Miscellaneous Chipped Stone Tools
Generally, the tools from this site are made from native tan chert cores and flakes, or from petrified wood, and are rough to the point of being almost nondescript. Imagination is often required to attempt assignment to types.
A massive axe-shaped object of petrified wood is worked to a near-blade form at the expanded end ([Fig. 12], K), but appears to have been used as a maul. The groove is natural. It is 15 cm. long, 9 cm. wide, and 4.5 cm. in thickness. Two smaller objects of petrified wood ([Fig. 12], G, H) are partially shaped, showing some of the original surfaces. They resemble choppers or picks and are 7 × 5.1 × 2.3 cm. and 8.8 × 4.7 × 2 cm. A fourth object of petrified wood, 10.5 cm. long and 4.2 cm. wide, is more suggestive of a pick but shows little evidence of use.
Smaller core tools include two choppers or end scrapers of tan chert and quartzite. The first has much of its original surfaces, with one end pointed by bifacial beveling. It is 5.5 cm. long. The second is unifacially beveled across one end and onto one edge; it is similar in size. Two possible gouges of red and tan chert, 3.4 and 4.2 cm. long, are ovate in outline and roughly flaked bifacially at one end. Eight smaller objects are keel-shaped core scrapers or small choppers of tan and gray chert. They are irregularly ovate, triangular or elongate, from 2.5 to 4 cm. in length, 1.8 to 3.3 cm. in width. Flaking is bifacial but those with one flat face have minimal flaking on this side. Two larger, thick leaf-shaped forms ([Fig. 11], GG, HH) may have served as knives or scrapers.
Other tools are made from flakes. Two might be knives: one ([Fig. 11], II) is of gray chert, long and ovoid, rough at the base but well finished around the edges. It is 5.9 cm. long, 2 cm. wide. The second is made from a flat, triangular-shaped piece of petrified wood, which is unmodified at one end (the base), but has good secondary flaking around the edges. It is 5.1 cm. long, 3 cm. wide, and 6 mm. in thickness.
A thumbnail end scraper ([Fig. 11], LL) is of gray quartz, 3 × 2 cm. in diameters, 6 mm. thick. Unifacial beveling on one end and one side is quite steep and the reverse face shows many tiny fractures around the cutting curve.
Fig. 12. Ornaments and Stone Tools. A, Polished stone tablet. B, Banded slate bead. C, Bone bead. D, Sandstone bead or concretion. E, Pitted stone. F, Brown sandstone whetstone. G, H, Choppers of petrified wood. I, Polished stone celt. J, Small hammerstone. K, Maul of petrified wood. (All to scale except B, C and D which are only slightly reduced.)
There are 15 small scrapers ([Fig. 11], MM-PP) which are ovate or triangular in outline and made from flakes which vary from 3 to 8 mm. in thickness. They are of tan, brown and mottled gray chert, petrified wood, and gray quartzite. Most are flaked bifacially but some show a preponderance of flaking on the convex face. Sizes range from 2 to 4.5 cm. Five small broken flake objects show some flaking.
There are four drills, all made of tan chert. One flake drill ([Fig. 11], KK) has an expanded base, a shaft which is triangular in cross section and a keen point which shows use polish. A second ([Fig. 11], JJ) has a geniculate form, is less well made, but shows usage at the tip. The other two are tiny, 2.1 and 2.2 cm. long, have one flat and one keel-shaped face, and are worked on two of the three planes. They could have been used as gravers or drills.