Material type?

[CHUDs]

Hey all! It's been a bit but I found this scraper near the Yuba river in Nevada county CA. I don't know the material type but it is very beautiful. Thanks.

 

[welsbury]

Outstanding material, WOW!

 

[sugarquartz]

Not sure of the material, looks like petrified turtle shell to me haha , maybe its some sort of jasper?it sure has heavy use on that one side. Really nice!

 

[monsterrack]

There is more than likely 7 or 8 types of stone in that bad boy. Great find.

 

[CHUDs]

I'll post it in geologic forum too. A friend mentioned that it may be a type of quartzite related to labradorite.

 

[unclemac]

does it only show off when it is wet?

 

[CHUDs]

No. It's just not as bright. It's also pretty beat up from being in the river.

 

[Mark Todd]

That's one of the most colorful scrapers I've seen might want to keep it displayed in water to show off the color nice find.

 

[joshuaream]

There are some very odd agates, rhyolites, jaspers and whatnots from Nevada and Oregon, could have been traded in.

It doesn't look like Wonderstone, but google Nevada Wonderstone. Or Antelope Hills Agate. Lots of crazy materials out there.

 

[sandchip]

Beautiful!

 

[Charl]

There is more than likely 7 or 8 types of stone in that bad boy. Great find.

One of the prettiest materials I've ever seen. While I don't know the name of the material, it does indeed seem to be a type of breccia, as far as rock type....

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breccia

 

[unclemac]

ma used to keep her raw opals in mineral oil...they always looked amazing.

 

[CHUDs]

I posted it in the geologic forums. Perhaps those individuals can give us the answer?

 

[CHUDs]

Unclemac, were those from the areas in NV and CA? I know there are some spots close by that yield opal.

 

[unclemac]

Unclemac, were those from the areas in NV and CA? I know there are some spots close by that yield opal.

no, Mexico and Australia

 

[CHUDs]

Is there a way of dating scrapers? Obviously different that projectile points but were there different styles used at different periods? Thanks

 

[Charl]

Is there a way of dating scrapers? Obviously different that projectile points but were there different styles used at different periods? Thanks

I guess end scrapers with spurs are often regarded as Paleo, but in general, no, not for surface finds. They'd have to be found in excavation in association with known styles or in a datable context. Your's is called a turtleback scraper. Flat on one side, rounded on the other, and shaped like a turtle shell.

 

[CHUDs]

Thank you very much!

 

[jamey]

sweet

 

[rock]

Little eye candy in that piece just think what a point would look like. Most likely it has some water stain on it to bring that many colors out. Hope it fits in a frame for you.