Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Artifact? Or just a rock?

From other posts, I'm led to believe there are experts here who might be able to ID this rock. I found it on a hike about 6-7 years ago, on a trail leading up to a hillside overlooking a large creek that was well-used by native Americans. Over the years lots of arrowheads have been found in the valley, and within three-quarters of a mile is a raised mounds that has been excavated in the past.

I picked it up because it was interesting. Somewhere along the way I began wondering if it is some kind of grinding stone. It seems unlikely that this would naturally occur, but it also seems unlikely that I would find an artifact where I did. But then, maybe it became exposed from an eroded bank above the trail and fell to where I found it. It fits the palm of the hand real well (even better in small hands), and the sides are exactly parallel. I've searched for Google images and found a few rocks that look similar. Here are four views of it (slightly smaller than actual size):



I took the photos against a Carbon Express arrow box so it would show up well. I figured someday I'd have the chance to show this to an expert but that hasn't happened yet, so I show it here.

Steve

just a rock.

No signs of percussion shaping.

and here I thought you were talking about the Neighbor's Chevy Truck... " like a rock".. vs it being older than dirt...

Not percussive action, looks like it could have been used as a "mano". Pics vs in person make it much harder to determine.

Congratulations! You've unearthed the very first prototype model for the very first wheel.

Steve, I would respectively disagree with Brent. I would think it really is a mano or Injun grinnin rock as they say.

I have seen lots similar that were used for milling wild grass seeds and such. Somewhere around where you found it there should be a matate. Those that I have found are just a flat rock from a stream with a water washed dish in them. Seeds were heaped in and the mano used to crush/grind them into a paste.

BCR

Looks like it could be a core sample from a drilling operation .

TFF

It's an indian sex rock for sure...

Kent

Not doubting you -- it wouldn't be hard to know more about this stuff than I do, which is why I ask the question. But are you saying all artifacts were shaped by impact methods? Here's a grinding stone that has no marks from percussion shaping:


Besides, wouldn't a tool used for grinding have those signs ground away?

Steve

Sure looks like a grinding stone of some sort to me, except that it is pretty small. At three inches, it would have been pretty hard to even hold.

Just a WAG.

What I see is even polishing on the top and sides. It rolled around through eons of time and..................

Then at some point, the rock split giving it it's unusually even thickness. You can see the evidence of a more recent split in the non polished flat side.

Was it purposely shaped that way by man? I don't think so.

Was it used as a tool? Maybe, who knows.

It's certainly unusual but the time it would take to shape that way doesn't seem justifiable and I can't see the purpose it would serve to spend so much time to shape it that way. It would be easy enough to just find a better rock. Like that one.

Rock. The edges are too sharp to have been used as a grinding stone. Those "excavated" mounds are on your land, right? If it's public land, an excavator is looking at a felony conviction.

Betcha the SOB would skip nicely.......

this one i found on the ranch a few yrs ago. its covered with tiny pits. figured it was some type of tool

You are correct on the sharp edges, it's just a sex stone, but it's not a felony to pick up a rock, even on an indian ruin. Also depending on how far in the past the excavation, if it was a misdemeanor or felony, could have even been state sponsored.

Kent

Unnatural formation. It appears to have had some help from mankind to arrive at its present form. Found in an area that produced other man made artifacts. Betting that ancient man altered and used this for something. GW

TFF

It looks like "The Thing" has been hanging around your property and probably took a dump....

Given what appears to be a rough lower surface in the third photo, I'd guess it's just a lucky cleave of nature. If both sides are ground smooth, then one may have a mano used to grind grain on a larger surface.