New here! So forgive if I have a geofact!

[Nedhawks]

Wanted to ask about this possible hammer stone. I know that "fits the hand" is the last thing to consider, but I have not seen this rock type on this site at all. Also it shows wear at the hammer spot and Also it fits the hand..lol.

 

[Older The Better]

Is it sandstone or a quartzite?

 

[Nedhawks]

It seems to be sandstone. But very heavy and the most dense rock on this site.

 

[Nedhawks]

Here is a close up of the quasi polished spot from my hand.

 

[Nedhawks]

Nobody has any input on this? I kinda thought I might have an old axe that broke and had been repurposed?

 

[Tdog]

I don't think it's a hammer stone nor axe because of it's shape, material and size.

 

[Huzzah!]

I don’t think it is an artifact Ned.

I collect almost exclusively from the James river basin, so I’m nearby. I’ve seen a wide variety of stones from our area and this stone doesn’t appear to me tampered with by man—JMO. I can’t hold it myself, but from the photos provided there isn’t enough variation across the surface of the stone to indicate one area has been the focus of use compared to other areas. How it fits in my hand is something I don’t consider—if there are legit signs of wear I don’t care how it fits in my hand; the proof is otherwise obvious.

Save this piece for education. When you find a hammerstone its details will stick out—as I found with the picture below. I didn’t know why this rock looked so strange to me, but once I posted it the obvious became obvious to me and I’m glad I picked it up. I’ve never seen a natural stone whose edges are so definitively pecked in contrast to the faces of the stone. That ain’t natural.

 

[Zippidy~Do~Daa]

I may be way off here, but that looks like petrified bone to me.

 

[Quartzite Keith]

Well, you know how it goes, hard to say without having them in hand. Looks like quartzite, which being very dense, has that "heavy" feel you describe. On both, the ends look battered in an unnatural way and both look to be about the right size to be good for crushing up seeds or shelling acorns and hickory nuts, so I think it's possible you have something there. Not flint knapping hammer stones, though. I busted up a bunch of hickory nuts once to make hickory nut soup and I used a piece of quartzite like that.