✅ SOLVED What is it? Is it Inuit? Comes with old Waddingtons Auction House Tag

[Turnabuck]

What is it? Is it Inuit? Comes with old Waddington's Auction House Tag

This was found in a collection of mostly military artifacts and it has a very old Waddington's auction house tag attached. They are in Canada so I was thinking maybe Inuit? Thanks.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Upgraded Night Vision Monocular Digital Infrared Monocular Telescope for 100% Darkness with 8X Zoom - Grab it through Amazon!

[Turnabuck]

I forgot to say that it looks to be soapstone or something similar.

 

[BuckleBoy]

Post in the Native American Artifact section.

 

[ridgecrawler]

A native American pendant, probably slate. nice artifact.

 

[yaxthri]

Naaaah, the "solved" mark was premature I think...

In my opinion it's a (broken) "bull-roarer", a musical instrument that produces sound when whirled in a circle suspended from a string.
Check: Bullroarer (music) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Could be of many origins, it's found all around the world, the material it's made of would be a clue.

 

[Archeodeb]

I am wondering if it might be a sharpening stone. The hole that is being used as a means to hang it may possibly even have served to straighten arrow shafts. I can't tell the size of the hole for sure, but it looks to be somewhere between 1/4 and 3/8-inch across. That would certainly be within reason for an arrow.

Just a thought, but does the tag say anything? Can you possibly track down the auction # from records through the company?

Forgot to add...
It is too big for an average pendant (and not particularly pretty or decorative). And a bull roarer would have to be hollow to make a noise, I think. (Plus I have never heard of one made from stone.)

 

[yaxthri]

Bull-roares are never hollow and they are made of wood, bone and stone, in fact the oldest known and found is prehistoric and made of slate (Archaeodeb you didn't check the wikipedia link I inserted).
But since the object is incomplete "my" proposed ID is a speculation only, I like your theory, too. Any pics to strengthen it?

 

[Archeodeb]

Bull-roares are never hollow and they are made of wood, bone and stone, in fact the oldest known and found is prehistoric and made of slate (Archaeodeb you didn't check the wikipedia link I inserted).
But since the object is incomplete "my" proposed ID is a speculation only, I like your theory, too. Any pics to strengthen it?

I stand corrected. I did NOT look at the link -- my apologies! I was in a hurry and just glanced through the comments. After skimming through the article, though, I have to say the possibility that it is a bull roarer definitely exists. There is even something of an aerodynamic shape to it in the cross-section photo. I would like to know what it is made of, however. Have you seen any bull-roarers made of stone? I know the article says they can be made of stone, but what kind? Only slate or others as well? (That actually looks a bit like slate.)

I will try to find some photos later -- I have a deadline to meet on an article I am writing and really need to get back on track. I am always coming over here when I should be working! (It's more fun!)

 

[gunsil]

Bull-roares are never hollow and they are made of wood, bone and stone, in fact the oldest known and found is prehistoric and made of slate (Archaeodeb you didn't check the wikipedia link I inserted).
But since the object is incomplete "my" proposed ID is a speculation only, I like your theory, too. Any pics to strengthen it?

Wikipedia is full of bad info. Anybody can contribute and many do who know little about what they are writing down as fact. Not that yaxthri is one of those, but I always take anything on wikipedia with a grain (or sometimes a whole shaker) of salt.

 

[yaxthri]

Wikipedia is full of bad info. Anybody can contribute and many do who know little about what they are writing down as fact. Not that yaxthri is one of those, but I always take anything on wikipedia with a grain (or sometimes a whole shaker) of salt.

I agree on that. I use wikipedia as a quick reference and when I need to post some info or pictures about a topic and don't have time to search other sources, it's got lots of compiled info but one has to sort out the "trash".

I know what you mean Archaeodeb, almost too often do I log into TNet when I should be working :-)