Not sure about this one

[Cruisin]

I found this today at a site were I've found steatite cooking object, points, a grandmother's stone, shaft straighteners, & lots of obsidian flakes. I've also found several crude rock "hoes" or "plowes" that were used for digging or scraping. This really looks like a scraper to me but it's very large. The "chips" are fairly even all around both on the front & back sides. It would make a very comfortable 2 handed scraper. What do you guys think? Scraper or just a chipped rock?

 

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[Rege-PA]

If you are in a large hide area (Bison)? It could be a rough hide scraper. Check the flake scars and see if some are worn smooth or more rounded than the others, especially if they are on one side.

 

[Cruisin]

The flakes are smoother along the flatter edge & still very sharp along the top edges. You can kind of see it in the photo of the darker side. The 2 angled top edges make perfect handholds if you use 2 hands to hold it. We're in California so the only hides would be deer & elk.

 

[steve71]

my guess they tried to knock off a few pieces to see how it naps looks to hard to nap good, maybe just picked up and discarded.

 

[Cruisin]

The indians in the area where I found this didn't spend a lot of time refining their implements like some of the others did. Most of their every day tools are pretty crude. When it got to a point were they could use it for something they quit working on it. Even as rescent as 200 years ago their items looked pretty basic. There were exceptions, of course. I've found some very nice points and some of the items in the museum are gorgeous - especially the basket work.

 

[bean man]

Hi Cruisin. I believe you are right. I think it is a two hand, basalt hide scraper. I have several like it. I believe where ever Native Americans lived, they left way more rudimentary tools lying around then they did fine museum pieces. Most people just don't recognize them. I also believe that basalt, in a lot of places, is more available then flint, so it was a good choice for scrapers and such because it breaks off with a sharp edge. Just my opinion.

 

[bean man]

I'm not sure about these either, but I have strong suspicions about them. These are some of my basalt beanofacts, or sometimes refered to as "chattered rocks".

 

[Cruisin]

Wow, Bean Man, those look like tools to me. Some are clearly worked around the edges.

When a person is at a location that has a known encampment it's pretty clear which rocks have been worked & which ones are just rocks. The rock in my photos above was not like any of the other rocks in the area. The site had been fairly flat when the indians lived there so there really wasn't any way for the rock to get split & chipped on it's own. The rocks from the creek in the area are all smooth & round. The site was also a "factory" where obsidian, traded from another area, was flaked. All the flakes on the ground make spotting artifacts really difficult. There are also a lot of pre-forms to be found. Being a factory it's rare to find whole points. Most are broken & were probably discarded by the indians who were making them. Still, it's fun to look. I even found a 1902 nickel there!