A nice selection of metates and manos-- rarer than hen's
teeth these are.
Hammerstones, scrapers, bone tools and hand-held "bowls".
Two tools here are enlarged for detail lower down this
page.
Note huge hammer next to celt-- it has hafting lines
as does the celt.
The celt, commonly found in East Texas is a rare find
here in Austin.
Tools commonly show trade between groups of Native Americans.
A very large ax (ground on all sides but bit)-- notice
"pecking"
indicating this tool was used as percussion base for
other tool-making purposes.
This little hand-held grinding dish looks to have
been used for the grinding of some sort of seeds.
Note the pecked area and how the substance was pushed
into dish.
Mystery tool, I believe to be a pottery anvil used to
smooth
pottery created by coiling. I believe this tool to be
a unique find for Austin, Texas.
Very heavy igneous stone, perhaps a meteorite,
smoothed all over. Was the slight grooving used to hone
edges?
Edge near thumb is flat, perhaps to better fit the stone
in a palm.
Very large metate stone-- 3' across. This stone was used
as a platform
for all kinds of uses as is evident by numerous lines
and marks.
It was found in a stack of rocks used to build a wall
by a homeowner.
This amazing artifact is a very large (almost 30cm long,
weighing several pounds)
smoke-blower used for ceremonies. Combustible materials
were stuffed into the pipe, lit, and
then smoke blown over the subject/object to be "sanctified".
It was found, by Rich, on a bison kill site now a limestone
quarry.
It is the largest ever found in Texas. Note the scribed
lines.
The "blowhole" running through the object is over 1/2"
in diameter.
Click the image to go to another page about this amazing
find.