Hi all,
It's been a while since I've posted. Maybe more on that later.
A friend recently brought me a small stone that she found on a local (Massachusetts) beach that has a small hole through it. I believe it is a "hag stone" and that the hole was created by a Piddock, snail or erosion. The stone is suspiciously shell-shaped but fossils are extremely rare in Massachusetts due to glaciers pulverizing most of them during the last ice age. Whatever it is, it's a cool find for sure... but I do not believe it is a man-made artifact. But that got me thinking...
How would one differentiate between a hole created by natural means (i.e. a piddock or erosion) and one that was drilled by an ancient human?
The first set of photos (the ones who's titles start with "AJ") is of the small stone my friend found. Natural, right? Note: In the last photo the red arrow points to an indentation that looks like it is in line with the hole that runs through the rock.
The second set photos (in the post below and who's titles start with "CH") is of a supposed "artifact" that comes from an old collection from Ipswich, MA that the finder (now long-since deceased) had labeled as a pedant. For context, Ipswich does boarder the ocean, however I do not know if the "pendant" was found on a beach, river or one of the plowed fields that the majority of his collection was found.
Are there any tell-tale characteristics that would indicate if either of these two holes are natural or not?
Thank you in advance for your input.
It's been a while since I've posted. Maybe more on that later.
A friend recently brought me a small stone that she found on a local (Massachusetts) beach that has a small hole through it. I believe it is a "hag stone" and that the hole was created by a Piddock, snail or erosion. The stone is suspiciously shell-shaped but fossils are extremely rare in Massachusetts due to glaciers pulverizing most of them during the last ice age. Whatever it is, it's a cool find for sure... but I do not believe it is a man-made artifact. But that got me thinking...
How would one differentiate between a hole created by natural means (i.e. a piddock or erosion) and one that was drilled by an ancient human?
The first set of photos (the ones who's titles start with "AJ") is of the small stone my friend found. Natural, right? Note: In the last photo the red arrow points to an indentation that looks like it is in line with the hole that runs through the rock.
The second set photos (in the post below and who's titles start with "CH") is of a supposed "artifact" that comes from an old collection from Ipswich, MA that the finder (now long-since deceased) had labeled as a pedant. For context, Ipswich does boarder the ocean, however I do not know if the "pendant" was found on a beach, river or one of the plowed fields that the majority of his collection was found.
Are there any tell-tale characteristics that would indicate if either of these two holes are natural or not?
Thank you in advance for your input.
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