Artifact (or wishful thinking)?
What do you suppose this is?
Is it simply a curiously formed rock — a sort of anti-round rock?
Or could it be a native grinding bowl — a sort of natural mortar for grinding grain?
The “bowl” is certainly large enuf to accomodate the typical round rocks we have, which is to say that a grapefruit could easily rest in here with room to spare. The round rocks must have attracted the eyes of the Native Americans who passed this way, and I would guess they would have some actual uses for them besides decoration and conversation.
I first spotted this rock when L and I would hike the fence line in the days before the road. I thought I should move it to some “safer” spot so I could find it again. But I didn’t want to schlepp the thing at the time. And when I kept finding it on our walks, I assumed I wouldn’t lose it after all.
Now the road passes just feet from it, so I could easily stop the truck and lift it into the bed. Then I could haul it to some “safer” spot. But where? And why?
We’re always enroute somewhere when we pass this rock, so I haven’t given it the time and attention my imagination demands. It’s hard to tell from the photo whether there is any obvious grinding evidence in the bowl. And maybe that’s why I haven’t stopped to study it. I may learn that it isn’t what I wish it to be.
August 23rd, 2005 at 7:08 am
Our imaginations serve us well. Let this bowl be what you wish it to be. In the meantime, I will look in my archaeology archives…….
August 23rd, 2005 at 9:25 am
Attention is a wonderful thing. I love the attention you’ve given to this fascinating rock.
It must be preening in the sun today.
August 23rd, 2005 at 9:36 am
It definitely looks like a bowl for grinding. It’s a perfect shape for that. Are there any colleges nearby? Have you ever thought about inviting an archeaologist to your property? It might make a great place of study for an industrious grad student working on a thesis or dissertation, especially if the mounds you have found turn out to be burial mounds.
Would an archeological dig interfere with your stewardship?
August 23rd, 2005 at 10:17 am
RD – Alas, bringing an archeologist to our woods could be problematic. I spoke to a state archeologist on the phone about the mounds, and he told me that they likely are burial sites, but if he visited and confirmed it, then our property would have to be registered with the state, certain restrictions would be placed on development, and transfer of ownership if we ever sold the land (NEVER!!) would be more difficult (not many landowners in the area want their woods to have any kind of restrictions on them). I don’t want to bulldoze them out of the way or build a barn atop them, but I’m happy to coexist with them in our “unofficial” state. And what if the archeologist told me the bowl wasn’t a grinding bowl? Then I’d be sad, and don’t nobody want that!
August 23rd, 2005 at 10:43 am
Real life artifacts? My (friendly) envy grows.
How fortunate for those (possibly) long-gone indigenous folks that the property has fallen into the hands of one who would respect the space(s).
August 23rd, 2005 at 1:50 pm
From a distance we can determine some things. I must have missed the post about the mounds – direct me there please?? There are certain clues which can determine whether or not they are burial mounds. Are they aligned in an east to west direction? Shape and size would help.
It’s funny you should post this today. On Sunday I went “effigy mound hunting” with my two PhD anthropologist friends. A snake and egg effigy mound was discovered in 1938 and confirmed by the Forest Preserve District in 1970. Since all the other local mounds have been destroyed they will not release the location……so we went on a hunt. Didn’t find it yet, but it was quite exciting with possible clues.
Pablo, you were a topic of conversation AND you provided the most helpful tool. You were part of an archaeological exploration and didn’t even realize it. We tromped many miles in the woods, looking for signs of the mound but decided that we needed to return in the fall after the leaves have fallen. I mentioned your satellite photo of Roundrock and how I was able to distinguish ridge lines. I further suggested we return home and check out Terra Server. I’ve spent the last few days pouring over satellite images to no avail. Back tramping in the woods in the fall.
Thanks for all your help Pablo!
August 23rd, 2005 at 2:34 pm
Stepping way out on a limb here…
I don’t suppose the rock was found in an old or even ancient stream bed? Sometimes a smaller rock can get trapped in the depression of another larger rock and the constant tumbling of the trapped rock hollows out a depression that is quite similar to the one in your photo.
Suffering from rock envy in the land of few exciting rocks.
August 23rd, 2005 at 2:49 pm
Cracker – Sorry, it was found on top of a ridge, though an old wagon road passed by. Those whale photos you posted were grim indeed. I don’t envy that.
FW – I sent you an email.
August 24th, 2005 at 5:00 am
This looks like the action of water to me. I think a softer bit of rock has been washed out by the flow of a stream.
Though you found it on a ridge, a minor upheaval of the earth’s crust may have elevated it from its origin.
I’ll post a photo of an Australian aboriginal grinding stone on Tjilpi’s site. It’s broken in half. I’ve included two other artifacts as well.
December 15th, 2005 at 6:36 pm
[...] « Whimsey Stone Bowl I have no illusions that this might be an artifact of the First People. It’s a former round rock that was spli [...]
October 20th, 2006 at 5:04 pm
[...] Some things are best left in the imagination. When I returned, I saw that this bowl was clearly a natural formation, much like this one. That’s okay. I can probably get a lot of good speculation time from pondering how this bowl was naturally formed. [...]
July 25th, 2012 at 11:33 am
Funny, I found a almost exact copy of this here in Texas. I have it at my house right now. It was on the edge of a lake bed, the lake was formed when the river was damed in the 20′s. It would have set quite a ways back from the edge of the river. I am curious if it is something as well.