NSR Hunt 3/15/2021

[ThePhysicist]

Went for a short hunt at the NSR today, with only a few finds - it's been a minute since there's been a good rain, and it seemed well-picked-over where I was looking. I found a few pieces of bone, including a couple of either finger bones or very small vertebrae. I also found a piece of flint with potential microflaking.

Perhaps the best find is a potential large scraper tool.

 

 

Bones in situ:

 

 

 

I think this could be a scraper based on its general shape, material (chert), and the nature of the flaking - which only appears on one edge:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Though, I am certainly not familiar with artifacts, so I welcome more experienced eyes.

[grandpa]

I'd certainly have a difficult time explaining such finely detailed chipping as anything other than human-induced.  Scrapper seems to be a reasonable conclusion for such a paleo-tool.

[GPayton]

Nice finds, wish I could get out there sometime soon since I know the damming for the lake is either already underway or coming shortly. 

The two pieces of reptile material you theorized were either mosasaur finger bones or small vertebrae are almost definitely the latter. Any vertebrate material that gets exposed in the river becomes worn down extremely quickly causing most of the mosasaur vertebrae (one of the most common finds) to be near-unrecognizable by the time they're found. Not sure why that happens the way it does since I've rarely seen the water in the channel moving with enough force to really move rocks around like that. 

[bthemoose]

Nice photos and finds! I like the color of that gastropod steinkern.

[MrR]

Interesting artifact. I have a similar example that I found in So. Cal.. It was in an area that is known to have been frequented by the Chumash people. Hundreds of people walked right by and over it but it stood out a bit to me. Once I put it in my hand as if I was about to use it, I realized it had to be a Chumash tool, a scraper of some sort. While the edge is not as obviously worked as your find, I'm 99% sure it has been. And again, the way it fits in the hand as comfortably as it does, is amazing. My thumb goes right into under that smooth protrusion. The user would have been right-handed, as am I. Anyway, cool finds. Cheers.

 

 

 

[ThePhysicist]

21 hours ago, GPayton said:

The two pieces of reptile material you theorized were either mosasaur finger bones or small vertebrae are almost definitely the latter. Any vertebrate material that gets exposed in the river becomes worn down extremely quickly causing most of the mosasaur vertebrae (one of the most common finds) to be near-unrecognizable by the time they're found. Not sure why that happens the way it does since I've rarely seen the water in the channel moving with enough force to really move rocks around like that. 

Here are more photos for future readers' reference:

 

 

I would venture to guess that the river isn't the sole culprit, though certainly I think it's capable of doing great damage.

[hemipristis]

Concur with the scraper ID. The scalloped edge is diagnostic.  

 

I also concur w/ the knapping flake.  The shape is classic.  The narrow end is the bulb of percussion, and the tiny, flat end is the percussion point at which the core was struck to spall off the flake.