Mystery Artifact Southwest Manitoba (canada)

[petsnazspetsnaz]

I put pictures of this artifact on my very first tnet post last night but thought I'd make it into a separate thread

Anyways, my dad found this a while back. It's a rough rectangular cube in shape. About the size of a large potato. It has 4 flatter sides to it, with 2 depressions pounded into each of the sides.(total of 8 depressions)























Anybody out there know what it may be?
The obvious answer is that it's some type of grinding stone. But I'd like to here ideas!

 

[Charl]

Pretty cool artifact. Must have been some kind of nether stone with a hammerstone as the business piece.
I've seen such things described as pitted anvilstones, and seen nutting stones distinguished from them as having their depressions ground out in deliberate fashion to accommodate different size nuts. Pitted anvilstones are often flat sided with pits on each flat surface. Might have had more then one use? I have one with one pit each on four sides, but 2 of the sides are indented inward rather then flat, with a pit in the indentation.

 

[Tnmountains]

Good reply. I agree with Charls explanation. Sometimes I have heard of ones that size called lap stone. Used as a plat form for a specific task. No telling what that task was.

 

[petsnazspetsnaz]

Yeah I could see it being used to crack nuts. But the only type of "nut" from this area that I can think of would be acorns. The big mystery is why they went to the trouble of putting 8 pits on the stone.
From the way the stone is positioned in the pictures, the pits on the top and underside are deeper than the ones on the side- So they must've favoured using the top and underneath more so than the sides because the rock is more stable in that position.

 

[quito]

I think it was just a good hard hammer stone. When the divit got to deep the user simply hit with another part of it. There doesn't appear to be any modification to the rough cupped portions of the stone like they had been used for another purpose.

Just my 02

 

[Charl]

I think it was just a good hard hammer stone. When the divit got to deep the user simply hit with another part of it. There doesn't appear to be any modification to the rough cupped portions of the stone like they had been used for another purpose.

Just my 02

i was thinking that as well. Could be, but I wonder why any of those divots were too deep? Does look like a good hard quartzite.

 

[quito]

"but I wonder why any of those divots were too deep?"

I just have to think a flat surface would strike the object being stuck a little cleaner, or more solidly.

 

[yelnif]

If used for cracking nuts (most likely) the divet or concavity keeps from crushing the meat of the nut, yelnif...

 

[quito]

"If used for cracking nuts (most likely) the divet or concavity keeps from crushing the meat of the nut,"

I think most of us understand this principle behind those commonly found nutting stones. But the number of rough holes on multiple sides of the rock in no way indicate use for nut meat saving. How many holes on how many sides of that rock? How many nuts can a person work on at a time? I've seen nutting stones with polished depressions on two sides, but nothing like this, for that use.

 

[GatorBoy]

My guess is it was used for pounding something into place.. that that was made in quantity... or used as a hammer for striking something like a wedge for splitting wood....alot of wood... If the divot got too deep it would threaten breaking what was apparently a good hammerstone. If you look at most celts that show usage wear there is usually some damage on the end opposite the bit. my guess is that was from being pounded into place.

 

[GatorBoy]

If used for cracking nuts (most likely) the divet or concavity keeps from crushing the meat of the nut, yelnif...

In a nuttig stone which I don't think this is.. the divot in my opinion was mostly used to keep the nut from shooting out to one side or the other. By utilizing purposely ground in indentions

 

[petsnazspetsnaz]

The idea of it being a nutting stone is starting to added up for me. I've read that acorns were an important staple for pretty much all the tribes in North America.
Presently there is a small forest of oak trees in their natural place only 3 miles away from the site the stone was discovered. One of the trees there is said to have been there for about 500 yrs. I don't know of any other species of nuts that would be native to the area but acorns would've been readily available if the bison weren't around.

 

[Charl]

It's an unusual artifact. Head scratchers are fun IMO. You can ponder them for years. In New England the term "problematicals" is applied to things that are artifacts, or something resulting from human activity, yet the exact function remains unknown. Not saying it can't be puzzled out, just saying it's a good puzzle!

 

[quito]

In a nuttig stone which I don't think this is.. the divot in my opinion was mostly used to keep the nut from shooting out to one side or the other. By utilizing purposely ground in indentions

View attachment 757574

And why don't you think that is a nutting stone GB? Sure looks like it could be a very nice double from where I am sitting.

If it isn't, it looks way more like one than that well used hammer stone.

 

[GatorBoy]

I was using mine as an example of a nutting stone.. I don't believe yours is. Yours shows damage from repetitive strikes from something way harder than a nut.. and with far too much force to crack an acorn... and no signs of any grinding.
From what I see it's loaded with blunt force damage inconsistent with that of a Nutting stone.

 

[quito]

LOL, my bad, when you posted the picture of yours and in the first sentence regarding the topic said "which I don't think this is" I thought you were talking about the piece in your hand. Like I said,,,,,, great example.

it's not my hammer stone, but i have it's twin with a little use wear.

 

[GatorBoy]

Ha.. its cool I confuse myself sometimes.

 

[RafterRat]

Looks like a fire stone to me. They are found in the US, Canada and other parts of the world, where other aboriginal cultures used them, also, such as in Australia. Around Kamsack SK | Estevan Rock Club Canada's online rock club for everyone from everywhere.

 

[lookindown]

LOL, my bad, when you posted the picture of yours and in the first sentence regarding the topic said "which I don't think this is" I thought you were talking about the piece in your hand. Like I said,,,,,, great example.

it's not my hammer stone, but i have it's twin with a little use wear.

I thought the same thing and was trying to figure out why GBs wasn't a double nutting stone.