Found in a rock shelter in Southern, Ohio.

[Quest1804]

Hey all! I found this in a rock shelter (on private property) in the Ohio River area of Southern Ohio a couple days ago. I've shown it to a few archaeologist friends and they've had varying guesses at what it might be. What do y'all think? It's concave, and one of the pieces has a slight taper from thick to thin. Also - the pattern on the inside has me baffled. Lots of flakes and shells were also found in the cave, so I'm fairly confident that it has had human habitation there before. (The photo where it looks darker is after recently being washed) Thanks!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

DR.ÖTEK Metal Detector, Waterproof Gold Detector, Pinpoint & Terrain Modes, Professional Metal Detector - Grab it through Amazon!

[Goodyguy]

Reminds me of a weathered piece of coconut hull/shell
Appears to have the same thickness as well as curvature.
Also a coconut shell tapers thinner at one end.

 

[Red-Coat]

Welcome to Tnet

Looks like a piece of fossilised turtle shell to me.

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

Pottery or a dried out piece of leather that inside texture looks like the leather.

 

[CaptEsteban]

It is a broken piece of a gourd. Native Americans used these as vessels, ladles, spoons, dippers, etc. Enlarge the pictures in the link & you will see the interior grain patterns.

 

[Goodyguy]

It is a broken piece of a gourd. Native Americans used these as vessels, ladles, spoons, dippers, etc. Enlarge the pictures in the link & you will see the interior grain patterns.

Makes more sense to me that a piece of gourd would be found in a rock shelter in southern Ohio than a coconut,
even though gourds and coconuts share similar patterns inside.

GG~

 

[CaptEsteban]

They are similar to a coconut shell. Many times these fragments will be discarded , or overlooked. If there are many pieces in a shelter, you can pick those up & put them back together to see what the tool was. Another common use was as a " rattle."

 

[dts52]

All good suggestions above. Could it be a pottery shard?
dts

 

[CaptEsteban]

I don't see any evidence of it being " fired," so I rule out pottery. Plus the inner side shows evidence of plant life.