can anyone give some info on this piece

[larson1951]

digger found this yesterday morning, since he does not have a computer he asked me to post this and is hoping for some input
him and me have found about 15-20 of these over the last 25 years which is maybe one per year between the both of us
now they are almost always broke in half
we maybe have four out of 22-25 of these same pieces that are not broke in half
most are made from white petrified wood, agate and maybe a few from KRF
ALL are highly ground or polished......and i mean ALL OF THEM
with the unique shape and high polish (without any exceptions) on any leads me to believe that these were manufactured with an awful lot of time spent
i can either find more images in my photo library or get the frames that the rest of mine are stored in, this should show that these are not a one time making,
these were made to the same silhouette over and over, but larger or smaller......all being between 1.5-3.5 inches long
once again they are so highly polished(or ground) that it leads me to believe they might not be projectile points, but maybe ornamental or ceremonial
we also found a few similarly highly ground bigger pieces made from white petrified wood,these seem to be shaped like a very long slim birds head...i will go look through some of my stuff and try to locate them and photograph these similar looking items
.....i thank anyone in advance for any input on this type of utensil
i will post these images and go look for some similar ones

 

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[flintdigger]

Very unusual piece Steve. I've never seen anything like it.

 

[larson1951]

now i went and looked through some frames and found this frame and am posting it to show that the prior pc is not a one of a kind

i am wondering if anyone has seen any similar looking piece?
steve
larson1951

 

[Rege-PA]

Just a guess on my part but I believe they are drills or perforators that were hafted and spun, maybe on a bow drill. That would account for their ground appearance as the spinning would grind the edges smooth. If under magnification they have horizontal scratches, this would prove their use as drills.

 

[flintdigger]

Very interesting artifact's Steve, I'm not sure either the could be some type of drill maybe a bow drill as stated above they do look like the show wear from some type of use.

 

[jmr223]

Arrowheads maybe

 

[larson1951]

here are two more my friend just brought over for comparison the flaking is almost gone due to high polish either from use or just intentionaly polished at time of maufacture
any ideas

 

[Long Walker]

Perhaps pendants for personal adornment? Great stuff no matter what they are. Your posts rule sir.

 

[flintdigger]

Lone Walker I agree those artifacts are great

 

[larson1951]

i have to agree on the pendant ornament idea
i can see these were polished more than any piece i own
it must have taken an awful long time to polish these as much as they are

 

[larson1951]

here are a few more of the polished ornaments that my friend just brought over
my friend calls these 'the melted plastic culture' which is what they kinda look like
maybe harry pristis could give some input on this

 

[PrimitiveOne]

They only problem with them being wood drills is that the only surface that comes in contact with wood is the edge of the blade because it is the widest part-but I also know that when drilling rock or slate with this type of device, sand is put into the hole for added friction and would contact the entire surface. So if it is notched for hafting I believe that they are well used drills.

 

[SOHIO]

Those are arrowheads made by someone with a flaking pet peeve

 

[Rege-PA]

Magnification might solve the mystery, if the scratches are horizontal they were spun in a rotation which would indicate their use as a drill, if the scratches are longitudinal to random could be pendant or some other use.

 

[RGINN]

Certainly a different style than I find. I have found a few that were lying in creek beds and water erosion polished them. Is it possible the material was heat treated before working? I don't know about your material, but heat treatment makes Oglalla quartz shiny and polished looking.

 

[larson1951]

thanks rginn
these were found on a hill at least 100 feet higher than any water
i think these were not heat treated in any way, but you have an interesting thought
i looked through my collection and found some more of these
i will post them soon and maybe we can continue this topic

 

[CrazySlasher]

Very cool stuff. I don't know nearly as much as most people here but maybe something ceremonial?

 

[theviking]

Interesting pieces Larson. Maybe they are tinklers, hung by cords to bang together, worn by children to scare off predators... It sounded better in my head..

 

[old digger]

I would assume that they were polished by rubbing with wet rawhide. Also could have been used by the tribe shauman.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

I got your message Steve and I can't say for sure what they were used for. They could be Pipe Drills used to drill out the stems and bowls and used with sand which would cause the overall polish. They could also be Pendants like you suggested. No matter what they actually were, they are definitely cool pieces.