pmer27

While cleaning out the attic I came across a box with things collected from childhood and discovered this intriguing object. It is non-magnetic, approximately 37g and appears to be of a hard dark stone material. The shape and easy fit for my "right" thumb (per photo) caught my eye again as it apparently had as a youngster. I emphasized "right" thumb because when passed to the left hand it is not as comfortable of a fit which I am assuming may indicate that it is a primitive tool. I have no recollection of where I found it, but can guess that it was most likely in the Adirondacks of New York state or in central coastal New Jersey. Thanks for all of your anticipated responses.

Well, I am liking the crow theory for its presence and I am leaning toward a man-made by-product as an explanation to what it is. Rutgers' Geology Museum runs "Late Nights" once a month where rock/mineral identification is offered, so, I think a trip there is in order soon to resolve the question. Thanks to all for your insights and if resolved I will post the result.

I have wondered about that myself, but the question remains, "what the heck is it?"

Kelnad, Thanks, the Live Science read is very interesting. You are the second to mention volcanic rock, but I still cannot reconcile having found it simply sitting on a paved path in an area of my yard where there was no ground disturbance within an area of heavy ground cover.

He probably did, however I had ruled that out since no fill had been brought in and the land had been virgin. This thing just appeared on a walkway (paved) within a very densely foliated area where no soil had been disturbed. By the way, as the crow flies, I am about 7 miles away from Allaire. I'll give you a tid-bit about that too. When I was a youngster my father would take me there occasionally to walk around the grounds of what is now the park. Then, it was not yet an official state area and those explorations, especially looking at that old furnace was pretty exciting stuff for a little boy. I also knew an older gentleman that had lived there in his younger years. I suspect it must have been the late 1800s or early 1900s. I am sure the furnace was not in operation, but apparently a small group still lived there in that period.

Sorry, forgetting the global nature of the Internet. That would be New Jersey, USA, just that one object was found mysteriously on a walkway. I was the builder and done on virgin land in the 70s, no fill. Not furnace residue either since we heat with natural gas.

To responses thus far: No volcanic history in this area, sandy soil and apparently was sea floor in distant past. Have ruled out meteorite based on the "meteorwrongs" descriptions at Washington U (St. Louis) page. Density, I am working on, need to get my hands on an appropriate scale to finalize (could that be misleading since it is apparently a conglomeration of several materials?)

I literally stumbled upon this object in my yard (central Jersey) a few weeks ago. Initially I thought that it was wood, but after picking it up realized that it was some sort of rock. It is not magnetic, but it appears to consist of several different substances (rock/stone?). The parts would seem to have been fused together as if under extreme heat. I, as a novice would base this upon tiny air bubble holes on two or three of the materials in it that give that appearance to have been in a liquid state at some point. My hope is that someone on this forum can identify it and solve the mystery. Thanks to all who offer a response.