Heavily Pecked and Battered Pedestal

IMAUDIGGER

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Heavily Pecked and Battered Pestle

(PESTLE) Wish I could edit title!

Found yesterday in Northern Ca.
Can anybody help with the correct terminology to describe this tool? Also wanted to share (it's my best find to date). Completely unsure of the possible age.

I think this is classified as a pestle, showing evidence of pecking and heavy battering on each end. It has a narrow chopping end and a broad mashing end. It has well defined thumb ledges as well as some not so noticeable contouring for the fingers. I believe it's made from greenstone? It must have been a very desirable stone for all the labor that was put into it.
I suspect it was used for a very long time.

Outward face (notice pecked thumb ledges)
DD9D456B-B862-4203-AE89-C2D0C3FE1166.jpeg

Palm side
644B3544-559B-4F08-9A3A-48DBCA44FB33.jpeg

Chopping end
6AA50F5C-A1B3-4265-9968-4AD98E73BEAD.jpeg

Mashing end
BC906AE3-2BF1-471C-957E-B8017D5BA55F.jpeg

Chopping end down (thumb indexed in pecked ledge)
39B25A8F-A995-4752-8386-B57EB3E324B4.jpeg

Mashing end down (thumb indexed in pecked ledge)
93E51E98-950C-463C-B25C-276F3ED337C4.jpeg

As rough and heavily battered the ends are, my first thought was that this was a hammerstone of some sort used for breaking cobble, not mashing up wood/nut/fibers.
It weighs just under 2.5 pounds!

Please correct me if this isn't classified as a pestle

Think I'm going to have to twist some arms to get my family to come help do some serious looking with me.
 

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IMAUDIGGER

IMAUDIGGER

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Additionally there seems to be a pecked out spot for the thumb higher up, which you can see in the last photo in my post above. This would result in more of an arc motion (using the mashing end), which doesn't seem right for a pestle. Maybe it would be useful for tearing woody fibers? It would make sense if you were breaking off a flake of cobble.

9485C19F-540E-4357-865E-31FD3217F58B.jpeg
 

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jamus peek

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More like a Maul then a Pestle. Pestle will have more of a smoother type wear either flattened rounded or a dimple on bottom
 

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IMAUDIGGER

IMAUDIGGER

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More like a Maul then a Pestle. Pestle will have more of a smoother type wear either flattened rounded or a dimple on bottom

That was kind of my first impression. Big hand held sledge hammer for breaking stuff.
Then I got to reading the different classifications of tools. Pestle was the closest I could find.

Interested to hear any feedback others have.
 

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IMAUDIGGER

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This photo shows the pecking well on the rounded smooth face.
Not sure what they were doing with that band at the top. Stress relief?

A808CBA1-A5BA-46AB-B019-13ECF7D1FD7B.jpeg
 

jamus peek

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Here's one of my nicer personal find hardstone Pestles. The colors are nice. The wear is from use as a Pestle.

IMG_20200629_102505.jpg IMG_20200629_102507.jpg IMG_20200629_102509.jpg IMG_20200629_102530.jpg IMG_20200629_102544.jpg
 

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IMAUDIGGER

IMAUDIGGER

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Jamus, that's more along what I picture a pestle to look like.
Then the hammer stones typically are smooth cobble stones, with very little evidence of modification.

Unfortunately, a piece of heavy equipment damaged the stone revealing a bright green rock under that ancient patina that was probably very attractive when it was new. I have a suspicion this tool is more than a couple hundred years old.

EE8FDAC9-2521-4490-ADF3-D5DA69C02DDB.jpeg
 

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jamus peek

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The terminology can be different depending on where you are from. I would consider this a Maul it's Pestle like but the wear indicates hammering. It has a very nice pock mark on the bottom.
IMG_20200629_105145.jpg IMG_20200629_105138.jpg IMG_20200629_105126.jpg IMG_20200629_105121.jpg IMG_20200629_105118.jpg
 

smokeythecat

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Those I call "choppers" for lack of anything else to call them. Perhaps for smashing animal bones and large stuff. Here is a similar one made from a large river cobble I found recently. IMG_1870.JPG IMG_1871.JPG
 

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IMAUDIGGER

IMAUDIGGER

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One thing I'm noticing is how crude the tool I found was left compared to what is being provided as examples.
Wonder why they took the time to peck it into shape, but never smoothed it out?

Maybe it was anticipated a heavy maul might have a tendency to break so it was not worth the extra time?

I'd expect to see some similar rough looking tools..
 

smokeythecat

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With that green color, is it heavy for its size? If that is the case it may have copper minerals i it. It'a cool piece for sure.
 

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IMAUDIGGER

IMAUDIGGER

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With that green color, is it heavy for its size? If that is the case it may have copper minerals i it. It'a cool piece for sure.

It's heavy like a dense rock.
I think it's an altered form of basalt. But I'm no expert.

There are bubbles, like it was formed under extreme heat.
It likely originated as a boulder in a nearby large river that runs through volcanic flows.
62623D85-A787-4847-89FC-180AC700925E.jpeg

I'd love to know how old it could be, but I'm sure I will need to find more worked obsidian and chert to come up with a guess?
 

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IMAUDIGGER

IMAUDIGGER

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So without seeing my artifact in person, my dad had a couple different ideas.

He felt like maybe the stone was deteriorating with age and that’s why it had such a rough appearance.
All of the stone tools he has ever ran across were worked smooth and very hard like the ones presented thus far in this thread. Granite is somewhat easily obtainable around here, as are very hard river cobbles.

He also brought up the idea that the green looking scratches could be transfer marks from a different softer rock. It does look kind of soft and almost chalky in contrast with the appearance of the rest of the tool. I would expect to see broken fractured rock, not smeared rock.

I can’t quite tell without getting it into the sunlight with a magnifying glass. Something seems off.
 

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southfork

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Looks like a big meteorite ? that was used as a tool what a find that would be $
 

The Grim Reaper

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So without seeing my artifact in person, my dad had a couple different ideas.

He felt like maybe the stone was deteriorating with age and that’s why it had such a rough appearance.
All of the stone tools he has ever ran across were worked smooth and very hard like the ones presented thus far in this thread. Granite is somewhat easily obtainable around here, as are very hard river cobbles.

He also brought up the idea that the green looking scratches could be transfer marks from a different softer rock. It does look kind of soft and almost chalky in contrast with the appearance of the rest of the tool. I would expect to see broken fractured rock, not smeared rock.

I can’t quite tell without getting it into the sunlight with a magnifying glass. Something seems off.


Your father beat me to it. I was thinking along those same lines and the possibility it was from exfoliation more than being left rough during manufacture.

Jamus, those two Pestles are amazing. Nices finds my man!

And Tdog, WOW!! That is an incredible piece.
 

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IMAUDIGGER

IMAUDIGGER

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With that green color, is it heavy for its size? If that is the case it may have copper minerals i it. It'a cool piece for sure.

Thanks Smokey. Those ARE all incredible artifacts that people have shared!
 

MAMucker

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Looks like a big meteorite ? that was used as a tool what a find that would be $

Possibly a Hammer Stone. I do not see that it was pecked into shape, but the ends do look bashed.

Weird rock though. It does have an Iron look to it. Have you tried putting a magnet on it?

From what little I know about meteorites, they do not have bubbles or small holes like those. Volcanic rocks do.

It’s an odd ball and interesting for sure.
 

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Fred250

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I’m sure it’s ego but I also get the most enjoyment over the finds others would have missed. The line between artifact and geofact is so fine it’s probably unhealthy for the mind to try and follow it, but I still do. Thanks for trying to liven it up a little.
 

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