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Mano (grinding) stone?

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Tools and Hardware1 of 9815USPS String Holderearly tools of craftsmen - Set # 2
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    Posted 1 year ago

    kwqd
    (1185 items)

    This stone is about 5" long x 3" wide x 2" high and has been ground perfectly flat on one side. Not sure if this is a stone tool or a remnant of some sort of dressed stone.

    It was a field find. I have found a variety of chert and flint tools. arrowheads, scrapers, awls. etc., in Central Ilinois, but nothing like this. The stone is rough which makes it very easy to hold and it seems like a couple of areas have been relieved to make it fit the hand. It weighs 2-3 lbs.

    Except for the flat surface it is unremarkable. It took some deliberate effort to create the flat surface, probably for use as a grinding stone (pestle) for processing food. The surface, in general, appears to be porous but it is quite dense and deceptively heavy for its size. One edge is deeply stained with some dark substance. That edge is very flat except for one minor recession, but the stain makes it appear to be uneven.

    There is some sort of short grain, perhaps three feet tall, with a heavy seed bundle at the top, still growing where I found this stone. I may have taken photos of some of it. Will have to dig through my old photos to see.

    Here is an image which may show how it was used.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metate

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    Comments

    1. Watchsearcher Watchsearcher, 1 year ago
      It looks as if it could be used for grinding grains or nuts or such. Is the hole on the “top” surface sufficient to hold an acorn or nut? If so, maybe a nutting stone as well as a grinding stone.
    2. kwqd kwqd, 1 year ago
      Thanks for your question, Watchsearcher! The round, dark spot on top is just a discoloration. There is no indentation there.
    3. kivatinitz kivatinitz, 1 year ago
      part of something..... usually when they had been used there are organic residues that colored the part that has been in contact with the grains or leather or branches....
    4. kwqd kwqd, 1 year ago
      Thanks for the information, kivatinitz. One edge has a dark stain that I could not clean off. Not shown in my images. I will add an image of that.
    5. kwqd kwqd, 1 year ago
      Updated last image to show staining.

      Thanks for checking out the rock, fortapache, Cisum, Vynil33rpm, Falcon61, mikelv85, Watchsearcher, Jenni, Kevin, dav2no1, Drake47, and vcal!
    6. kwqd kwqd, 1 year ago
      Thanks, dav2no1!
    7. kivatinitz kivatinitz, 1 year ago
      thanks so much for the new image and information, it is interesting,

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