Indian ?

[jeff of pa]

I may have asked on this before,
I know I thought about it.
but now that I have a better Camera.

it is Not round, It's Oval
and slightly Tapered as it goes towards the Point

 

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[Atlantis0077]

Afternoon,

Humm....could be a long tapered celt, but most likely its a roller pestle. Its a nice piece!


Atlantis

 

[Neanderthal]

Judging from the size, it looks like it could be a broken chisel. They also (chisels) are well known for your area, look for manufacturing marks.

 

[jeff of pa]

Judging from the size, it looks like it could be a broken chisel. They also (chisels) are well known for your area, look for manufacturing marks.

Black stone No marks on it

 

[sonny60]

their version of a biscuit roller

 

[Neanderthal]

Black stone No marks on it

You would most likely need to examine it with some magnification to determine tooling marks, as some specimens are VERY polished. It could be natural (geofact), but from your location and the items appearance there also is the likely possibility of being a chisel, part of a small spud or similar artifact. I have seen (and examined) many chisels from your area. Trust me, I'm the world's worst skeptic when it comes to geofacts vs. artifacts...but yours may indeed be an artifact.

 

[jeff of pa]

Black stone No marks on it

You would most likely need to examine it with some magnification to determine tooling marks, as some specimens are VERY polished. It could be natural (geofact), but from your location and the items appearance there also is the likely possibility of being a chisel, part of a small spud or similar artifact. I have seen (and examined) many chisels from your area. Trust me, I'm the world's worst skeptic when it comes to geofacts vs. artifacts...but yours may indeed be an artifact.

Thanks !

believe me I am no expert more like a rookie.

geofact ? if it is it's the strangest shaped rock I'v ever seen.

I can see now how it could be a chisel though.

roller pestle not so sure because it's not round
but as I said, I,m just a beginner.
I pick these things up when I see them
and eventually get around to asking.

At the wide end where the piece seems Broke
It actually looks cut.

 

[jeff of pa]

Here are some more pics.
The sides are Smooth to the Feel

 

[Neanderthal]

Judging from the latest pics, I am almost certain that is a chisel that had the bit end broken off. It looks like I can discern faceting and systematical abrasions,, which is usually a symptom of a mechanical grinding (in other words, not natural). I could be wrong, but I really don't think so in this case.

A lady came in just the other day and commenced telling me about a cache of gouges and chisels that she found in PA. I hear a ton of rock "stories" on a daily basis and it has taught me to be highly skeptical. Everyone has a story, and they have no problem telling you them with a tear in their eye for effect. Her story was no different, so I just listened and commented only to tell her that she should bring them in sometime and I'd like to see them. She did. About an hour after she left, she came back with a box that just blew me away. There were gouges in different stages of manufacture. From roughed out preforms to finely finished gouges that are some of the best I've ever seen...she had them. Not only that, there were also a few chisels in with this cache she found. All were 100% authentic and I was like a kid in a candy store, just getting the opportunity to examine this treasure trove of pecked, ground and polished implements. A couple of the better gouges rivaled some of the best I've ever seen, being 8"-10" in length and with maintained razor sharp bits. As she told me the story of uncovering this cache..I couldn't help but to hang onto her every word. She recovered them well over 30 years ago from a pit, the larger ones stacked on top of each other. She said she was planning on leaving them to her kids, but they had no interest at all in them. At her suggestion, she loaned us one of the best of the group to put on display with some other gouges. As I said..I hear a whole lot of stories, but every now and then you do find one that will have merit.

Sorry for typing so much, didn't mean to do that.

 

[jeff of pa]

thanks !

What would they be used for ?

Carving out wood ?

 

[Neanderthal]

thanks !

What would they be used for ?

Carving out wood ?

Yes, as far as I know they were wood working implements. I don't believe many of them were used in conjunction with a hammer as our modern chisels. The polls ends usually don't show signs of hammering and many chisels are far too fragile to stand abuse.

 

[luckyinkentucky]

I'm going to go against the grain here, and say I believe it to be a roller pestle.

There are no archaeological records that I know of in the North Eastern States that refer to anything of that size and girth as being a 'chisel'? There have, however, been several that refer to pieces similar to yours in size that were used for kneading and rolling maize based dough to make a tortilla like flat bread. There are several authorities on the subject, and I am not one of them, but have studied their work. Richard Gramly, Ph.D would be a good person to contact on the subject. It is believed that the 'chisels' were more of a smaller-tapered stone that would have been wielded like an axe.

Although, I would think that the complete piece would need to be found to determine the true origin of it's use. Anything else is speculation, and cannot be positively proven since you only have a part of the piece.

I say roller pestle.

 

[WhiteCountyPaleo]

have you smelled it? haha...looks like a...ancient phallus
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20050725/ancientphallus_zoom0.html

 

[WhiteCountyPaleo]

http://www.sacred-texts.com/sex/asw/asw05.htm#img_fig25

 

[Cannonman17]

A couple of different times I've read about Inidians fire forming wood, like to build a dug out canoe for instance they would burn the wood out vs. chisel it all out. Build a fire along the top of the log and let it do the work for you. I experimented with this technique and made a wood bowl, much to my surprise it worked fantastic and wasn't hard to control the burn and get the right shape. The material left after burning takes a ton of elbow grease to get rid of though and I think that a gouge or chisel would be a wonderful help when cleaning out the burn areas.

 

[Neanderthal]

I'm going to go against the grain here, and say I believe it to be a roller pestle.

There are no archaeological records that I know of in the North Eastern States that refer to anything of that size and girth as being a 'chisel'? There have, however, been several that refer to pieces similar to yours in size that were used for kneading and rolling maize based dough to make a tortilla like flat bread. There are several authorities on the subject, and I am not one of them, but have studied their work. Richard Gramly, Ph.D would be a good person to contact on the subject. It is believed that the 'chisels' were more of a smaller-tapered stone that would have been wielded like an axe.

Although, I would think that the complete piece would need to be found to determine the true origin of it's use. Anything else is speculation, and cannot be positively proven since you only have a part of the piece.

I say roller pestle.

He put a scale in the first picture for size. At just over 1/2" in diameter and 5" long...it would be one miniature roller pestle.

 

[jeff of pa]

I'm going to go against the grain here, and say I believe it to be a roller pestle.

There are no archaeological records that I know of in the North Eastern States that refer to anything of that size and girth as being a 'chisel'? There have, however, been several that refer to pieces similar to yours in size that were used for kneading and rolling maize based dough to make a tortilla like flat bread. There are several authorities on the subject, and I am not one of them, but have studied their work. Richard Gramly, Ph.D would be a good person to contact on the subject. It is believed that the 'chisels' were more of a smaller-tapered stone that would have been wielded like an axe.

Although, I would think that the complete piece would need to be found to determine the true origin of it's use. Anything else is speculation, and cannot be positively proven since you only have a part of the piece.

I say roller pestle.

when you use the Word Girth I wonder if you realize it's size.
Maybe this will help.



Almost the same size as the old Magic Markers

 

[jeff of pa]

Better pics of the tip
looks like it could be hammered on

 

[mikez]

That chisel blade looks similar to the blade on some modern icefishing "spuds".
How did the natives get through the ice for fishing, trapping, drinking water?

 

[Airborne80]

Whatever it is, I wish that I had it in my collection. Great find