Hematite Mystery Pieces

[PaleoHunter]

Any ideas on what these are, high polish, very small, the 1st picture has grooves, found on a woodland site.

 

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[iowa trout]

Sharp eye PaleoHunter you did good .Looks like paint hematite rub stones or crayon as I have known anyway,used to rub the color pigment out into a powder then animal lard and ash or other colors from things like dried flowers might be added for a paste then thinned or heated into a user friendly paint is what I have read about anyway.When they have flat spots most of the way around at odd shapes with witness marks worked down to a nub it was a well used piece .Riverwashed ,creekbed,glacial pieces are not the same as camp finds but close ,not all hematite is created equally some is softer and rich in color other specimens have so much heavy iron a magnet will stick thus I assume would be a poor piece to try to get color from maybe perfered for an axe or celt ? .Also it is said that it is mostly a midwestern thing amoungst the natives ,hematite artifacts are highly valued found outside the midwest and considered rare too via Lar Hothem book RIP. Its about everywhere in my area in the rough I love finding rubbed pieces at campsites a very popular resource at most camps from county to county especially on one particular river basin for many miles .I would like to learn more about heavy hematite mineral would be great to hear from the long lost very knowledgeable Matt G still out there buddy sending smoke signal fire ?

 

[PaleoHunter]

Thanks Trout- good info to keep in mind, my hematite collection is zero except for these pieces. I have always wanted to find a nice hematite tool but just hasn't happened yet. Maybe next spring will be the year.

 

[Prime_Focus]

I've found several pieces of hematite over the years but never anything that had been worked. That surprises me a little as I would have thought that it would be a more common material to make use of. Nice finds!