Round stone

[snaps]

Hey Everyone,
Found this the other day. At first I thought marble, but the stone is very soft. And all the other game balls seem to be of a much harder material
Thanks a bunch
Snaps

 

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[A2coins]

Where did you find it looks like a mini ball

 

[snaps]

A2 hey it was in field in virginia where they had moved some dirt. Minie balls are found there, but this is non-metallic, I wanna say sandstone

 

[How Lucky]

Looks like oxidized lead to me. Must have some heft to it?

 

[snaps]

It is not lead,it is stone,it won't sound off on any machine. I eyeballed it.thought it was a nut and almost left it

 

[Gene Mean]

It is not lead,it is stone,it won't sound off on any machine. I eyeballed it.thought it was a nut and almost left it

cool

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Based on the fact that it looks like clay, I'm thinking it might be natural, probably tumbled in a creek for years.

You might want to re-post it here as well... Geological Forums

Dave

 

[ticndig]

sling and stone weapon

 

[MetalArchSC]

Looks similar to what I know as an Indian “paint rock”. If it’s soft. Indians would crack it open to expose the center colored core, mix in some water and paint with the mixture.
They come in a variety of shapes and sizes... your find is very round from what I see.

Drop a heavy rock on it and see if I’m right.

 

[snaps]

Antiquarian, I dont think its clay, but I could be wrong. very gritty like sand, and almost perfectly round-ticndig I like your thinking, MetalArch I cant do it!!

 

[arrow86]

Could be a Native American artifact iv found similar ones of different sizes on a few camp sites I hunt . Some of them were game stones .Have you found any arrowheads or other artifacts in that spot ?

 

[snaps]

Arrow86, have only been to this certain spot once and have not found any points or such. its in the Great Dismal Swamp area of virginia, rite off an old road. Pretty good potential for Native activity.

 

[civil_war22]

Arrow86, have only been to this certain spot once and have not found any points or such. its in the Great Dismal Swamp area of virginia, rite off an old road. Pretty good potential for Native activity.

Like a few have said, looks like a game stone. I’ve found clay marbles at native sites, game stones, beads, and about anything Native Americans used. It’s not uncommon to find an item like that in a creek, but if it was in a field it would be much different. There’s a lot of speculation to what items like the clay marbles, game stones, and other pieces that aren’t easily identifiable such as a arrowhead would be. Most academics will say it’s just a rock, weathered in a circle pattern. It may be a game stone, small grinding stone, round ball for breaking acorns up, or just about anything.

Unlike us Native Americans didn’t have cell phones, laptops, or any luxuries, so they passed their time making items for use in harvesting animals, processing hard items like acorns, grain, or even break oyster shells into small pieces for mixing in their clay for pottery. It’s a guess, as I’ve found similar stones in bluff shelters with a plethora of Native American artifacts on my uncles property, so it’s one of them things, where you’ll get some saying “just a natural stone”, and others who have found them in context with other Native artifacts will say it’s a Native American artifact.

 

[snaps]

Thanks so much everyone for the ideas an replies! civilwar22, it wasnt anywhere near a creek, so sign me up with the group who thinks it an artifact, not just a rock!

 

[civil_war22]

Thanks so much everyone for the ideas an replies! civilwar22, it wasnt anywhere near a creek, so sign me up with the group who thinks it an artifact, not just a rock!

I got that. When I said “if” it was found near or in a creek it would be believable to see erosion due to rolling water, and rocks, but since it wasn’t found anywhere in or near a creek it leads me to believe its much more. I found a half of one of those on my uncles property where I found arrowheads, and a spearhead that was broken in half, but still being broken it was 6” long by 2” wide.