agatized coral head, Tampa bay material

[tomclark]

This is small agatized coral head, Tampa bay material. I found it just offshore on a beach I find paleo=late paleo material. This is how the Ancients found it. In fairly rare surface deposits of pseudomorph after coral, agatized coral. This chunk was banged on in antiquity to see the material within. Nice coral. This is a common size for surface deposit chunks usually found in clay. Stuff lines my garden...but I almost always only bring home the pieces that have been banged on. You can see that under the outer "rind" there is the best material to knap, glossy and hard. In the center is not so good but beautiful and can see the columnar coral polyp fossils.

[2ndoldman]

Very nice Tom.

[gregszybala]

Thanks

[sneakygroundbuzzard]

i love working agatized coral
once heated properly its amazing to work with

[SDhunter]

Cool to find that Tom

[G10+]

That’s cool Tom Florida NA didn’t have just a whole lot to work with lol

[gregszybala]

You going to include those with the other pics in the lithics area?

[tomclark]

Good idea, Greg, I forgot. Should take better pictures....

[Tam]

I see these amazing points out of that from Fl . You guys really have some nice stuff .
My friend sends me pics of his finds . All that digging .
I always wondered what it looked like . Thanks now I know .
I thought was it like coral with the branches ...

[tomclark]

Agatized Coral Coral heads. Tampa Bay. All from worksites and quarry sites. All the glossy surfaces you can see on these were made by ancient Native Americans in search of suitable or best material to make knives, spearpoints, darts, arrowheads and tools. Apparently the "best" material comes from just under the rind. The outer surfaces of these coral heads and coral pieces are chalky limerock, some are a harder limerock. Many of these were probably not suitable because of the formation of replacing the fossil with chalcedony instead of solidly just forming a mass of cryptocrystalline quartz without the forms of the animal. Some that looks more like animals is chalkier. Agatized coral (chalcedony pseudomorph after coral is the name of the animal looking stuff vs the "clean" material). I've been using them for landscaping lol and need to clean them off of moss and dirt..

https://youtu.be/GZNnbRQaYfg