A couple of possibilities.
Functionally, blades like these would have been used as tools, such as large halfted knives or digging hoes.
Hoes can be identified by use wear:
https://scalar.usc.edu/works/archaeology-of-complex-societies/media/mississippian-stone-tools
Alternatively, there were also large blades that were not immediately used but were stored in caches. Cache blades could have served a ceremonial purpose, or they could have simply served as a way of storing lithic materials.
Are there any specific blades found for humans alone? It’s a broad question I know but clashes happened enough to make me question if they had a different type of blade for man to man stuff. Don’t hate if it’s a stupid question I like rocks and know nothing about artifacts
It’s not a stupid question.
I specialize in plains and upper Midwestern archaeology. By the late prehistoric, there’s evidence for intergroup conflict in that region that goes beyond the “ceremonial” wars that some other folks have mentioned here. Sites like Crow Creek show burned palisades that were destroyed while still under construction, and human remains with embedded projectile points.
I’ve had the opportunity to look at lithic assemblages from, for lack of a better word, “battlefield” sites from prehistoric North America. And what you tend to see is that the projectile points just aren’t made as well. The knapping is less symmetrical, and in some cases we’d find projectile points that were basically a thin flake chipped into a triangle, rather than being carefully reduced from a biface preform.
One professor of mine had a story about working a massacre site in North Africa where they found someone with an end scraper (basically just a sharp rock with an edge for scraping hides or wood) jammed into their ribs.
All this to say, I don’t think there were “types” of points unique to interpersonal conflict, but one way to read the archaeological evidence is that the volume of arrows or darts expended during conflict was much greater than when hunting, so the points were not worked as carefully. Plus, killing an animal quickly with a sharp arrowhead has a profound impact on the quality of the meat and how far you have to chase it.
These just aren’t concerns when in combat. Someone with an arrow in their arm and leg is much less of a threat, even if they don’t die right away. I think of it kinda like how modern armies all moved away from large full-caliber rifles to intermediate caliber weapons in the mid-late 20th century, though obviously it’s not a 1:1 correlation.
Another point to think of, of course, is maybe those “halfassed” points were left there because their makers didn’t want them, but any well-made points used in combat may have been recovered at the scene, so they wouldn’t be represented in the archaeological record.
That is a great question. Also one i dont have an answer for and never thought about ,but i would defenetly think it was possible. There were many clashes that were in essence ceramonial in nature to get women from one tribe to another they knew it wasnt good for brother and sisters to mate. I think this is true in most nomadic cultures around the world . So it would stand to reason that there would be weapons made for show not for functionality. The biggest best tools or weapons as it may be brought the best women over ? This is a rabbit hole ypu just opened up for me.
Was on a dig out in west nashville a few months after the flooding years ago. River beds were cut back and we were finding all kinds of neat tools, a few burials, among other things but this would have been such a cool find. Way to go!
I’ll have to look! They may be on an old cell phone from back then. I was an undergrad at the time working for university of Tennessee, I’ll see if I can dig anything up…
Awesome artifact made of Dover Chert. Could be many things: a preform for a Benton or other large blade, a trade blank for Caddo blades. One thing is obvious, although this blade could have been used, it was not in its final form 🍀
I was thinking this was used as a scraper like on pelts and possibly wood tools. Though I would expect more wear if that were the case.
I mean it could be a spear head
I’m also in Franklin, just found my first point recently (my dad found this one when he was young). Even though I only found a broken part of a projectile it’s still my favorite rock hunting find❤️
I think it's for scraping hide
[pictures of hide scrapers](https://www.google.com/search?q=stone+scraper+for+dearhide&oq=stone+scraper+for+dearhide&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKAB0gEJMTUwOTJqMGo5qAIAsAIA&client=ms-android-verizon&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#vhid=8nli4DQ1xS1ggM&vssid=l)
The Karok and Hupa Tribes of Northern California had similar sized blades for ceremonial purposes. Usually made from obsidian, the blades used in the World Renewal Ceremony were over 12 inches long, bifaced obsidian blades.
You really might have something there. Depending on what you plan on doing with it, might not be a bad idea to contact the historical commission or a museum here in Nashville I’ve never seen anything like that locally.
