Hardstone ID request

[1320]

Found this interesting item in a rock shelter yesterday...4 inches long, half inch diameter, highly polished, boat or soap stone? Flat as a pancake on the bottom. The black area of it feels raised...I can catch my finger nail on it ever so slightly...could be just part of stone though.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Sorry, but from what I see in your pics it looks natural to me. I don't see any evidence of it being altered by man.

 

[1320]

Sorry, but from what I see in your pics it looks natural to me. I don't see any evidence of it being altered by man.

Thanks SV..after looking at the pics..have to agree with you but you know I don't post junk. Better images or seeing it would prove otherwise..with that in mind..does it resemble an artifact of known nature? Polished stones in a shelter are impossible. This piece has visible witness marks vertically and horizontally, smooth as a baby's but on all surfaces and flat as a pancake on the bottom. It is an artifact or a planted piece in a rock shelter found at a depth of 18inches associated with a Pine Tree point

 

[iowa trout]

Pestle if the end(s) have circle wear .

 

[NC field hunter]

As a poster of junk, my opinion may be of no value. However, I've found pieces with slightly raised dark lines like your piece has. Going by my finds, I have thought the dark lines could be the remains of leather or some kind of adhesive. In my experience the dark area makes a thin line around the stone in a fashion ideal for hafting. I do think you have an artifact of some sort here. I believe you have your hopes up pretty high with the boat stone. I think it's a quick production. A stone that needed little work to serve its function. Hey!! It may have been an important tool. Cool piece!!

 

[unclemac]

kind of small and thin to be useful...and wouldn't you say TOO polished considering how crude it is?

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Being found that deep it probably was carried in, but I don't see evidence of it being altered by man in your pictures. Are the ends battered any?

 

[1320]

Being found that deep it probably was carried in, but I don't see evidence of it being altered by man in your pictures. Are the ends battered any?

I must agree my pics (smartphone) are horrible...I'll retake them with my digital cam and throw them back up. Ends are perfectly smooth and round. It's semicircle shaped. Showed it to a local collector today and he told me what he thinks it is but I'd like to have this boards opinion to confirm or deny.

 

[yakker]

there are pestle grinders- and there are horizontally employed grinders. I have found rocks in areas I was certain were used by later, more sedentary peoples. Being in a rock shelter.. that would be earlier, no? Unless a shelter used to escape encroaching 'pioneers' of one variety or another. Something carried along to grind grain/ etc. in a last ditch effort to survive (as hunting would mean exposure). My mind is full of imaginative scenarios. Pure speculation here Yakker

 

[rock]

I have seen a tie on banner found in my area it looked close to your find but the one I saw had a groove on each end for cordage to tie it on. Could be a preform not finished.

 

[redbeardrelics]

Given the location you found it, makes it seem almost certain that it is an artifact. It does look to have some nice use polish, and I find NC Field Hunter's thoughts on the blackish residue intriguing. Without any pecking or grinding wear evident, I would also assume it may be a naturally formed rock that they picked up and used somehow on soft materials such as leather, wood, fiber, etc. It would be interesting but probably cost prohibitive to have the black residue analyzed somehow. HH

 

[GatorBoy]

I don't know the geology of your area but it strikes me as a fossil

 

[1320]

I have seen a tie on banner found in my area it looked close to your find but the one I saw had a groove on each end for cordage to tie it on. Could be a preform not finished.

Bingo! Nice job Rock!

 

[discoidal roller]

Perhaps a "lithophone"?





What does it sound like?

 

[rock]

Bingo! Nice job Rock!

Thanks its a shame it wasn't complete. The guy I know has it in his collection quite a rare piece cause I have only seen the 1 found in my area. His appears to be made of creek rock due to it being a rougher stone in texture. He didn't know what his was till I told him.

 

[NC field hunter]

1320, what did you decide the dark raised area may be? I also have a question for you. I have a piece that is strange. No one can say if it's natural or not. I've had quite a few people look this one over, and no one really knows. The half circle ends on your piece remind me of what I have. Can you share your thoughts on this?
Thanks!!

 

[unclemac]

this piece of yours looks like it has a lot of hand wear on it....is that from you or was it found with that patina?

 

[NC field hunter]

It was found like that. I have handled it quite a bit, but not that much.