Post subject: Perfectly round white stone (native american?)
Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 5:54 pm
New to the Forum or The Quiet Type
Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2014 4:50 pm Posts: 3
Hello all, first post here. This stone was found about 20 years ago when digging around in my great-grandmother's backyard in Manila, Arkansas. She was 1/2 Comanche Indian, so I know there were some tribes in the area. I meant to take the picture with a quarter or nickel for reference, but I forgot, please excuse this.
I hope the photos are clear enough, it's about the best I can do with my current camera. Size of the stone is approximately 1.5", and like i said, it is almost perfectly round. It was not found near any rivers or streams, and I have never found anything quite like this in the area. There doesn't seem to be any markings except for a few small nicks that look like it hit another rock or struck something sharp (you can see these in the photos). I'm not quite sure what kind of stone this is (limestone perhaps??).
Here's what I'm hoping to find out (in increasing order of hopefulness!): ~ What kind of rock this is ~ Is it man-made, or natural ~ If it is man-made, what was it used for, or what could it be
ANY help would be appreciated, even if it is just a reference to another site that might be more specific/helpful!
Post subject: Re: Perfectly round white stone (native american?)
Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 9:00 pm
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Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:42 pm Posts: 2846 Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
This isn't going to be particularly helpful to your stone questions, but when I lived in Egypt, you would occasionally see perfectly round rocks (probably agate) lying in the desert. I've got one, it's the size of a 10 pin bowling ball and at first sight looks like a large cannonball.
They're formed by wind blowing them across the sand and the erosion caused by the wind and blowing sand will eventually make them perfectly round (and smaller and smaller over time).
All of that to say that perfectly round might not be the result of man's intervention.
Are there any museums nearby or online that feature Indian artifacts that might have similar pieces?
Post subject: Re: Perfectly round white stone (native american?)
Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 2:36 pm
Gold Member
Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2006 9:44 pm Posts: 1079 Location: Washington State
When I worked in the aluminum smelting industry we used alumina balls like that to diffuse chlorine when filtering molten aluminum prior to casting into ingots. Any aluminum castings facilities near you?
Post subject: Re: Perfectly round white stone (native american?)
Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 6:36 pm
New to the Forum or The Quiet Type
Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2014 4:50 pm Posts: 3
michael_e wrote:
When I worked in the aluminum smelting industry we used alumina balls like that to diffuse chlorine when filtering molten aluminum prior to casting into ingots. Any aluminum castings facilities near you?
I don't believe so... The only thing in Manila, Arkansas is cotton
EDIT: I got some measurements, the diameter is roughly 38mm.
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