Pipe-stone thing ? I.D. Help Please

[blindpig]

I took these pic.'s of this pipe-stone object last week . I told the owners year's ago that I thuoght it might be a "cap, hand- piece ? thing? " for a bow-drill , I don't even know what's that called ?



Found years ago out on the plains [my term for areas of Iowa miles away from any river or creeks I can't hop over ] , nice polish a finished peice .



The edge is too thin to be practical ?


Anyway I've told the owners about this forum , and the helpful peaple here . .. O'yeah I also told them that I would have THE answer in less then four days don't fail me now!

P.S." THE answer" changed from "an answer" ... So , ...Doug well , you all know
Thanks ; Blindpig

 

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[Cannonman17]

Right size and shape to be a tube pipe but it doesn't look as though there is a hole all the way through it... or is there? Can we see the other end?

 

[archaeon]

that is a cool Catlinite piece! never seen anything like it....could you post more pics of it? the other end and all sides? i agree, it could have been a tube pipe in the making...

 

[pickaway]

Thats a neat piece...

 

[blindpig]

I do have a pic of the other end

The owners had it wraped in paper ? that is the white dots/areas

Thanks for the quick response Archaeon , and Cannonman 17 . Cannonman I never thanked you for your answer on my grandpa's pipe, just a good old polish brings the red out , some times the answer right there staring at you ! Anyway the "hole " is about 7/8 in. deep +/- , possable unfinished pipe , with nice polish , hmmm.. why not ?

Like to go back to an/all answers , but Doug , I have dibs on Hot-dog sharpener

Thanks again ; Blindpig

 

[archaeon]

is there any indication along the cylinder of a place where a hole was started? some pipes just had a bowl on top and a hole in the side of the cylinder where a wooden pipe stem would fit into. it seems to small in diameter to be a pipe, but there was obvious drilling going on in the hole. i would think that catlinite is too soft a material to be used as a bow drill socket. the sides of the hole would be very delicate.

 

[blindpig]

No there isn't any other holes started , not even a dot , a few disc kisses but thats it . So bow-drill socket is what I thought it might be , even then I thought it to fragal , skinny and all to hold atop a spinning stick , I asumed it was a finished tool , polish and all , I may feel foolish but unfinished pipe ...out of pipe-stone ? never saw that one coming ...

Thanks again ; Blindpig

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Could it possibly be the start of a large Catlinite Bead that was just never finished? It looks to small to be a Tube Pipe, but could very well have been a large Bead.

Just another thought.

Whatever it is, it is definitely a very cool piece.

 

[Cannonman17]

Boy that's odd.. REALLY odd... bugs me when I don't have a clue. I would say an unfinished piece, tube pipe or bead... pipes usually have at least a small flare to them though.. and it's pretty darned big for a bead... strangest thing is that the outside is polished.. you would seriously think that would be the last step when done making a piece..the polish, not half way through making it. IMO that material is way too soft to have anything at all to do with a bow drill... it would wear away too fast... I'm thinking there's another explanation for this piece and we're just not getting it.... yet.

 

[blindpig]

Well , I’d like to thank all of you for your thoughts on this object . Now we may not know exactly what it is .... for now , but tomorrow , next week , even next year we may know . The patience of an oyster is a vertu in are hobby, after all . I think the owner will be pleased with the answer of “ nice mystery piece “ , that in itself is kinda cool . Maybe we should have are own “Mystery Post “ here on this forum . I don’t know exactly how it would work , the re-post would probably get into the thousands . Like my “Whale-Rock” many fine artifacts and there post have floated toward the bottom of this forum never to be seen again .. ,granted many of my “fine creative writing “ post havn’t sunk deep enough yet !
I like the idea of unfinished pipe , even though it’s a bit small [??] for the “typical” Tube-pipe , and being made in a non-typical way [polished before drilling] ..., it may have just been made by a “non-typical” person ! ? Anyway I would like to “paint” a scenario how this may have been.......
As the sun laid low in the evening sky over the sea of grass , the plains . A small hunting party of three men had just finished there meal . Sitting around there small smoking buffalo-chip fire , the conversation turn to the hunting-strategy for the next day . The youngest of the three , not to involved in the conversation , removes from a leather pouch a slender piece of catlinite and a piece of clay-imbedded leather , with a bit of spit , he figures just a bit more polishing .. Perhaps . Now , my imagination lets me see such a sight . But , if the winds of time could have carried that conversation to us now , we may have heard something like this . It may have started with a head-nod , or a tap from one of the other two , as they watched there young friend , he may have even looked up and seen his two friends smiling back at him . Sooooo.... that is a fine little pipe you make .., Buffalo-Snorting and I wish to smoke from it one day with you.... But , Man-Who-Puts-Travois-Before-Pony .. when DID you plan , to drill your pipe ??
Well, every piece any of us find has a story , but usually that story has been plowed away by time . They are fun to think about anyway , and a mystery piece every now and then , they keep you thinking .
One last thing , as I said in a earlier post the owners had this artifact wrapped in some-kind of paper , it has left some residue/ paper on it . When I call them , I will ask them to soak it in some warm water with a drop [one] of soap , then with a soft cloth remove the residue . And then , with a tooth-pick scrap at that dirt near the bottom of the “bowl”, I don’t believe there’s a hole there , as I [believe] did give it a good look over , but in the pic. ? If this is bad advice please let me know .

Thanks again ; Blindpig

 

[Johnny X]

Very awesome piece Blind! I haven't the slightest clue as to what it might be. Tube pipe, bead..Cannonman brought up a good point as to why they would polish the outside before it was finished... But there are some pretty knowledgible people here that should bring worth an answer. Cannonman know's his stuff, and archaeon is on point too. If nothing else you have 2 smart dudes working your case!
I'll keep checking here to see what comes up.

Keep your eyes on the gound and keep the artifacts coming!


StevenX

 

[archaeon]

i wish i wasn't stumped by this piece! aaaargh!i even thought that it could have been useed to dip in paint and used as a stamp to apply war paint on faces, arms, etc...would make nice circles