Lenape Stone Tool

[fender346]

Thanks for the wealth of information on this forum!

Here is a find i picked up along the Schuylkill River just outside of Philadelphia city limits.
We have a rich history of Native Americans living here... most recent were delaware indians known as the Lenape.
They were here for thousands of years but have been long gone since the mid 1700's.

The area is pretty well developed but there are many gravel and rock beds along the river that get dug up when big storms come through such as Hurricane Sandy. It's rare to find anything, but I think I got a good one this weekend..

It's a solid heavy stone (about 6 inches log and 3 inches wide on the business end) and has a groove going around.
What would this be classified as? Stone hammer ?
thanks

 

[rock]

Looks interesting by the shape. Welcome to the site, rock

 

[old digger]

Not my area of expertise, but I would say boat anchor. Cool Find!

 

[Tnmountains]

Fender it looks really big! Is that groove pecked or ground? Cool find. What are your thoughts on it?

 

[rock]

Not my area of expertise, but I would sat boat anchor. Cool Find!

I thought the same but wanted to see if anyone else did.

 

[fender346]

It looks ground to me, its so weathered down though its hard to tell.

I think a boat anchor makes a lot of sense... The river has many tributaries in the area that were said to be inhabited by various villages and camps. It is said that the Schuylkill River was the major thoughway between these sights as opposed to the overland route.
Not only that, there used to be a huge shad migration up from the Delaware River, long before the many dams that stand now blocking the run. It said by William Penn himself that the indians used large nets to catch the shad in bulk.