Scraper?

[unclem]

any one have a guess on what kinda tool this is?

[panamark]

I think it is an Eastwing Rock hammer. I already have one like it, but good find!

[panamark]

Seriously, I am thinking more of a knife, but could be a scraper. What does the other side look like?
Anyway, it is in great condition. Very nice piece. Maybe other pieces nearby. ??
BTW, the Arrow Head discussion group people (http://www.arrowheadology.com/forums/forum.php) are as nuts about their stuff as we are about rocks. IT is interesting to read - they know a lot!

[unclem]

LOL I did find a Eastwing Rock hammer a few week ago at a jasper dig.

[jamesp]

Looks like a scraper to me unclem.What state was it found?

[Deleted]

I am not sure which is the better find, the artifact or the hammer!

That hammer is like $25 plus shipping!

[Sabre52]

Looks to be a biface but with only limited pressure flaking if any, along the edges. Here o the ranch, we find a lot of them and call them trade blades or trade blanks. Sort of a crude blade the Amerinds made to lighten the load when transporting flint for trading or away from the quarry site for finishing later.. The preform could later be pressure flaked to form a knife or a projectile point etc. That being said, the same sort of basic tool could be used as a knife or scraper as is *S*....Mel

[Fossilman]

I think Mel is right...Instead of packing a heavy piece,the Indians would flake bigger unfinished blades,pack them out and when the time comes,make a scraper or a point out of his material....
Nice find,either way you look at it...

[jamesp]

Some folks try to pass a 'worked'looking piece of flint/material.No doubts about that piece being man made.

[unclem]

@ jamesp I found this out looking for the Big sandy opalized petrified wood in Wyoming.
@ Mel, I never gave much thought about a preform. Maybe? It seems like everyone just calls out everything short of a arrow head a scraper.
I think it was worked to much to be just a spall. Thanks for the feed back all!

[jamesp]

I will say that what it is is highly dependent on what is close by.If flint is at an arms reach then it is probably finished and ready to use as you found it.If flint is 100 miles away and there is nothing to cut through deer/squirrel hide then i would say that piece was worth more than gold and very critical to this man's survival.In that situation i would say that it is his 'Buck Knife' and he will fight you for it.
In Atlanta flint is over 100 miles away in 2 directions.If you find a piece it is brought in and it was valuable.Because the crap he has to make an edge out of(granite/fractured quartz)around Atlanta is not good for cutting.Almost every piece of flint we find around Atlanta has been chipped and worked.
No perfect answer.But availability is a big deal.Since UPS wasnt around.

I find these chips on the St. John's river 75 miles from closest flint(Ocala ridge flint).They are probably mini-skinners.Notice the sharpened edges.These are typical tools of an area devoid of flint.They were chipped off a large core probably by the hundreds and carried the brutal trip with almost no water to the comfort of the St John's River.



A close up of the sharpened edge of the last blade on the right

[Deleted]

I love the deductive reasoning considering value and probable reason for certain shapes. 75 miles from the Ocala flint ridge. I doubt any one guy made that trip often. How much would he need to pack so a once a year trip during the wet season (drinking water not as much an issue) to bring home a year's worth?

Or is it more likely that the dudes living near the flint ridge made piles of preforms awaiting his neighbors a day's walk in all directions. These "distributors" then have a route they walk for trading and perhaps even a store at which other distributors could come at trade with his bride. This method makes 75 miles just an easy weeks delivery because product is held in "warehouses" and many folks did the walking.

There is probably another scenario which I have yet to imagine. Whattaya think?

I use modern terms for distribution because I have no clue what the native americans would have called them.

[jamesp]

Florida scrub is an inpenetrable man killer.If you do not travel via islands(pine stands)you will probably not go 20 miles w/out water.There is almost no water for 70-80 miles from the flint source where i found these mini knives.Alt routes possible,but still w/great danger.Excellent water at destination(20+ massive springs,river and lake).Worth great effort.Aquatic paradise at destination.But zero rock-zero.Same with south half of Florida,virtually no flint.So it makes this theory common sense.
Just like the flat fields in the appalachians created 90% of the habitat for population and made up a tiny percentage of the land.The study of available flint is lithics.Limited sources of confined occurances of flint maes it easy to fingerprint trade routes and movement.
Atlanta is a fabulous and classic situation.Black flint to the NW 90 miles and brown/orange coastal plain chert 100 mile to a sweep of the south.
See for yourself.This is from a camp 15 miles from house in south Atlanta.The white quartz is local.The black from the NW and the browns from the south.I know where several of those materials came from.

[Deleted]

nice!

Thanks Jim. We need to tip a few adult beverages someday.

[jamesp]

I have been thirsty all week.96F and 90+ humidity when i gotta do long days outside.Cooling today and weekend.

The beverage deal sounds great.I am 12 miles out from airport just below the desolation zone created by the jet noise.
I can pick you up at airport.

[Bikerrandy]

Very cool find, and James, that's quite a collection!!

[jamesp]

I got about 8-10 like that.From within 400 miles like a set from Florida.But they are so strict i don't care if i ever collect there again.Dang Florida.I don't blame Florida cause of so many natural resources to make money on.It is shame that you didn't get into rocks when you lived there.Those were the times to collect freely.I have access to private lands that help,but the waterways are my favorite

[Fossilman]

Yes James,great collection......I have a handfull of primitive scrapers and points....The scrapers look crude,but man are they sharp!!!!
Alot of states have strick rulings and regulations on hunting Indian artifacts anymore,that sometimes its just not worth the trouble anymore!
If I see a point or scraper laying on the ground I'll pick it up,but thats about it anymore...