Museum Expedition 1904, Museum Collection Fund

Alfred W. Jenkins Fund

DESCRIPTION: Large flat slab of volcanic rock, with a hole cut through it. It may have been a net weight, but appears to have a worn side from grinding tools on. The top surface appears purposefully incised with parallel geometric lines and triangles. The surface also looks worn and pitted as if from being struck by something. NOTE: This had part of an old tag on it, identical to the tags on artifacts loan by Wickersham to the Ferry Museum, and MAY be part of the Wickersham collection, at one time loaned to the Ferry Museum [Washington State Historical Society] and later sold at The Nugget Shop in Juneau, AK. The description for item #53 on the inventory list of Wickersham material loaned to the Ferry Museum reads: "Grindstone from Mud Bay, Wash, Old Inlet, about 8 x 9 x 2." [This probably refers to Mud Bay, Eld Inlet, to the west of Olympia.] The dimensions match this specimen, and it has surfaces on it which have been used for smoothing/sharpening.

Grindstone.* Fide donor GTE: Portion of a grindstone of a fine silicious sandstone, slightly concave face. It is very conclusively established that jade and other fine grained celts were worked down and sharpened upon these stones, which are found about old living and camping sites together with the sandstone saws and partly cut boulders, and an examination of jade and other celts shows almost invariably a corresponding convex side and cutting surface. These grindstones from their brittleness are seldom found in large slabs, but more in broken sections which are often smoothed on both flattened faces and sometimes along the edges. Slab is about 3 cm thick, roughly triangular in plan view. Center area of one side is smoother than areas near edges; other side shows signs of weathering. *Information is from the original accession ledger.

Grinding stone. Artifact Record #135 describes artifact as, "found in lite brown silt filled [with] small rock + occasional lg ones". Provenience is described as: 1S1-10, 9.6' vert. Artifact was excavated by Wm. Chambers, 7/16/1953. Z. Garcia, 03/09/2011.

Abrader Described in Larson & Lewarch 1995, p. 7-141.

Abrader Described in Larson & Lewarch 1995, p. 7-141.

"a piece of tabular sandstone approximately 24.5 centimeters long, 18.0 centimeters wide, and 3.5 centimeters thick. It has been ground on one surface which also exhibits two parallel grooves 14.5 centimeters long. (Larson & Lewarch 1995: 7-141)."

Sorted from Ground Stone

Sorted from Bone, Wood, Lithic