Nice surprise probing

[kayakaddict]

Nice surprise one foot underwater.. Steatite net sinker two and a half inches long. Fine Groove all the way around. I pull up in my kayak and put my paddle in the mud to stop myself and I felt something. Same place I found my axe Last Summer. This site is just a little lump in a muddy river. Definitely a transitional Period Site. Past finds there include Steatite bowl fragments and a broadspear plus reduction debitage. .I am thrilled this is a very cool artifact. Probably made 3000 years ago. At the site I only find things when I probe in the mud under the water. In-situ photo is pretty much impossible. But I thought I'd share because I am so excited I didn't think I would find one of these and in such nice shape.

[kayakaddict]

Also, please if anyone has any good links with information about this kind of artifact I would really appreciate if you shared. These are called net sinkers I am aware, but I've also read speculations about them being for cooking or even as something worn. This one was from South Jersey btw.

[Von]

I don’t know a thing about that except it’s 😎!

Von

[Kentucky point]

Look's like we have a September Find of the Month hopeful! That is really cool! A good place to find those is on the Loyalsock creek in PA. People pull them out all the time up there. But still, that is a remarkable find! Congrats!

[Ron Kelley]

Hey Evan, A common name is Waco Sinker. Check out the info here:
https://forums.arrowheads.com/forum/...mets-etc-gc127

[OnewiththewilD]

A rose by any other name, here on the east coast we don’t use the term Waco sinker, I’d just call it a beautiful full grooved weight!

[OnewiththewilD]

Obviously it’s not a club or a bolo stone, it’s made of steatite, another clue to it being transitional archaic maybe?

[Ron Kelley]

Another idea was that they were used as cooking stones partly because of the steatite material.

[redrocks]

That's one mad cool weight .. congrats

[south fork]

Nice artifact .

[kayakaddict]

Thanks everyone, I will check out that link.

[tomclark]

Water find. Fine-grain local sandstone. Archaic-Woodland midden Gulf Mexico. I've seen many of these "Waco Sinkers" from Texas but they are not common at all in Florida. I can only think that line was attached to this for a trolling or plain fishing weight.... an in-line fishing weight. Found another weird multi-grooved stone same dive, same site.

[-=METACOM=-]

Shedhunter found something very similar, I'll see if I can find the post and link it here.

[kayakaddict]

After reading the article in the link below I question a little if this kind of item is just a net sinker ... unless ceremonial. It's not crude....But I really don't know. Look at the net sinkers in the cache. Simply chipped.
Are there any reports of these being found in burials? I like the waterfowl net idea I read about. I also consider the cooking ball idea feasible. How about a sling like David and Goliath, but with a chord to retrieve it? What about a healing stone, heated on a string and applied to sore muscles? Any reports with carbon dating of associated items? Do they predate stone bowls? I am befuddled LOL !!! And curious. Thanks again for the thoughts and links.

http://twipa.blogspot.com/2010/04/net-sinker-cache.html

[Andy W.]

"Problematical"

[Hoss]

Wow that is ,one sweet find! You lucky dog you. I am so jealous.

[OnewiththewilD]

Steatite is very very easy to work, and it’s not a strong stone either. I’d rule out sling and bolo stone as it would get pretty dinged up from even a few throws. The fact that you found it at the water should be another clue. The full groove tells you it had a cord that went all the way around it and needed to be strongly secured, hence the full groove and not just notches. My guess is still fishing line weight. It’s a great find too