Possible hand knife?

pganjon · Apr 21, 2011

Hello, I found this in a creek in Md near the Pa line. Is it possible that this is a Native American thumb or hand knife or am I just in wishful thinking :dontknow:

I don't think it is flint, but I am not sure of that either. Thank you for looking :icon_sunny:

Paul

nebstater · Apr 21, 2011

It looks like it may have been at one time or the other. However, if it was, it was in the water (running water) for such a long time that the sharp edges have been worn down. But since you said it wasn't flint, I'm more inclined to believe that it's just a rock that appears to have been a knife. Still, an interesting find.

Bigcypresshunter · Apr 21, 2011

I was going to say it doesnt look sharp.

Dano Sverige · Apr 22, 2011

May have been used for scraping animal skins? :dontknow:

DirtDigler · Apr 22, 2011

It does look as if it is eroded by weather or water. But, that said, it looks like the edge was flaked. If it's flaked, it's most certainly a man-made implement. Possibly a scraper or knife. As far as material, they used what they had. If there was no flint to be had, they'd use quartz or the hardest stone to be had locally. Someone here will certainly be able to tell you more. Nice find!

RickyD · Apr 22, 2011

I have a close friend that has been hunting and collecting arrow heads and the like for many years, and is a storehouse of knowledge when it comes to this subject. I showed him your pictures, and he said it could very well be a scraper, skinning, cutting type tool that shows alot of erosion, some stone being of softer material than others. And that brings us to the second fact. Tribes of some regions were just not blessed with the quality of stone materials for chipping as were others. For instance, up here in Western Washington where he hunts, tools made of local stone were inferior at best and didn't have the nice sharp chipping qualities of others, as is the case of your find. Hense came the age old game of bartering. Tribes with inferior stone tools traded with tribes of others areas who did have quality materials, trading items such as dried salmon and other goods that inland tribes didn't have. He said he can look at a stone tool and have a pretty good idea of where the tool was originally made. For instance he found a very rare intact club, called a manslayer, along a local river that he knows was made in or around what is now the Dakotas. Infact out of the hundreds and hundreds of arrow and spear heads, bird points and other stone tools he has on display, he said though found locally, most were not originally from this area. Anyway, hoped this helped.

lostcauses · Apr 22, 2011

geofact.

pganjon · Apr 22, 2011

Hello, Thank you everyone for the Post and help :icon_thumleft:

Ill hold on to it for now as a possibility. I wonder, if it was a tool like a scraper, It looks like it was used by a left hander. That would explain one side looking as if it were worked more than the other. Thanks and Happy Easter :icon_sunny:

Paul

randazzo1 · Apr 26, 2011

It looks like an argillite biface. Argillite starts out nice and sharp when first knapped but it quickly (relatively speaking) degrades into a clayish material. It become difficult to recognize once degraded unless you are familiar with it. Lots of Argillite in PA.

I will try to find a good picture of a weathered peice of argillite.

pganjon · Apr 27, 2011

randazzo1 said:
It looks like an argillite biface. Argillite starts out nice and sharp when first knapped but it quickly (relatively speaking) degrades into a clayish material. It become difficult to recognize once degraded unless you are familiar with it. Lots of Argillite in PA.

I will try to find a good picture of a weathered peice of argillite.

Hello , Thank you very much :icon_thumleft:

It was lying in the center of the creek and the light color just stood out against the dark tan bottom. Alot of small flooding lately. Thanks :icon_sunny:

Paul