What are these Native American implements?

[critch]

#130283

My sons found these two rocks in our backyard here in Southeast Missouri. We live right where the Ozarks fall off into the Delta. My boys have found many arrowheads, flint knives etc, but these two rocks kinda baffle me. I think the oval shaped one was a club of some type attached to a handle..however, I’m unsure if the other stone was actually an implement or just an odd shaped rock.

I’m not a scholar on Native Americans and I’ve been wrong in the past about what I was looking at…I once thought I had a spear head but a local archaeologist showed me that it was a flint knife. I just wasn’t looking at it correctly.

Each rock is about 4 to 5 inches across…the oval rock has indentations on both sides that match. 

[damon wood]

#130287

No expert here, but the one on the left looks like a hammer-stone, maybe the dished area was worn into or created for the users comfort? No guess on the right one. Cool find anyway!

[critch]

#130289

The boys also found what I believe to be a “medicine bowl”. It’s a black and white rock with a big “bowl” scooped out of it. Friends who have seen it tell me that the Native Americans would leave these implements at their favorite campsites, often hidden and come back to them as they wandered back into the area. They were used in making corn flour, medicines, etc..

Like I said, I’m not even a good amateur on this. This area was home to various tribes at different times; Osage, Sauk, Fox, Dakota, Kickapoo, Chippewa and Shawnee…and probably the Cherokee, Chickasaw and before them, the Mississippian Culture all wandered in here periodically.

 

[Ralph]

#130379

That’s cool Critch.

I really enjoy looking for artifacts.

The craftsmanship of some is fantastic and the ingenuity of some of the tools they made is quite amazing. people don’t recognize tools quite often.

I found something awhile back that I haven’t figured out yet.  A talisman of some kind from a fossilized paw print turned to stone?

Not only has the stone been rounded the edges have been smoothed discus like.

 

[critch]

#130431

It took these people many many hours of work to perfect these items. That paw print is interesting…they took something probably millions of years old and recognizing it as something special they made a piece of jewelry or some other article from it.

I saw some ancient English jewelry made from amber with insects trapped in it…

[richard roop]

#135114

Gotta love the artifacts.

No expert, but guessing that the stone on the left is the ‘top’ of a bow fire drill.

The one on the right ‘may’ be a smoothing stone for building arrow shafts.

 

The paw print ?? I would suggest taking it to a trapping convention. You’ll meet some good people that live & breathe tracks & sign. Even if they can’t give you any insight, you’ll still have an interesting time that beats yardwork or house painting. Plus, the trappers need our support. If the Anti’s get them ……….. we’re next in the crosshairs !!!

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