chiped hematite celt! and a Hardin! + 2 points found right next to each other.

all_atv · Mar 18, 2011

I'm thinkin WOW! I didn't even realize what it was when I picked it up. Thats why the insitu shows it lying next to the hole it was pulled from. an edge was all that was showing.
The hardin and another decent sized broke were found about a foot apart by a friend but I couldn't get an insitu, he grabed them so quick! His best personal find so far, and first find of 2011, and his first underwater find. Theyre all creek finds between 3 of us in 5 hrs.

Felinepeachy · Mar 18, 2011

WOW, that is so perfectly shaped too. Very nice finds. :hello2:

ohioaxeman · Mar 18, 2011

Rockiologist · Mar 18, 2011

I love the celts maybe thats why I never find any. Looked to have had a pretty good day!

The Grim Reaper · Mar 19, 2011

Are you sure that is Hematite? I've never seen any "chipped" Hematite artifacts. It is just to dense and hard to flake. Every Hematite artifact I have ever seen whether it's a Celt, Adz, Plummet, Gorget, etc has been pecked, ground, and polished. Yours looks more like a Flint Celt to me. Nice Hardin your buddy found to by the way.

olroy70 · Mar 19, 2011

great finds!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:icon_thumleft:

all_atv · Mar 19, 2011

Thanks for the looks and comments everyone. Srv Its not flint, but it does look just like the flint celts in my books and I only have seen one picture in a Lar Hothem book of a chiped hematite celt, he called it a preform but was much rougher than this one. I do think there are different grades or types of hematite as well as heat treating it. I got some raw pieces out of the creek today to see if they could be flaked and they do nicely I think. Some of the raw is heavier and denser than others but even the heavyest will chip a bit but its like hiting a chunk af iron.

I also noticed some polished over flakes on my polished celt, I took pics of looks just like the circular percusion flakes on flints. Look your celts over and see if theres any similar flakes.

I did think that maybe it could be used as a knife but I dont think the material could keep an edge. Kind of why I didn't realize it as anything when i picked it up, because I havnt seen anything like it before. But my brother says a friend of his has some similar pieces.

Twitch · Mar 19, 2011

Couple of good artifacts in there. Hardin is my favorite type and I've never found one so I'm jealous.

Americus · Mar 19, 2011

Great finds. Thanks for sharing.

blindpig · Mar 20, 2011

Nice Celt there all-atv ,.. I have a similar piece , also found in the fine state of Iowa , N.W. corner though , from a field along the Sioux river in Lyon Co.

Showing the "flute" , that makes for a perfect hollow-ground chisel on this adz.
2- 7/8 in. X 1- 1/8 in.

Flip side ,.. I like to refer to this artifact as a celt form adz ,.. as I get to use the word celt ,.. finding an axe is somewhat of a life-time goal ,.. hell of a goal to score out here in Cali !!

When I found this piece it was red/brown and I thought it was just a "flint" blade . I called my Bro over to have a look at this blade , we talked about leaving it in place for a insitu pic ,when are cuz would arrive with a camera. Well, just being a blade , I decided to just pick it up , and move on . It was that moment ,.. the heft of it in hand , that I realized there was something different about it ? Then noticing the polished bit !! Within minutes this rad/brown "blade" was this metallic gray adz , as my now brown/red stained hands were recovering from a strange trembling episode ...??
Now , I never remembered seeing anything like this before , and thought how odd hematite being knapped like this ? Some days latter I was back in O' Cali and I went straight for my Lars Hothem axe book . In the Hematite artifact section on p171 and p173 are a few examples of some small celts & adzes with SOME knapping scars ,.. perhaps the same examples you cited here ?? But these examples do not "measure -up" to the same degree of yours or mine .
A few years later[07?] when I joined T-net , this was the first artifact I asked for help identifying . In response, one O' boy from Oklahoma , stated that , " he started noticing frequently that there were knapping scars evident on them [small celts/adzes] and it appears that it is a common trait ,. . knapped to form and then ground down." And it stands to reason that some are just knapped better then others ,I suppose ?
Anyway , always enjoy your post ,... your gather'n up one fine collection there in Iowa , quality stuff for sure !!
Keep it coming !! Blindpig

StevefromMissouri · Mar 20, 2011

Nice! I love hematite pieces. I found these pieces that show chipping on them. There just doesn't seem to be very many of them around...

I hope you find a ton more good stuff out of that field. Look forward to seeing more posts!

all_atv · Mar 20, 2011

Thanks for the examples Steve and blindpig. I have seen that in your avatar many times but I always thought it was a flint piece with a heavy patina on it. But I can see now what it is. Also, pig yours looks to have use polish on it while steves was polished in manufacture. And then mine dosn't seem to have any polish other than from the sand in the creek I believe. Because its evenly polished on all sides, but just a little. Mine also has on one end either a break or intentional flat spot which could be hamered on or with I suppose.

littlekan · Mar 20, 2011

This is a hematite celt/knife !!! I believe that it was a celt than a knife. u guys make your own decision...The funny thing is i found it today. This is the second one i've found n my local area.