scraper – rasqueta II

scraper - rasqueta

sub-triangular proximal end - el extremo proximal sub-triangular

profile - perfil

point - punto

 

Find coordinates:N/A (SW face, near 600m elevation)

Description: Another small tool of the same form as noted in the previous post. This piece, however, is quartz and is worn and weathered further than the other example. It also is sub-triangular from its proximal end and again, the distal end appears to have been ground (rather than flaked) to a point which turns downward and to the side. Again, three distinct notches are visible on each “side”, which leads to me speculating that this tool was hafted during its use-life.

It is useless to try and date this item. Clearly it’s a stone-age tool, which is quite a space of time; ruling out the upper Neolithic, I’d guess it’s between 5,000 and 30,000 years old.

borer – taladro

adze/scraper - azuela/rasqueta

Find coordinates: N/A

Description: This small quartzite tool and others of its type found on the mountain remain a bit of a mystery to me. I can’t find any exact correlation online for its shape, but I can tell a bit about the item itself. It is sub-triangular and its proximal end is flattened, as seen in the bottom photo. It’s distal end is ground to a point which curves slightly downward, as seen in the second photo. There are three notches worn out of each edge; these notches roughly correspond and in the top photo, it’s possible to make out a line between the notches closest to the distal end.

Speculation: For the above reasons I believe this to have been a hafted tool of some kind. It’s point is fit for scraping (or boring), so perhaps it would have been fit for hide-working. It’s fruitless to try and date it…without the tools or context I’d suppose it’s more than ten thousand years old.

 

Update 24 April 2012: After doing some mineral research it has come to my attention that this borer may be carved from chalcedony. Oh, and it’s a borer. ;-p

flecha

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Find coordinates (within 5 meters): 38.417863, -6.444815

Description: I was climbing up toward the only extant room of the old Moorish castle when I found this tiny quartz arrowhead set almost against the sheer cliff face. One thing I forgot to depict is how thin it is; it’s delicate and feels as though it could be broken easily in one’s fingers. I regret that I haven’t a scale to record its almost non-weight.

Notable is that it’s already broken. When viewing its bi-colored side (half-iron, half-quartz), notice the bottom-left corner of the item doesn’t match is bottom-right counterpart on a horizontal line; the break-line is white, which suggests that relatively recent trauma (rather than time) caused the break.