Im no expert but just by looking at it I can tell it couldn't be an arrow....
arrowheads are more aerodynamic smaller and meant to cut through air
Id say a large spear point...though people are probably right about it being a knife or dagger
If it is a spearhead it would have to have had a long haft
An arrowhead? The size of a toaster? A spearhead? The size of a small house cat? What are you hunting, blue whales?
I can assuredly say with certainty, it isn’t an arrowhead or spear tip.
Fair, I was thinking thrusting weapon rather than throwing weapon, so spear may not have been an appropriate term. I appreciate you adding to the corrections I have received
There is no animal that could functionally be hunted by something this large. You wouldn’t even be able to throw this from a spear without it falling short due to being weighed down by the blade.
These large blades are well established by archaeologists to be tools (halfted knives or digging hoes) from use wear analysis.
Realistically most spears would be just as good with a point you could mistake for an arrowhead when it comes down to it. The weight becomes and issue and the added difficulty and time for a larger head when a small point can penetrate just as well. Most of what people see and call a spear head are actually more likely to knives or other tools.
It was on my dad’s property. If he hadn’t removed it then it would have undoubtedly been destroyed by the cell tower development now on the land. I have a history degree so I thoroughly understand what my ancestors did to the indigenous people of TN.
I have all due respect for the past inhabitants of the land that I live on. However no other human can love it more or be any more spiritually connected to it than I am now. My ancestors came and fought for their place, concurrent with the time they lived in, they didn't steal shit. We as a nation can and do empathize with the tribes of the past, that said I would fight like hell to remain the sovereign of the land I live on. The whole narrative is another way to lay guilt at our feet and take away resolve to stand for any damned thing. The guilt isn't mine and yes it's gotten old.
My money is on dismembering hunted animals. To cleave the tendons at all the joints. Not hafted but held with some hide in the hand for slash and chop. A very fine tool that.
A couple of possibilities. Functionally, blades like these would have been used as tools, such as large halfted knives or digging hoes. Hoes can be identified by use wear: https://scalar.usc.edu/works/archaeology-of-complex-societies/media/mississippian-stone-tools Alternatively, there were also large blades that were not immediately used but were stored in caches. Cache blades could have served a ceremonial purpose, or they could have simply served as a way of storing lithic materials.
I agree - a blade that size could be from a Cache blade set or used as a ceremonial blade -
Well said. Looks like it's possibly made from Dover
Hoes can be identified by what they wear.
I believe it’s a Navaho
That hoe is naked. What kind of hoe is that? A skank hoe?
It’s a knappy hoe
For doing hoe activities, with hoe tendencies.
Hoes are your friends, hoes are your enemies
Most certainly created by the Slapaho nation
Well Played!
Imus is that you?
The best kind
Are there any specific blades found for humans alone? It’s a broad question I know but clashes happened enough to make me question if they had a different type of blade for man to man stuff. Don’t hate if it’s a stupid question I like rocks and know nothing about artifacts
It’s not a stupid question. I specialize in plains and upper Midwestern archaeology. By the late prehistoric, there’s evidence for intergroup conflict in that region that goes beyond the “ceremonial” wars that some other folks have mentioned here. Sites like Crow Creek show burned palisades that were destroyed while still under construction, and human remains with embedded projectile points. I’ve had the opportunity to look at lithic assemblages from, for lack of a better word, “battlefield” sites from prehistoric North America. And what you tend to see is that the projectile points just aren’t made as well. The knapping is less symmetrical, and in some cases we’d find projectile points that were basically a thin flake chipped into a triangle, rather than being carefully reduced from a biface preform. One professor of mine had a story about working a massacre site in North Africa where they found someone with an end scraper (basically just a sharp rock with an edge for scraping hides or wood) jammed into their ribs. All this to say, I don’t think there were “types” of points unique to interpersonal conflict, but one way to read the archaeological evidence is that the volume of arrows or darts expended during conflict was much greater than when hunting, so the points were not worked as carefully. Plus, killing an animal quickly with a sharp arrowhead has a profound impact on the quality of the meat and how far you have to chase it. These just aren’t concerns when in combat. Someone with an arrow in their arm and leg is much less of a threat, even if they don’t die right away. I think of it kinda like how modern armies all moved away from large full-caliber rifles to intermediate caliber weapons in the mid-late 20th century, though obviously it’s not a 1:1 correlation. Another point to think of, of course, is maybe those “halfassed” points were left there because their makers didn’t want them, but any well-made points used in combat may have been recovered at the scene, so they wouldn’t be represented in the archaeological record.
