"Ferruginous" Onondaga Chert, Maybe?

[OntarioArch]

There have been some great posts here about NY/PA Onondaga Chert, so I thought I would show an interesting Onondaga Chert blade found in Cayuga County NY, near the Seneca River. Not only does it exhibit some fine secondary flaking around all three sides, but it interests me most because of the red tinge, red coloration that can be seen throughout the piece. In the right light, from the right angle, this reddish tinge can be seen in varying densities throughout most of the piece.

This is definitely not surface iron deposition - it is deeply ingrained in the rock. Does Onondaga Chert have a 'Ferruginous" variant?

 

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[uniface]

It appears to have been baked/heat treated, which would make iron content blush reddish. Compare the waxy surface gloss of it against other, similarly colored pieces (worked or spalls).

Not a definitive answer, but a point of departure.

 

[CreakyDigger]

A very attractive piece.

 

[ToddsPoint]

It might be heated but you usually don't cook dark colored flint. Maybe just an unusual color variation. Nice piece.

 

[uniface]

Much western NY Onondaga can be cream col9red, mottled with brown, &c. FWIW It varies, like Coshocton Flintridge &c. do, but by location across a wide area.