Nutting or Cupstones vs. Omars

quito

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Mar 31, 2008
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south dakota
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Not saying these were never used, but we see so many of these natural stones on here, I feel it's time to try to get this information to sink into a few skulls around here. There are to many collectors that cannot tell the difference and should learn. There are pictures, descriptions, and good explanations, AND it's short and sweet.

So, lets quit hoping and guessing and learn.

Omarolluk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cupstone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DSCN3325.JPGDSCN3323.JPG
 

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I understand.


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Sorry guess I should of explained myself more. The soil here clings onto the rocks when you find it cause it is clay soil. You can only hope it is a artifact sometimes by shape. When you get home and wash them allot of the times they are nothing but rocks. Its a thick soil that clings ever so tight to everything.
 

Sorry guess I should of explained myself more. The soil here clings onto the rocks when you find it cause it is clay soil. You can only hope it is a artifact sometimes by shape. When you get home and wash them allot of the times they are nothing but rocks. Its a thick soil that clings ever so tight to everything.

I leave the dirt covered questionable ones on a fence post or along the fence line to get rain washed. Then re-evaluate them this fall when I am walking the fence line back from my tree stand during the archery season.
 

If I leave mine when they plow they will disappear so I do bring a bucket of water and leave it in my truck bed. The soil is so thick it usually wont help unless you scrub them or they soak for a long time. That stuff is like concrete around here.
 

I have several and have shared them in the past. In my area in my humble opinion you have the typical nut stones with the cupulets. Sometimes multiple ones in a single fairly thick rock for smashing .
Then we have the larger worn out areas or big dips in a stone that they used for the processing,separating and grinding.
We also find the smaller stones that look like a nut stone but are to small to take a blow. We call those platform stones or lap stones that they used to hold a material they were working on. 95% of my true nut stones come from shelters where they collected and processed hickory nuts which were one of the few foods that had good longevity .
Nice thread with great examples.
 

I leave the dirt covered questionable ones on a fence post or along the fence line to get rain washed. Then re-evaluate them this fall when I am walking the fence line back from my tree stand during the archery season.
I am getting dialed in on my bow now. Good luck!
 

I have brought in dirt clots. Washed them and watched them go down the drain. Lol! Makes me feel smart when that happens.
 

I always pick up the omars, too, and I'm acquiring quite a collection. I don't know though, my parents taught me to crack hickory nuts on a stove-length block of wood. They'd crack a pan full of nuts every afternoon and then pick them out in the evenings to bake with or sell, said it helped them stay awake in the evenings. 7 or 8 to 10 gallons of hickory nut meats a winter or more, that's a lot of hickory nuts. After all these decades that old wood block is still in use with nary a dent in it, use wear, yes, cups, no. I'm sure the "nutting stones" were used for something, but I just can't see why they would use one for so long that it would become pitted, any rock would do. Especially when you consider these people were nomadic. And you don't have to hit a nut that hard to crack it. But that's just my opinion, for what it's worth. I'll continue to bring the omars home. Maybe one day I'll find one that really looks like it was used for something.
 

I have read they really don't know what the "Nutting Stones" were used for. I guess they have to be called something. We call them Divot Stones here where I live at.
 

Here's what I believe is a nutting stone with clear pecking/percussion marks.

nutting stone1 web.JPG
nutting stone back web.JPG

The story behind the find is pretty crazy. 2 years ago, the water main leading to my house burst. I called the utility, left for work, and when I came back, the utility guy had apparently found the piece in the hole, cleaned it off, and not knowing what it was, just left it sitting there. This is the "in situ". unsure whether this was the original location or if it was brought in with fill dirt during development of the neighborhood.
nutting stone insitu1 web.JPG
 

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