It shows the age of the artifact. Usually you have to have a microscope to see them. If you see no spots then it means they arent ancient. Its like patina.
I sometimes find them with those little black dots as well. I know 12000 + years ago or so we have that layer of nano diamonds . I do not know what causes those dots.
Nice artifact. Big.
Cool Find! The spots may be caused by a mineral in the rock, that after being exposed for a long time to moisture and or other minerals in the soil. Thus creating the spots. Or it may be a type of fungus.
First off, send that piece to me. Not Rock. Lol! It's a nice spade or Celt or what ever tool it is, and more pics of it would be nice. The black spots are moss or fungi. I see it often on pieces that I find in wet areas. I never really purposely remove it, but removal doesn't affect the patina. If the idea of a fungus bothers you, scrape the spots off. If not, let their be a fungus among us!
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Unmistakable.....cooties, best thing for you to do is package it up, send it to me..im only thinking of your well being.
Seriously an awesome find, I bet you were flipping when you found that.
Get your facts first, then distort them as you please-Mark Twain
It doesn't bother me that they are there I was trying to learn more about it to understand all these replys are a great learning experience for me I love to learn new things everyday lol thanks for all the info it's much appreciated here are some more pictures of this piece
I guess you know Paleo is big in your area rite? Thats either a nicely flaked Hoe or a Paleo hand ax. That is one of the best artifacts you have posted yet. Old Digger will probably know if it is Paleo. Id like to see a pic of both ends.