Clay pipe stem, either very old or late 19th century ???

[tamrock]

Could this be a very early fur trade/native American artifact??

I went for a walk last Saturday and came across what I believe is Kaolin Clay pipe stem in a wheat field. I have found only a few native American artifacts two to three miles from the spot I found this. I found this site that mentions some dating information on clay pipe stems and the I.D. bore on this is right on .1093 and that = 7/64 inches. NPS Archeology Program: Archeology for Interpreters and they're saying stems with the bore this one has date to a range of 1650 to 1680 It's not a perfect cylindrical shape and more oval egg shaped and tapered length wise. It looks to have been polished and has some marks that resemble file marks, but those could be from some field mouse that found it to be a good item to sharpen his teeth on? I just don't know if this is a very old as it looks or an artifact from more recent times?. I find many old late 19th early 20th century stuff like square nails, broken china and bottles in this field, but this item has my curiosity engaged. I found it on the front range here in Colorado and this area live sits pretty much on what was known as the Old overland Cherokee trail route https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_Trail that followed the Arkansas river out on the Colorado eastern plains and then headed north just east parallel to the front range mountains to Laramie Wyoming on today's Hwy. 287 to connect to the old Cal. gold rush overland route.

It measure 1-3/4 inches long and the wide end measures .4687 in. dia. and the narrow end measure .4062 in. dia. Bore is .1093...

 

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[autographcollector11]

Might be bone.....

 

[tamrock]

Might be bone.....

Ya think? ... I can't tell for sure as it doesn't seem porous like a bone, but the shape of it looks like a bone.

 

[arrow86]

First thing I thought was bone

 

[Indian Steve]

It looks like pipe stem to me. Hit that area with a metal detector!

 

[GaRebel1861]

It looks like pipe stem to me. Hit that area with a metal detector![/QUOTE]

That is exactly what I was thinking too!

 

[Hot diggity]

Definitely a clay pipe stem. Likely mid 1800's give or take a few decades. Can't say for sure without a maker's mark. I ain't seen none "perfectly" round. Not native. As mentioned - breakout a metal detector!

 

[tamrock]

Thanks for input guys. I have run a decector a few years ago around the area, but it's so close to an old RR grade and coal mine it's just so littered with all kinds of junk metal. I find old horse shoes pretty frequently in that area. In the mid 19th century there just wasn't many fontier settlers in this area and that gave me the idea it was something traded to the native peoples. Though not far from where I found this pipe stem I found an old 45-70 Winchester cartridge. The horse and mule shoes I find are in a straight path line as if there once was an old trail going through the area.