At first when I posted this, I assumed this
was a moose horn - then I received a comment
by one of the blog visitors who stated this was
probably a buffalo scupula bone - and after looking
at the photos again, that sure makes more sense. 

I took these photos when I was at the Museum
of Native American Artifacts down in Arkansas
last year. I have seen examples of these types
of tools being used for various tasks ranging
from hoes that were attached to handles
to digging tools to paddles.

This example does not have much in the
way of use polish any where along its
edges, so I doubt it was heavily used
as a hoe or spade. Bone and antler will pick
up a polish along its edges from use, and this
one does not exhibit any polish indicating it
was not heavily used as a digging tool.

However, while I am not sure what the
ancient use was exactly for this artifact,
I do know is that it was modified from
its original shape in ancient time to be used
a tool.

When I looked along the bottom edge, it was evident it had been
intentionally rounded off.

This is a photo of the worked edge showing how it was rounded off, and you
can see the "bit like" angle put along the edge.

In a couple areas you can still see the original scribe marks and saw cuts
from when the bottom edge was originally shaped.

Although I can't say for sure what the exact use in ancient times was, there
is no doubt this was intentionally shaped for a specific purpose
by ancient man. Just another oddity in the artifact world

Jim Bennett