Did I find an authentic Mano Stone ?

[tamrock]

Yesterday I took a bike ride along the trails in Boulder county Colorado that travel the creek systems of what are called Rock Creek and Coal Creek that are part of the Boulder creek watershed system of the front range north of Denver. I have lived and explored the open-space areas of my hometown of Lafayette, CO for 26+ years and find a fair amount of late 19th early 20th century items from the early coal mine era. I have always kept an eye out for native American artifacts over the years along the plowed fields and trails along the creeks, but have never found anything I would call a possible find until yesterday. Along the open-space, trails there are these low bluffs that makeup the eastern part of what would be called the Boulder Valley. Once before riding my bike along this trail that runs from Lafayette to Erie Colo. I took note of this bluff in the first picture and said next time I'm in the area I'm going to have a look up there as it sits where the two creeks merge over looking the two lower creek bottoms below. Walking around I found this stone that looks river washed and is made of a pink and red type hard sand-stones that would come from around Lyons Colo. IMO. The stone is beveled flat with a slight radius on both side and I do see striation lines that wear opposite of the stone lengthwise. I would like the opinions of you folks as to your thoughts of this wear on this rock. Do you think it was done by the cause of man or do you think I just found a rock shaped by the forces of geology?

 

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[Jon Stewart]

Sure looks like a mano to me.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Sure looks like one to me too.... Nice score!

 

[welsbury]

It sure is a mano. Look around that area real well, I'll bet you find other things.

 

[creekhunter]

Very cool find!

 

[VERDE]

Hey tamrock!! Neat Find and CONGRATS!! Beveled edges, right contour and dimensions!! Looks like the real McCoy!! Anyway, GOOD LUCK and GOOD HUNTING!! VERDE!!

 

[joshuaream]

Looks like a mano to me. They usually aren't found as completely isolated relics, so there is probably a camp or something nearby.

Just double check ownership of the land around you. Federal land in your area is a big no-no, State and Municipal lands are probably not good either. The plowed fields you mention are probably private land and, with permission, are where you want to spend your time!

 

[worldtalker]

Mano man what a stone.

GOD Bless

Chris

 

[Tnmountains]

Congratulations Tamrock. Nice addition to your collection!

 

[tamrock]

Looks like a mano to me. They usually aren't found as completely isolated relics, so there is probably a camp or something nearby.

Just double check ownership of the land around you. Federal land in your area is a big no-no, State and Municipal lands are probably not good either. The plowed fields you mention are probably private land and, with permission, are where you want to spend your time!

Thanks! joshuaream, I was thinking the same that this just couldn't be an isolated random find and did look around and saw nothing else on the surface. The bluff is a gravel alluvium topped with fine dry blown soil. I believe land is all part of the open space, parks and recreation of the town I live in. Do you think I should report it? I do have a hunch an excavation of the top soil could yield more evidence of a camp site. I did mark the spot I found it at with a line of stones next to the indentation it left.

 

[old digger]

Definitely a mano, and a nice one at that! The metate may still be in the immediate area, so you may want to keep an eye out for a piece of it barely sticking out of the ground.

 

[boogeyman]

Looks like a mano to me. They usually aren't found as completely isolated relics, so there is probably a camp or something nearby.

Just double check ownership of the land around you. Federal land in your area is a big no-no, State and Municipal lands are probably not good either. The plowed fields you mention are probably private land and, with permission, are where you want to spend your time!

I'd just kick it to Englewood and tell anyone that asked "I found in the Platte while I was picking up trash!! But that's just me.
Nice find & good eye!

 

[tamrock]

Definitely a mano, and a nice one at that! The metate may still be in the immediate area, so you may want to keep an eye out for a piece of it barely sticking out of the ground.

That's what I was thinking OD. I find it odd that I've never found anything in the way of high silica blade material in all the years of looking around here. It was a couple years ago now we had the big freak rain storm, so maybe more thing have been uncovered from that? Finding this will sure keep me looking.

