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Could this be real??

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  • Could this be real??

    Hi all
    im a bit of a skeptic when I find things out of context, but this one intrigues me. A friend of mine owns property in wi that also has a gravel trail. This was found just off the trail. The area has produced a few points over the years. I'm having a hard time telling if this is a tool or just a work of nature....any ideas?

  • #2
    I think that you are right to be skeptical on this one.
    Bruce
    In life there are losers and finders. Which one are you?

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    • #3
      Looks worked to me. It may have began as one thing, and finished up by being another: such as a graver.
      If the women don\'t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

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      • #4
        I

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        • #5
          It appears that wherever your finding these is loaded with chert and that can be a good sign but much of what you show us here looks like just chunks of chert. As you get used to looking you'll be able to discern worked leftovers.
          Searching the fields of NW Indiana and SW Michigan

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          • #6
            Agree with Greg on this one. Although your piece appears to have been worked, I don't believe it was purposefully shaped as a thumbnail scraper. That doesn't mean that it wasn't used as a scraper because many of the chert/flint flakes and leftovers were repurposed into gravers and scrapers. Let's see how others weigh in on this one. ...Chuck
            Pickett/Fentress County, Tn - Any day on this side of the grass is a good day. -Chuck-

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            • #7
              Looks like what I post are real head scratchers. That's cool. So let's go with this. Forgetting if it was intentionally modified to a tool, does it or does it not look modified/worked at all. Keeping in mind that it was just off the trail. Appears like the jury may still be out on that one...... If it was not modified at all, what do you see that provides evidence of that?

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              • #8
                Chert broken naturally vs Chert broken by man can be very similar in appearance, and sometimes its just hard to say. What usually adds to the confusion is that Chert rich areas were the naturally broken stuff is abundant is where the NA would find the material and often they would start whacking out performs, points, tools, spalls right there on the spot. So you can often get a mixed bag of lithic debris from the knapping process and chunks of naturally formed chert. Waste flakes often exhibit flaking from being worked but have no intended function. The main thing is learning tool types and forms so you can recognize when flaking is done to make a deliberate tool. If you see something that looks worked but is too clunky or has no real discernible working edge then you've either got some kind of lithic waste from knapping or a piece of natural lithic material. Alot of times natural pieces will have a very heavy patina whereas waste flakes produced more recently will be less patinated. You really just need to spend some time figuring out what worked flint looks like. Waste flakes, Reduction flakes, cores, scrapers, gravers, utilized flake tools, unifacial tools, bifacial tools, spalls etc, etc...once you know what all those things are the natural becomes more apparent.

                Josh (Ky/Tn collector)

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                • #9
                  Hey mods/mentors,
                  thanks for your help. I may have asked about this one but i wanted to post better pics. Thjs was found ad a site, but also included a lot of glacial chert. Does he edgework look modified or a result of nature?

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                  • #10
                    This last piece of chert looks modified. The small pressure flakes taken off that one edge is the clue. This looks to be a broken piece of something much larger and no way of telling what it was or whether it was ever finished or not or even broken during manufacture.

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