Is the dis-coloration part of the rock(obsidian)??

[ericbrets]

I have always wondered if the dis-coloration on the bottom of this "point/artifact", possibly some sort of ancient adhesive/glue, or paint left over from where they attached it to a handle(or whatever). Or is it just "dis-coloration in the rock(obsidian) it was shaped out of???? The first picture below is the "said dis-coloration"(it appears whitish in color) located on the bottom of the "artifact" where, if indeed it WAS attached to some sort of handle(or whatever else) THIS is where the 2 pieces would have been joined. And the second picture is a profile of the artifact, and the spot in question is facing the bottom of the pic.

[painshill]

Hi Eric and welcome to the forum
I would say it’s impossible to tell from a picture… and certainly not from those pictures. The staining is in the right area (for a hafted knife blade), but that’s about as far as you could go without sophisticated chemical analysis. What colour such staining (as opposed to residue of an actual glue) might be is very much gonna depend on the type of rock, how it weathered and so on. But I would say if this type of staining was an inevitible consequence of chemical reaction between typical glues and typical lithics then we would see it much more frequently than we do.
Incidentally, as far as glues for hafting is concerned, there was a gradual shift from plant resins (mainly pitchpine or pine tar) in the archaic period to the use of animal collagen glue in the early historic period. The latter can be derived from the boiling of hide shavings, sinew, hoof, velvet antler and fish skin among others. But it needs the kind of heat control that was only possible after the move from indirect heating with boiling stones to clay pots of good enough quality to withstand direct heating. The switchover broadly corresponds to fire-worthy pots becoming commonplace (post about 700BC).
Residues of (as opposed to staining from) pitch are very dark and it is not uncommon for them to survive the weathering process. Residues of animal glues would be pale but would probably disappear rather quickly during weathering and from bacterial action.
Obsidian is not highly susceptible to staining in any case, although it will readily hydrate to leave a grey and then whitish patina in wet conditions. Pictures don’t always tell the whole story, but that doesn’t look like too much like obsidian and, if it is, it must be highly weathered.

[greywolf22]

Take some pictures in the bright sun - then repost.
Jack