now there is an argument... do you honestly not have an opinion on that? or did you just want to hear mine? well here goes anyway. some believe they were used as fishing sinkers.. some believe they were used as personal decorations. since some examples look like a lot more work than is necessary for a fishing weight. my personal theory changed somewhat after finding examples that were ground smooth and flat on 1 side. I believe no more worn in crude examples were used as fishing net weights.. double groove examples being tied into end across the bottom of a seign type net. while the ones that look like way too much work for a net weight we're probably worn with pride by fisherman.
there are a variety of these, some quite beautifully worked. Since you can use any unworked oval stone as a sinker (like we've all done as kids), there must have been some other reason to put a huge amount of work in these.
I'm on the West-Central Gulf Coast of FL. Our Old Ones must have sent/traded Busycon material up to more northern states, as they have shell plummets , discs, etc.sometimes far from the ocean/gulf
I was wondering have you ever come across something like this? it's a tube which I see plenty of that came from the proper context. that groove has been pecked and ground.
VERY cool! Holes look like worm/invertebrate tunnels that were in mud which became "fossilized". Limerock, right?? With that groove it is most certainly plummetish. Perhaps they stuffed feathers or flowers, etc. in the hole(s) while wearing it.....maybe a whistle? I found a coral finger with holes that I couldn't identify and one day found that if I blew into it, it made a great whistle. I love finding stuff like that piece, you never know what you might find while looking for "regular" artifacts.