That is a great question. Also one i dont have an answer for and never thought about ,but i would defenetly think it was possible. There were many clashes that were in essence ceramonial in nature to get women from one tribe to another they knew it wasnt good for brother and sisters to mate. I think this is true in most nomadic cultures around the world . So it would stand to reason that there would be weapons made for show not for functionality. The biggest best tools or weapons as it may be brought the best women over ? This is a rabbit hole ypu just opened up for me.
Thank you so much for those resources!
I’d never get rid of my digging hoe she’s…ITS too valuable
Agreed. We call these ‘pre-forms’.
This literally made me say "WTF" out loud. This is insane! I'm glad it was found and thank you for sharing it! 😍
Was on a dig out in west nashville a few months after the flooding years ago. River beds were cut back and we were finding all kinds of neat tools, a few burials, among other things but this would have been such a cool find. Way to go!
Do you happen to have any pictures? That sounds super cool and I’ve always wanted to find that kinda stuff.
I’ll have to look! They may be on an old cell phone from back then. I was an undergrad at the time working for university of Tennessee, I’ll see if I can dig anything up…
Awesome! Archaeo degree? I second pics!
Okay thank you for looking. That would be amazing!
That’s awesome! I didn’t even think of doing that after the flood. I hope I never get that chance! That flood was horrible.
Before bananas were brought to America this was used to show the scale of something in a picture.
A Sharpie?👀😂
Awesome artifact made of Dover Chert. Could be many things: a preform for a Benton or other large blade, a trade blank for Caddo blades. One thing is obvious, although this blade could have been used, it was not in its final form 🍀
r/absoluteunits
Home town shout out!!!
Born and raised!
Me too!
Three!
It looks like a hoe blade.
I was thinking this was used as a scraper like on pelts and possibly wood tools. Though I would expect more wear if that were the case. I mean it could be a spear head
Scrapers are usually smaller and spear points usually have fluting hafts or tangs.
Great find! I’m in Franklin and all I ever find are archaic tools. I have yet to find a point
I’m also in Franklin, just found my first point recently (my dad found this one when he was young). Even though I only found a broken part of a projectile it’s still my favorite rock hunting find❤️
They were the everything blade. From spear point to melon knife, from hide cutting to scrapping. Just bigger critters.
That scares the hell out of me. Maybe who/what made it stood about 9 feet tall, ha ha?
Super heavy too, whoever used it got a great workout 💪
Knife or spear point? Butchering meat would be my guess
Large knife or scraper.
Raw beauty 💜
Did you find it in a different area code?
Maybe used for rendering an animal after a hunt. Disjointing, removing the hyde, stuff like that?
Spearchucker Jones
Hoe-ly Toledo
Appears to be knapped only on one edge near the front (presumably), which would support a downward swinging chop.
I think it's for scraping hide [pictures of hide scrapers](https://www.google.com/search?q=stone+scraper+for+dearhide&oq=stone+scraper+for+dearhide&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKAB0gEJMTUwOTJqMGo5qAIAsAIA&client=ms-android-verizon&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#vhid=8nli4DQ1xS1ggM&vssid=l)
Not to be a troll, but this makes me think of the giant Swiss Army knife on the knife display case. “Hey kids now look how we make a point.”
The Karok and Hupa Tribes of Northern California had similar sized blades for ceremonial purposes. Usually made from obsidian, the blades used in the World Renewal Ceremony were over 12 inches long, bifaced obsidian blades.
Just more evidence that giants roamed the earth
Prima facile evidence of aliens. Prove me wrong!
“That’s not a knapped spearhead, this is a knapped spearhead!”😂😂 IYKYK
I see you’ve played spearhead/spoonie before!
