National Register of Historic Places Eligibility Testing of Sites 41LT172 and 41LT354 in Luminant's Kosse Mine, Limestone, Texas Page: 90
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6. Site 41LT354
Abrader (n =11)
The tools assigned to this category exhibit a variety of wear patterns, but all are made of silicified
wood and have at least one or more grooves cut into their surfaces (see Appendix C). These types of
tools result from the abrasive use of the stone to grind, smooth, shape, or sharpen a variety of
implements such as grinding the base of a projectile point, straightening and polishing an arrow
shaft, and/or sharpening the tip of a bone awl. All of the tools assigned to this category are small
enough to be comfortably held in the hand; however, functionally they all serve as stationary
platforms that absorb the pressure of rubbing. The distinct areas of polish present on many of them
suggest they were used to work softer material such as wood or bone.
One unusual abrader (Lot 205.21; see Figure 18) exhibits grinding and light polish on two surfaces.
On one side, a series of grooves emanate from a knot in the wood, and extensive grinding has left a
trough-shaped depression in the surface. On the opposite face, the grooves are much shallower and
there are traces of ochre along one edge and the end. A step fracture has several polished notches
along the edge, suggesting that it may also have been used as a scraper.
Upper Hand Stones (n = 51)
On the basis of microscopic examination, the upper hand stones were assigned to nine functional
categories including mano/mano fragments, pitted mano, mano/hammerstone, muller, deflesher/
beamer, grinding/cutting tool, hide-processing stones, polishing stones, and punch.
Manos/Mano Fragments (n = 16)
Four complete manos and 12 mano fragments were recovered, representing 20 percent of the
ground, battered, and polished stone tool assemblage from site 41LT354. In general, the wear
patterns found on these 16 tools and tool fragments point to use in a range of processing activities
such as the grinding of plant material and pigments, as well as generalized pulverizing/pounding
activities (see Appendix C). In particular, the wear patterns observed point to the processing of
both hard and soft substances.
As a group, the recovered manos are relatively small when compared to other sites in the region.
For example, the four complete manos recovered at 41LT354 ranged from 48.88 mm to 72.02 mm
in length, with an average length of 61.46 mm and a standard deviation of 10.1722 mm. By contrast,
the total number of mano and mano fragments found at 41LT56 represented 53 percent of the
ground, battered, and polished stone tools, and the 10 complete manos found at this site ranged
from 53.2 mm to 114.64 mm in length, averaging 89.976 mm with a standard deviation of 18.8911
mm. This hints at some functional difference between the two sites and suggests that whatever
substance(s) were being processed at 41LT354 may not have required as heavy a stone (i.e., less
pressure to process). This interpretation, however, remains speculative due to the small sample
size from 41LT354.Private and Confidential
Atkins 100021558/110187 90
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Atkins North America, Inc. National Register of Historic Places Eligibility Testing of Sites 41LT172 and 41LT354 in Luminant's Kosse Mine, Limestone, Texas, report, February 2012; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth839205/m1/99/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.