Pitted Stones...

[*Molly*]

Hi Hunters,
I rarely pick up stones, I was given this nice pitted stone, I don't know much about these things, so I would appreciate if
someone would enlighten me & the other collectors who aren't familuar with pitted stones, what they were used for.
Thankyou. Hopefully this post will be educational to everyone.

Molly.

 

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[The Grim Reaper]

From what I have read and been told the consensus is that these Pitted Stones were used a Nutting Stones. I have seen some examples that will have numerous pits on each side of the stone and some of them are really huge. My brother has one that has 15 pits on one side and 12 on the other. I used to pick up every one I saw but now I only pick the really nice ones and then I throw them in my rock garden or in my wife's flower garden.

 

[*Molly*]

I've heard them called Nutting Stones before, I was just wondering if any expert collectors could explain what's meant by the term 'Nutting'
Thankyou for your post Steve, appreciate it lots..
My man's pet name for me, well he has a few but 'Nut' is one of them.


Molly

 

[bruce]

Hello there,

Have a few of those, different sorts this one from
Allen Co. In. along with a game ball like. Indented on other
side too. I thought paint stone or fire starters?
What you think?

Thanks,
Bruce

 

[MEinWV]

Molly, Nice looking stone! I think the term nutting stone has stuck with these artifacts because it has to be called something and for lack of a better description, that is it. I think of them more as a workbench of sorts because I am sure they were used for more than just cracking open nuts. These 2 that I found were right on the riverbank and I feel that they were used as well for processing the flint cobbles found along the river into points and such. The large one has many varied pockmarks on both sides. I love finding these artifacts almost as much as the points.

HH

 

[Jonnyreb]

I've heard several different theories on these things, I feel like all of them may be true so to speak. Some of them, I think were combination tools, used as "nutting stones" and "hammers". I think others, such as the ones with multiple dents in em could have been used for the "bit polar" flaking technique, and I think others were used as sort of a stabilizer when drilling. Like most of you others, I've found hundreds of them I guess, and now, I'm working on a rock garden too. Some of them are really nice artifacts, and I have been and am guilty of putting some of them in the cabinets where I keep some of my nicer stone....
All in all, I think they are cool artifacts...no matter how common.

 

[*Molly*]

Thankyou for posting guys, got my imagination goin', my guess is they were used for several jobs, also I'm thinking, if made by Archaic cultures the Woodland cultures must have come accross these tools too & used them,so we might have stones used by more than one culture. Just a thought.

Bruce that's a rather large stone but, I was more interested though with the feathers, I collect feathers you see..very nice.
Thanks again for posts guys, much appreciated.

Molly.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Molly, here's a link to a nice article on Pitted Stones. Even though it is about Pitted Stones from California, I'd say they were all utlized for the same purpose.

http://www.californiaprehistory.com/reports01/rep0015.html

 

[*Molly*]

Thankyou Steve, very interesting. Seen as we have to draw our own conclusions, I think maybe my oblong pitted stone was a ancient rolling pin. It's stated they were mostly found on middens, kitchen areas, so that's my conclusion. I've warned my man, any playing me up & he's in for the rolling pin.
It's great to learn about new finds, it's even better to actually find them. I'm going to keep this Stone, looks neat with my celt and Axe.
Thankyou everyone for an informative post.

Molly..

 

[jimb]

They all seem to be paint pods. They were used to mix war paint, makeup, and sometimes to grind small amounts of spices.

 

[pickaway]

Heres 1 i found this spring,nice big hole you can actually still see the peck marks around hole where they started it, made of sandstone.

 

[*Molly*]

They all seem to be paint pods. They were used to mix war paint, makeup, and sometimes to grind small amounts of spices.

My paint pots aren't actually rounded in shape, neither is the hole, I think Steve's correct in stating they are nutting stones. I've also asked a few guys who've been collecting for many many years, mine is definetly a nutting stone.
I'm trying to find a pic of my paint pot, to show ya'll,its still got evidence of red paint in it.

Molly.

 

[*Molly*]

Now that's a nice size, that was most probably used for mixing substances.
Nice example, Like the scrapers too, especially the material of the bottom one Pick.
Very nice. Thanx for posting pics guys...

Molly.