What is this??

[Hotrodmom]

Hi!  My sister found this in Southern Missouri.  What is it?  We are thinking some kind of Indian Artifact?  Are we wrong?

[Hoss]

In my honest opinion it is a flint  hammer stone.

[Hotrodmom]

Thanks Hoss!  I thought maybe that or some sort of grinding stone?

[painshill]

Hoss wrote:

In my honest opinion it is a flint  hammer stone.

  No question about it in my view... and a well-used one too (although a closer examination of the lithic may reveal that it's not flint/chert).

[Hotrodmom]

I'm not there to feel it and see it.  But, I asked her if it was flint.  She said it didn't look like it?  She says looking close it is a gold color.  Her husband thinks it is a geode.

[Pele]

I wouldn't rule out a geode since they often look like that on the outside. Ask her if it feels lighter than she expects it to be. A more hollow geode would be lighter, but a more solid geode would have the expected heft of a normal rock. Of course, even if it is a geode that doesn't mean it wasn't used as a hammer stone. (Personally, I think that would make it extra cool!) I'm arriving at my conclusion as a geologist with an interest in archaeology. The former is my expertise, but I'm still eagerly learning about the latter.