Bola Stones

[archaeon]

Post'em!

 

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[Kick]

What would a bola stone have been used for?

 

[Shemanese]

How do you identify a bola stone? Thanks

 

[archaeon]

there are alot of theories as to the use of bolas, but no one knows for sure....it is mainly thought to be a weapon to hunt animals. the bolas would be presumably wrapped in rawhide, with a knot at the top(in the little depression), and a leather rope tied to it. a few bolas(more than one at least) would be tied together and swung over the head and thrown at animals legs to trip it.
the example i show above came from the Santa Fe river back in the mid nineties, right next to the boat ramp in two feet of water...i was testing my regulator and just started fanning, there it was, i couldn't believe it! the guys freaked cause i found a few in a lifetime find while they were getting the boats ready at the ramp
the one above is made of coral, very heavy

the identifying features usually include the following:
1. shaped roughly like an egg in most cases, some are round
2. one end will have a small dimple or depression pecked out, some just have a dime sized flat spot
3. usually will have a flat side(as seen in pic) possibly to make it sit next to another one while hanging
4. the end opposite the dimple end will usually be ground to a rounded point

 

[Kick]

I remember picking up a broken celt when I was a kid and dropping it after a brief inspection. I thought it was neat but I didn't know what it was. Within the hour, a neighbor was walking the same area and he picked it up and was ecstatic about it. When I walked over to see what had him so excited, I was almost sick to think I had it in my hands and let it go.

Point being, I see all sorts of "neat" rocks that I inspect and then drop it back on the ground. I like posts like this one to teach me what to look for, besides just points.

Thanks for the explanation!

 

[The Grim Reaper]

There has been speculation that Plummets may have been used as Bola Stones, so here's my Plummets.

 

[*Molly*]

Interesting, learn something new everyday. Thanks for this info, I'll keep my eyes peeled.

Molly.

 

[Johnny X]

I'm not sure if this is what you're going for.. But I find these in our field that never fails every once in a while.

The first is made of Hematite

StevenX

 

[archaeon]

bolas aren't usually that large...hard to see from the pics if there are any indentations or not. they could be hammerstones or round pestles, or even game balls