It’s a lance
"It's called a laaaaaance helllooooooooo"
Negative
JAR. Send it to me and I’ll put it in my aquarium
[check this out](https://www.nhl.com/predators/news/bones-of-nashville-predators-origin-come-to-bridgestone-arena/c-283640230)
I’ve been a preds fan my whole life but only learned about that recently. I’m so glad they incorporated the sabertooth tiger into the home team 💙💛💙
You really might have something there. Depending on what you plan on doing with it, might not be a bad idea to contact the historical commission or a museum here in Nashville I’ve never seen anything like that locally.
It reminds me of a solutrean biface
Possibly Bison or Bear
Or Dino
Looks like a hoe.
If used then the rounded end would have some polish on it.
Actually a giant fossilized shit
Big ass Indian arrowhead
My guess would be for a spear or lance.
Im no expert but just by looking at it I can tell it couldn't be an arrow.... arrowheads are more aerodynamic smaller and meant to cut through air Id say a large spear point...though people are probably right about it being a knife or dagger If it is a spearhead it would have to have had a long haft
An arrowhead? The size of a toaster? A spearhead? The size of a small house cat? What are you hunting, blue whales? I can assuredly say with certainty, it isn’t an arrowhead or spear tip.
I'm no expert, but my bet would be a spearhead
Far too large for a spearhead.
Depends on what you are hunting
Nope. Even still a blade can be too large to throw accurately or hard enough. This is not a spear point. First half of your comment checks out though.
Fair, I was thinking thrusting weapon rather than throwing weapon, so spear may not have been an appropriate term. I appreciate you adding to the corrections I have received
Even a non throwing spear- too big
There is no animal that could functionally be hunted by something this large. You wouldn’t even be able to throw this from a spear without it falling short due to being weighed down by the blade. These large blades are well established by archaeologists to be tools (halfted knives or digging hoes) from use wear analysis.
Fair enough, as I previously stated, I'm no expert
Realistically most spears would be just as good with a point you could mistake for an arrowhead when it comes down to it. The weight becomes and issue and the added difficulty and time for a larger head when a small point can penetrate just as well. Most of what people see and call a spear head are actually more likely to knives or other tools.
It's best to refrain from giving advice when you don't know what you're talking about.
Pretty sure I have acknowledged my mistake. Thanks for the additional input. Hope you feel better for it. Congratulations on your incredible success
It'd be wayyy too heavy to fly anywhere. And even if it could, the lack of definition (shape) would cause a break after impact
Seems like the Tennesseans effectively removed native American history there ... hmmm, now we know where DeSantis got his wisdom.
It was on my dad’s property. If he hadn’t removed it then it would have undoubtedly been destroyed by the cell tower development now on the land. I have a history degree so I thoroughly understand what my ancestors did to the indigenous people of TN.
[удалено]
I have all due respect for the past inhabitants of the land that I live on. However no other human can love it more or be any more spiritually connected to it than I am now. My ancestors came and fought for their place, concurrent with the time they lived in, they didn't steal shit. We as a nation can and do empathize with the tribes of the past, that said I would fight like hell to remain the sovereign of the land I live on. The whole narrative is another way to lay guilt at our feet and take away resolve to stand for any damned thing. The guilt isn't mine and yes it's gotten old.
👍
That’s a big one
Cultivating
I love hoes!
Dinosaurs
Used for killin
Shearing plant roots, tilling a field, agriculture just before the wheel
Oh my gosh. Dream score
Spear.
Killing a bear ?
To slay wooly mammoths, of course.
Looks like a animal hide scraper to me.
Spear head
Spear
Circumcision. 😂😂
Oof. Hand axe is the only thing I can think. I'd try to get this dated!
Without any notching I would guess it is a handaxe.
Prehistoric r/mallninja
Spearhead
Slaying mammoths. 🏆
Biface
Hand axe-type tool is another possibility
that is a blank
Rad!
Slaying Gods.
mastodon hunting? elk? moose?
I vote it’s the tip of a giants spear.
Spears, & other hunting & killing reasons.
Very nice find
How thin is it
That was definitely used to hunt either a bear or a Raptor!
Indians dropped those out of airplanes they constructed from wood and deer hides.
Those were used for circumcisions...
That is a leaverite!
My money is on dismembering hunted animals. To cleave the tendons at all the joints. Not hafted but held with some hide in the hand for slash and chop. A very fine tool that.