 

[kingskid1611]

Nice, I had to google it to even know what I was looking at but from what I have now read it is a good find.

 

[RGINN]

Yep, that's what I would say it is. These are household items, so it's a good indicator for a more permanent camp site. Boulder County has a few recorded Archaic sites, and it's along a major travel route for prehistoric and historic peoples. If you see any large rocks, turn them over. We noticed in Oklahoma they would leave the manos and metates at a favorite camp site, turning over the metate to protect the grinding basin surface, which was usually made of sandrock and more susceptible to the elements. These sites were before the horse, so they didn't want to carry a whole lot of extra baggage when moving. For the same reason you will sometimes find caches of flint nodules at these sites.

 

[tamrock]

Thanks for the pointers RG, I've read your post sitting here at Stone Bridge out of Salida. Beautiful cooler overcast sky here this afternoon, I must say. I think I'm going to call the dept of historic preservation on this site. I'd hate like hell to see the big earth scrappers move in and level the place so some rich folks could have a million dollar home with a wonderful veiw of the Flatirons. Please anyone correct me if that sounds like a bad idea? That kind of thing is kinda against my nature.

 

[RGINN]

Go ahead and report it. Keep in mind if it's a run of the mill everyday village site of a culture that has been thoroughly studied the state archies aren't goin to get too excited. If it turns out to be the next Spiro Mounds, Chaco Canyon, or a Viking village site, there will be steps taken to protect it and study it. Federal land is a different story though, in my experience. A very interesting site in NE Oklahoma, possibly the first French village in the state, but more likely a native village with lots of trade with the French, but we apparently will never know, as the land came into the possession of the Feds and a big chain link fence went up around it. No entry, no excavation, not much more heard about it. They're saving it for future generations, I guess. I decided not to report some sites in South Park to anybody cause it's on Federal Land. They're good places to camp, and I don't wanna come out and find a big fence up around them tellin me I can't camp.

 

[old digger]

Yep, that's what I would say it is. These are household items, so it's a good indicator for a more permanent camp site. Boulder County has a few recorded Archaic sites, and it's along a major travel route for prehistoric and historic peoples. If you see any large rocks, turn them over. We noticed in Oklahoma they would leave the manos and metates at a favorite camp site, turning over the metate to protect the grinding basin surface, which was usually made of sandrock and more susceptible to the elements. These sites were before the horse, so they didn't want to carry a whole lot of extra baggage when moving. For the same reason you will sometimes find caches of flint nodules at these sites.

I have several friends that have found metate's turned upside down as you have mentioned. They also found the mano's underneath them to.

 

[Jon Stewart]

I have 2 two sided metates. Both sides were used and both have a good dish to them. Both were buried on end meaning long side down into the ground. When I am on the desert I am constantly kicking rocks or turning them over with my moon scoop. On both occasions the two mutates didn't move when I kicked the small exposed part of the rock. I dug both of them out of the ground. Not sure if they were buried that way or not. I also found one metal detecting. I got a good hit on the detector but the metal was covered by a large flat rock. I flipped the rock out of the way which turned out to be a great metate. The metal piece turned out to be a cuff button for a military shirt.

 

[tamrock]

I have a feeling that under the dirt more things can be found. I believe this mano is a pretty old one and it was washed out by the 2013 freakish rain storm. I also have a two sided flat sandstone metate. It was all busted up and I found every piece. I found it in 1983 along the Arkansas river west side and very close to the old RR bridge supports made of cut granite blocks next to the granite bluff. You know the place I'm talking about RG, so go have look see when your in the area. I glued the metate all back together and mounted the points and awes I found in that area as it was within walking distance to were I lived back then and I was always roaming the grounds back then. Folks can now drive in that area and camp and they couldn't back when I was around... So much more can be found there in that area imo. I spent countless hours looking over that place back then.