Need help IDing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

[bigrush828]

Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

I remember finding this artifact like it was yesterday. I was around 5 yrs old in preschool. I grew up in Central Louisiana. Anyone who knows anything about the area can tell you the only rocks you will find are in driveways. I remember it had just rained and this little "rock" was just sitting under one of the portable building, on top of the moist dirt. I believe this is where my fascination with rocks started. Only recently did it occurr ro me that this was an artifact. I believe it is made out of some type of granite, which is totally not native to Central Louisiana.

Any comments/opinions are more than welcomed. Does anyone know what it is? What type of rock it is made from?

My theory is that it was either a cooking stone of game stone.

 

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[bigrush828]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

Come on guys, nobody has a clue about this piece? :-)

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

I think most are like me and afraid to say what we really think for fear of confrontation, but I guess I'll go ahead and be the bad guy.

From what I can see in your pictures, (and mind you this is just from what is visible in the pictures and my opinion might be different if I could actually hold it), I see a natural rock and not an artifact. Even though you say there were no other stones like it in the area it still doesn't look like it was used for anything to me. Maybe a curious Indian liked the colors and carried it home just like you did, but from what I can see in your pictures I see no evidence of it being altered by man.

Sorry, just a pretty rock.

 

[steve71]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

looks like a grinding stone to me i've dug a few just like it in mounds.it dont have to be altered just used.any area more smooth on it?

 

[Ohioan]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

Mounds ?

Pretty rock

 

[Rege-PA]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

I too have found nice round rocks on village sites that were definitely brought there. Though they show no visible wear they could have been used as boiling stones. The round shape would not damage pottery and they could even be placed in a water tight bark/wood container to heat water.
Just my opinion.

 

[*Molly*]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

If there is no sign of it being used by Indians, whats the point in keeping it? I mean come on, we would end up with far too many rocks. I guess it could go in the garden, look nice in a rock garden. I for one aint having a load of shelves with rocks on it that I'm not sure they aint just natural, be silly..
Thats the only thing that bugs me about this hobby is speculation, I like facts..

Molly.

 

[Edmundruffin]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

I have a box of pretty rocks picked from sites. My opinion is the reason you and I have those stones that are different is the same reason the Native carried it home. It was different.

 

[Rege-PA]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

Most of the Monongahela villages are located on hill tops. The dominant rock in WPA is sedentary sand stone, limestone, and shale. Igneous rocks are not found naturally in the area and rocks from the sand stone ledges weather off in sharp angular pieces. There are rounded rocks in the rivers but any round rock above the old glaciated terraces had to be carried there somehow. Igneous rocks such as granite and basalt were highly prized and usually ended up as a celt or ax or just a pretty bauble carried home.

 

[chong2]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

are there pecking marks on the longer ends? one of the pictures it looks like it kinda. maybe a hammerstone or rubbing stone or pecking stone

 

[Mackaydon]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

If I found it here on the left coast, I'd say it's an igneous that worked (eventually rolled) to the ancient shore, got tossed around for a couple thousand years, was buried when the seafloor lowered (or the land rose), became exposed through erosion and rolled down again to either a hillside or the beach. A vivid imagination perhaps, but not vivid enough to suggest it was used by man.
Don....

 

[bigrush828]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

Well, if I had found that rock in a creek or river, I may have a different opinion; but I found it in an area where you NEVER see rocks like this. And the nearest water source to this area is miles away. I appreciate all opinions, but I firmly believe it was pecked and ground into a ball shape. Maybe my pictures just suck. :-)

Can someone tell me the type of rock material? Maybe Granite?

 

[bigrush828]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

I think most are like me and afraid to say what we really think for fear of confrontation, but I guess I'll go ahead and be the bad guy.

From what I can see in your pictures, (and mind you this is just from what is visible in the pictures and my opinion might be different if I could actually hold it), I see a natural rock and not an artifact. Even though you say there were no other stones like it in the area it still doesn't look like it was used for anything to me. Maybe a curious Indian liked the colors and carried it home just like you did, but from what I can see in your pictures I see no evidence of it being altered by man.

Sorry, just a pretty rock.

I completely appreciate your input. Although, you made me weep a little

 

[bigrush828]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

looks like a grinding stone to me i've dug a few just like it in mounds.it dont have to be altered just used.any area more smooth on it?

I think my pictures just suck, because it is very smooth to the touch and naked eye.

 

[bigrush828]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

If there is no sign of it being used by Indians, whats the point in keeping it? I mean come on, we would end up with far too many rocks. I guess it could go in the garden, look nice in a rock garden. I for one aint having a load of shelves with rocks on it that I'm not sure they aint just natural, be silly..
Thats the only thing that bugs me about this hobby is speculation, I like facts..

Molly.

I like facts too, that's why I made this post

Even if it is not a artifact, it does mean a lot to me. So, in my opinion, that is reason enough to display it proudly my my most prized artifacts.

 

[Tnmountains]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

Like this maybe?

 

[brandywine]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

I would have picked it up as well. That little egg looks like it was certainly touched by man (or woman) somewhere in history. Let your imagination soar.

 

[Rege-PA]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

Looks to be a pink granite.

 

[bigrush828]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics included

Like this maybe?

Very nice! I would say that's the exact type of rock! Do you knwo what type of rock that is? Thanks for showing!

 

[Th3rty7]

Re: Need help ID'ing the first artifact I ever found...25 yrs ago...pics include

Looks like a small hammerstone or grinding stone to me. Some people call them eggstones. I would have kept it. Of course my opinion is based on a two dimensional picture and not an in-hand study. Imo you can learn more from artifacts by handling them and getting the feel of worked / used areas, than simply looking at a picture to make a judgement call.

Facts? What facts? Archaeology is a soft science based on speculation and educated guesswork. I enjoy the mystery.