Help me identify a few Native American tools
October 30, 2017 9:57 AM Subscribe
My great-uncle recently passed, and I was given a few "Indian Rocks", and purchased a few more at the estate auction. Can you help me figure a few things out?
"Indian Rocks" is hard to google. And feels dirty. But it's how they were listed at the auction, and does have a few hits out there.
I'm pretty sure this is a "Celt", but what's it made out of?
Celt
This is just a fossil I think, but I'd be super curious if anyone knew what it was.
Odd Fossil
Full album, neat stuff. The display cases of arrow heads went for much more than I was willing to spend. The clovis point arrow/spear heads were really sought after. Also, the wiki-hole I've been down for Native American history through Kentucky has been very eye-opening.
"Indian Rocks" is hard to google. And feels dirty. But it's how they were listed at the auction, and does have a few hits out there.
I'm pretty sure this is a "Celt", but what's it made out of?
Celt
This is just a fossil I think, but I'd be super curious if anyone knew what it was.
Odd Fossil
Full album, neat stuff. The display cases of arrow heads went for much more than I was willing to spend. The clovis point arrow/spear heads were really sought after. Also, the wiki-hole I've been down for Native American history through Kentucky has been very eye-opening.
I'd guess the fossil is some type of coral.
posted by The otter lady at 10:15 AM on October 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by The otter lady at 10:15 AM on October 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
That "celt" looks like many of the adze (used as a pick mattock rather than the cutting form - as an example) I've seen. I'm not sure of what material it's made. Adze were common trade items so it could conceivably not be from the Kentucky area. Try searching Aboriginal stone tools.
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:48 AM on October 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:48 AM on October 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Yeah, I think your fossil is likely to be favosites or Pleurodictyum or something similar. Favosites is an extinct coral found worldwide during the late Ordovician to late Permian. You mentioned Kentucky- and it turns out Kentucky was covered by shallow tropical seas around that time.
Pleurodictyum is also an extinct tabulate coral, found in Kentucky during the Silurian, which is also a time when Kentucky was underwater.
It also sounds like honeycomb or wasp nest fossils are much less common than coral. Every search I do leads me to someone who thinks they have a honeycomb fossil and it's actually coral.
posted by Secretariat at 11:01 AM on October 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
Pleurodictyum is also an extinct tabulate coral, found in Kentucky during the Silurian, which is also a time when Kentucky was underwater.
It also sounds like honeycomb or wasp nest fossils are much less common than coral. Every search I do leads me to someone who thinks they have a honeycomb fossil and it's actually coral.
posted by Secretariat at 11:01 AM on October 30, 2017 [3 favorites]
You could try contacting the State Archaeologist for Kentucky, who may be able to be of some help.
posted by gudrun at 11:38 AM on October 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by gudrun at 11:38 AM on October 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks folks.
Ashwagandha: There are dozens of Celts on ebay, and adze's too. I get the feeling the terms aren't completely scientifically applied.
Secretariat: I actually assumed coral of a type. I grew up in Louisville, and we have The Falls of the Ohio nearby. My Uncle was in Green County ~ 100 miles away. I'm sure it was very similarly populated in ancient history.
posted by DigDoug at 11:53 AM on October 30, 2017
Ashwagandha: There are dozens of Celts on ebay, and adze's too. I get the feeling the terms aren't completely scientifically applied.
Secretariat: I actually assumed coral of a type. I grew up in Louisville, and we have The Falls of the Ohio nearby. My Uncle was in Green County ~ 100 miles away. I'm sure it was very similarly populated in ancient history.
posted by DigDoug at 11:53 AM on October 30, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by theperfectcrime at 10:06 AM on October 30, 2017