 16, 2018
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Only other pic I have at the moment...it's at home, me at work.

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Greenie
Oct 16, 2018
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If you felt the hand print you might think otherwise. It fits perfect in the hand. But what do I know, I was just bird hunting and stumbled over it!
 

IAMZIM

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It fits perfectly in the hand with a distinct pointer finger print. Maybe a couple lbs. That is my wife's hand holding it but it actually fits better in my hand (bigger). thanks

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I mean no disrespect, but the void looks to be where a nodule of a softer material has weathered out of the stone. the stone it self looks like a type of chert or jasper. Jasper is a harder material when compared to some of the "host" rock it can be found in. It's shape here is reminiscent of a gas bubble that formed from the cooling magma that this material may have been in. Looking closely at the dished out void, it would not have rough uneven edges if it had been ground out by hand, it would in fact be very smooth! In fact the dished out part would almost be perfectly round. You have to think about how it would come out if you, yourself were making a stone bowl out of this same material. As far as it fitting your hand, our hands are a marvel of engineering. They are made to grip anything we encounter. Any hand sized object, when turned over and over will seem to "fit" our hand, because that is how hands are made! It is a VERY cool rock, but natural. I would absolutely picked that up and have put it into my rock collection if i had found it! Again, not looking to just dismiss your claim, I just hope you can see why others, who are VERY experienced in artifacts on here are telling you that is a natural stone. Some of these members have more years of experience than other members have even been alive! By the way, welcome to TNET! Looking forward to seeing more posts from you!
 

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Greenie
Oct 16, 2018
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No disrespect at all! You make some great points. I am going to scour the spot I found it and post if I find anything new.
 

rock

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Maybe a eroded geode of some kind. Looks to have some nice water polish on it.
 

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Greenie
Oct 16, 2018
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Just another shot from the underside that is broken. Appreciate everyone's opinion.

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Treasure_Hunter

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Greenie
Oct 16, 2018
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Yes I did but I tend to side with the Anthropology professor from the U of TX in that it is a "groundstone" used by Natives in this area. I pasted his reply above. It doesn't appear to be the same type of stone as an omarolluck which seems more sandstone type. And the rounded area looks "worked" to me and an omarolluck is very smooth. I'm adding it to my collection and see if anything else is around the area.
 

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