Celt Preform

[ToddsPoint]

I found this Celt preform at the river. It’s been pecked all over but they hadn’t started on the bit. Made from a fine grained igneous rock called diabase. This rock was a favorite for celts and axes in my area.

Here’s another pic at a low angle to show the pecking.

 

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[Blackfoot58]

That’s a nice piece.

 

[CreekSide]

Nice example
I believe lots of the preforms we find were used for one thing (like a pestle) then turned into something else as the shape changed.

 

[ToddsPoint]

Nice example
I believe lots of the preforms we find were used for one thing (like a pestle) then turned into something else as the shape changed.

That’s true. We find river smoothed stones on campsites with a dimple on one or both sides. We call them anvil stones. I’ve seen celts made from anvil stones that still had the dimple showing.

 

[Older The Better]

Not doubting what you say because you find a lot of hard stone but a sincere question, why would you have a hardstone preform, a biface I can understand you knock it into a rough shape to cut weight but don’t waste time switching tools and techniques to finish it, but with hardstone why stop pecking so close to the end? Is it for flexibility to decide the finished product Celt or adze or pestle?

 

[ToddsPoint]

Not doubting what you say because you find a lot of hard stone but a sincere question, why would you have a hardstone preform, a biface I can understand you knock it into a rough shape to cut weight but don’t waste time switching tools and techniques to finish it, but with hardstone why stop pecking so close to the end? Is it for flexibility to decide the finished product Celt or adze or pestle?

I think the difference is the time it takes to complete it. Even a large flint knife only takes an hour or two to make at most. A Celt like this, depending on how close the original rock was to the size of the finished artifact, would take 10-20 hrs to finish. Also, since we have so much hardstone here, it’s possible it was pecked to this point for a trade item. That’s just a guess though.

 

[dognose]

Nice find.
A good example of the shaping process, showing the peck dimple marks.
very nice