Indian artifact?...or just a rock

[gxray]

I found this in a farm field in NC. Probably just a regular rock but I wondered if it might have been chipped and used as a tool or something? Thanks for your opinions. Thanks for looking and HH y'all

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Rock with an impression of where a chrynoid stem had been fossilized.

 

[Blind.In.Texas]

I vote 'rock'.

It does not appear to have been chipped. Ground stone would be the other alternative. Ground stones were chipped then ground. That process was repeated many times until the desired results were achieved. With no visible signs of wear that would be hard to discern. What something "is" is best left to the evidence. There isn't much differenece between what a rock was designed to be and what a "found" rock was used for. The biggest determining factor that I have found is whether or not it shows usage or the design shows common usage for a particular task. Scratches, scrapes, grooves, and the like are signs of usage.

If found in a field, where very little abrasion occurs, I feel that the usage marks should still show a bit. If it were found in a creek or river the signs could wear away very quickly.

Found in a creek with limestone and sandstone:
http://picasaweb.google.com/blindintexas911/RockObjectsManMade#5434232622836053810

Found on a mesa in West Texas. It appears to be something but, I can find no reasons why it would be:
http://picasaweb.google.com/blindintexas911/RockObjectsManMade#5434233179044862562

Knife:
http://picasaweb.google.com/blindintexas911/RockObjectsManMade#5434233453715122226

Limestone abrader. Notice the directional grooves. This was found in Ok. No limestone in that area. Sandstone and granite only:
http://picasaweb.google.com/blindintexas911/RockObjectsManMade#5434233565835322354

Big Daddy. A curious piece. Made of limestone. Limestone is knappable but, it isn't very friendly. It has common usage and has been chipped, however, the finish has reverted to a rough limestone texture. My thought is wind erosion since that area only recieves 10" of rainfall annually.
http://picasaweb.google.com/blindintexas911/RockObjectsManMade#5434233870704108898

I have a bunch of other cool stuff in my albums. Some are undeniable and some are questionable. The albms should help in case you find other cool stuf out there.

Cool ground stone maul:
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,302505.0.html

HH

 

[Noodle]

But don't discard it...

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Rock, no signs of pecking or from use as a grinder.