Is it an artifact?

[Johnnoh]

I posted these images in the "What is it" forum and someone suggested I also post here. We have figured out that this is probably graphite, but it looks like it was shaped somewhat. I found this piece in Narragansett, RI last summer with my M6. It's almost 2" on the longest side and the other three sides look "melted". I have never really seen anything quite like this. Can anyone offer some help?

 

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[Charl]

In fact, there was a graphite quarry that colonists described the natives as still using in the 1600's, and which the Narragansetts called Cajoot, don't know meaning of words, located on the west slopes of Tower Hill in South Kingstown, overlooking the Narrow River. That may be graphite, it does look carbonaceous, but could just as easily be shale. All Rhode Island Formation in geological terms, and about 290 million years old. Our plant fossils are found in such shale. Anyway, does not looked worked to me, and I do not believe it is an artifact. If you actually found it with a metal detector, then it's not graphite or shale and may instead be Cumberlandite, the state rock of Rhode Island, which originates at Iron Mine Hill in Cumberland, but which can be found in glacial till in Narragansett. Does not much rsemble Cumberlandite to me however. Here is a piece of raw graphite found on a multicomponent site in RI. You can see the greasy result that comes from simply rubbing it with one's finger. The natives scratched and extracted graphite from this piece, mixed it with bear fat, and created body paint. The colonists reported such usage was made of pieces extracted from "Cajoot". When I was a kid, my cousin and I used to walk to it from the family summer home on Narrow River, but it is lost in the thick overgrowth now. 2nd photo shows 2 more piece of utilized graphite from the same site.

 

[Johnnoh]

Great information! Thanks. My piece does not rub off in your hand, but will leave marks on paper.