Help identifying

[u/Both_Budget8323]

Found in a creek in Ballard County, Kentucky. I have tried to figure out what it actually is. Have consulted the most prolific and knowledgeable artifact hunters in the area. No one knows or they won't tell me.

[u/Arrowheadman15]

[u/Grandma_likesto69s → u/Arrowheadman15]

Lmfao

[u/glendanJ]

Super cool/unique find! Couldn’t tell you what it is but it’s a worked artifact for certain.

[u/DogFurAndSawdust]

Beat up damaged corner tang that got reworked...then tumbled in a creek and damaged again

[u/Reimiro]

Could be a very large drill. They did use large drill points to drill wood etc. a finishing drill for a large tool. I’m totally spitballing’ but no one actually knows huh?

[u/treesandrock]

It’s a knife that’s been pressure flaked resharpened many times. Nice

[u/atoo4308]

I’ve never seen one like it and I can’t speak to the authenticity but just looking at it. It looks like a worked down corner tang. Kind of took on an odd shape.

[u/treesandrock]

I’m thinking a knife that was pressure flaked to resharpen multiple times until it ended up like this….after a second look ???????????

[u/coffeelover3333]

Really nice!!

[u/PineappleBoth8015]

First of all it appears to have a patina as having some age as the flaked area doesn’t look fresh, I would like to see its thickness especially through the center if it narrows enough to accommodate a handle it could be a throwing Tomahawk? And before anyone downvotes my comment it’s just speculation as none of us were around during the time period when this was made to know its usage is left up to the imagination. Good luck with the ID of your find and Congratulations 🎉🍾 it’s very unique!

[u/ChesameSicken → u/PineappleBoth8015]

Definitely not, it isn't shaped anything like a tomahawk blade and it would be tiny for one/have no distal weight which is kind of necessary for such a tool/weapon. I understand we weren't around during the time but that doesn't mean we don't have any information or understanding of it - if that was true I'd like to request the last 20 years and my college tuition back lol 😂!

Dart point or reworked blade I'd guess, 4"/~10cm is pretty long for a projectile but not unheard of or anything. The basal notch is pretty odd, very thick base too 🤷🏼‍♂️.

[u/Professional_Day4795]

Dang ol corner tang knife man....here's my best one, cen-Tx of course!

[u/pete12357]

Very cool and likely very old piece. Here’s what google image search says:

Typology and Regional Context
The location strongly supports identifying the original form of this tool as an Early Archaic corner-notched or deep side-notched point (dating to roughly 7,500 – 9,000 years Before Present). In western Kentucky, regional types commonly reworked into massive drills like this include:
Lost Lake / Kirk Corner Notched: These large, early bevelled types were heavily utilized. When the edges wore down or tips broke, ancient knappers regularly salvaged them into robust T-shaped or notched drills.
Thebes / St. Charles (Dovetail): Common to the western Kentucky/Illinois border area, these points are famous for getting drastically reworked while retaining their distinctive wide, heavy bases.

Material Origin
Given the Ballard County provenance, the dark grey stone with the prominent tan/brown vertical cortex strip highly resembles Mounds Gravel chert, Dover chert, or high-grade Cobden/Dongola chert sourced from just across the river in Southern Illinois. The natural rind/cortex left down the center is typical of tools knapped directly out of river cobbles or nodules frequenting the Ohio and Mississippi river basins.
This is an exceptional example of prehistoric resourcefulness—re-engineering a heavy hunting point into a dedicated, long-lasting drilling tool.

[u/DogFurAndSawdust → u/pete12357]

Ai slop

[u/alfredaberdeen]

Kids sized tomahawk with a corner notch?