Found these today

[Ralph]

#6995

[Ralph]

#57059

This one was across the fence where I dare not tread so I zoomed out, used a t-post for support and got lucky.

[paleoman]

#57150

Grindstones (metates..sp?) I assume? Have you found other artifacts nearby? I collect free samples:D!

[Ralph]

#57172

The deep holes are called mortars (sp?) I believe. They stored grain in them I think. I found the lid close by but it’s broken. There’s a kinda flat area about a quarter mile away, a good camping area, that I would love to check out but it’s on a piece of property owned by a guy that doesn’t even like himself methinks. I’ve heard he shoots people that just ask for permission to get on his place. 😆 There’s always water there but never tracks. Was probably good water once, obviously because of Native American handiwork, but there’s oil wells all over the place. Nasty around some of them. I think water is tainted. In that oil patch if I were to stick a finger in the water I’d probably draw back a stub. I think there’s some bending of the rules going on. 😡 If I find sample I share, photo at least. 😀

[David Petersen]

#57193

Ralph — Surely you don’t mean to claim that you have rules in Texas! 😛 That’s downright un-American! Seriously, that hole reminds me of many I saw on one of the very rare occasions when I went squirrel hunting with my workaholic father (all we killed was a rattlesnake who had committed no sin greater than being a rattlesnake). As we walked down the bed of a mostly dry creek with reddish sandstone bottom–rock shelf and small drop, over and over–most of the shelves had a few such holes in them, maybe not quote so big as yours, and neither the old man nor I had a clue and were trying to think of geological causes. Youth is wasted on the young! I later read somewhere that these circular stone holes were used to grind acorns and other hard nuts and that they were place in creek bottoms so that the shallow water could wash over and help to–what’s the word?–wash out the toxic taste. Clever folks, those ancients. I wonder where we lost our way?

[William Warren]

#57206

Cool pics R2 thanks for showing them.

[James Harvey]

#57967

That’s really neat Ralph.

[garydavis]

#58554

Nice photos Ralph. Dave P is on the right track I think. Mortars used for turning acorns into paste which was then soaked in warm water to leach out the tanin the paste was then dried and cakes were formed and cooked on hot rocks. real yummy stuff if you like the taste of chalk.

Many cultures used them(mortars) and the acorn was their primary food as wheat is ours. I’m most familiar with the Kumeyaay of southern California, but the process is the same in most south western cultures. Are there oaks around? That flat spot might have some points, beads and fetishes. It’s tempting even with a cranky neighbor I’ll bet.

[Ralph]

#60003

Acorns? Um, the only oak trees in this part of the world have been planted in cities. Mesquite beans but from my understanding mesquite trees didn’t exist this far north until the cattle drives brought the seeds in with the cow piles. I would guess that in our area here, especially with the Alibates flint quarry trade (evidence of Alibates flint has been found way far from here) that the plains folk had corn, either traded for or some grown, more than likely traded for, as those people followed the herds and I’m sure the weather patterns. Around here growing anything besides weeds, sagebrush and now mesquites and salt cedars (the Canadian River bed is a haven for salt cedars) without irrigation is pretty much happenstance :D.

[garydavis]

#60694

Yup, the flint from that area was traded far and wide. Some expert might be able to guess at how old the mortar site is and figure out what was growing there at the time if it’s really old. There might be some evidence in the dirt around the site. Fantasizing about artifacts is a lot of fun. I’ve still got a collection of points I found on my Grandfathers place in NE Arkansas when I was a skinny nine year old. It’s for sure they were grinding something and for quite a while by the looks of it.

[paleoman]

#61702

Hey….maybe it was a prototype commode before they figured out the plumbing part!

[Paul Mwttmann]

#63947

Very cool. I once stubled upon a similar stone in a high altitude tussok basin in New Zealand. I presumed at the time that it may have been used for grinding grass seeds by Maori or Moriori.

[grumpy]

#13087

Holes for gulf?

[Author]

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