Treasure from my childhood

[rockbuster]

I found this specimen when I was a child and my father has been keeping it for me. He recently passed, and it has come back to my possession. It is hard to see in the pics, but there is a stick figure in the lower right corner of the stone. The figure includes arms, legs, the head, and a small mark above the head to the right. The groove in the stone is carved around the entire surface. Lines in figure are not connected, but rather chipped out dimples. Anyone have any idea who made this, and what its purpose was? My guess is a primitive weapon. I think the grove was made for the purpose of setting the stone into a forked piece of wood, and then lashed into place. I am just guessing.

Writing added by my father:
Mouth of the Yakima River
Richland Washington
March 6, 1965
Method of writing:
A small amount of glue spread out and dried: the written on with ink.

 

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[silverswede]

I believe it to be as you said a"weapon" in this case a club fastened to a wooden handle in the manner you stated. Others have called them indian hammers for pulverising food like grains and such. Our family had three found on our farm in Minnesota like yours and in different sizes from baseball to cantaloupe, but never with any figures etched on them. The stick men are common illustrations on the rock writings by the early western tribes, probably the Yakima area. A museum of native american relics in your could help you on this. In any case you have a unique piece of the past to treasure, Rockbuster.

 

[TreasureTales]

How heavy is it and what is the circumference? I think it could be a fishnet weight. The Indians would have tied it to the bottom of their net (hence the groove for the twine) and then the net would have been stretched across the river, with the weight keeping the bottom portion under water and in place. I have something similar that I found in a creekbed not far from my home. Mine is much less uniform and lacks a figure, but it looks similar. Although, I like the idea of the club better so I hope I'm wrong. Nice find, and how great that your dad keep it all these years and now you can admire it like he did.

 

[rockbuster]

It weighs 2.5lbs, it is 5” in diameter, and 2” thick

 

[TreasureTales]

Whether weapon or weight, it's a very nice artifact. My weight weighs about the same, but appears the groove around it is slightly larger than the groove on your item.

 

[xlt nh]

Can't help you with the ID..but what a story and momento of your past with your Dad....thanks for sharing...

Best of luck, Hank 8)

 

[silverswede]

found this picture of an actual war club on eBay. You can see the groove through the rawhide. What do you think?

 

[rockbuster]

Thank you silverswede, I would say that is a close match. Same type of rock with a little differant shape. It is really neat to be able to identify pieces of history like this.

 

[rockbuster]

For those who are interested, this piece of American History will be auctioned off on the GPAA Site. The proceeds of this auction will go to Karl Readel's family in an on going effort to show support after his untimely death. For more information please go to:
http://www.goldprospectors.org/newforum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2958 or if you are not a member, you can go to http://www.goldprospectors.org/ and sign up for free. All are welcome here.

 

[dugupfinds]

I have found a similar one over here in the UK. Yours is a similar shape to mine. No-one has been able to 100% ID it. However I think ours are the wrong shape for a stone axe. If you were picking a weapon (& they would pick very carefully), you would go for a more egg shaped stone or one with a pointy end. Not a nearly round one. (mine is egg shaped but too small & the groove is long ways around the stone instead of short ways)

I think the clue here is the RIVER. Mine was found only 200 meters from a large river. So I also thought it likely to be a fishing net weight. Mine hangs perfectly from a piece of string, try it?
It could also be a loom weight which kept the threads tight for weaving - this might be why they decorated it, as it would be seen rather than under water.

Mine is not a weapon as stone age technology over here is about 7 thousand years old & they used completely different material & LARGER better shaped stones.

 

[rockbuster]

Nice find. It is really hard to tell what this stone was used for. It was obviously carved for a purpose. Your pics are a lot nicer than mine, but I have some better pics at http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c...ur35AUR88nqRPG1mEUF.w--&ts=1175285164&.src=ph. Through my research I have found that stone war clubs were often round in shape, as opposed to sharp and long. These clubs were used for a blunt blow to the target instead of a cutting blow. There are many possibilities here for this stones purpose including a fishing net weight, a toy, a weapon, or even curing weight for animal skins. Who knows, but they are really neat to see and hold.

 

[schlooppy]

Nice find. I believe what you have there is a maul. If you go to relicshack.com then click on axes & celts and then click on mauls you will see some just like yours.

John

 

[rockbuster]

Thank you John. That is the best match I have seen yet. Good hunting

 

[dugupfinds]

Nice find. I believe what you have there is a maul. If you go to relicshack.com then click on axes & celts and then click on mauls you will see some just like yours.

John

Yeap - think you nailed it. Still not sure about mine though.

 

[schlooppy]

Dugfinds I would agree that yours is a net sinker. But I am not familar with artifacts from your area.

John

 

[Dodad]

I don't know if this will help any but I did a little research. Not on the stone which looks to me to be a war club head, but on the area and natives of that area. I found the names of four tribes of that area around the mouth of the Yakima river also known as the Tapetett. The names of the tribes I found are the Chim-na pum, the Skeet-ko-mish, Cho-pun-nish, and the Sokulk. You can read more about them by reading some of Lewis and Clarks journal notes. I am leaving you this link you may find it interesting and maybe it will help you to find more information on your childhood treasure. Here's the link http://www.ccrh.org/comm/river/docs/lcww.htm There is also a sight with a picture of the river circa 1963 if you look up Yakima River,Richland,Washington. Might be a good picture for you to show approx. where you found it. Hope you enjoy looking at the info. I found it fascinating.

David B.