A limace looks something like a cigar cut in half lengthwise. It's a French name carried over into American archaeology because the French had already recognised it as a tool form and named it long before we caught up with them in the matter of recognising the significance of artifacts that weren't projectile points. In French, it means "(garden) slug."
In at least the eastern part of North America, from the Canadian Maritimes down through Tennessee (if not further), limaces seem to have been a (Middle) Paleo horizon marker. (The question of whether they continued into the Early Archaic is bedeviled by there being no agreement as to when this began and what its distinguishing characteristics are. Defining the onset of it by climate change, technological change and adaption strategy produces three different answers).
Like several other Paleo tool forms, a limace was as much what resulted at one stage in a reduction continuum as it was a purposely made-from-scratch tool, as evidenced by variations in outline from oblong or football-shaped examples to end stage forms with parallel sides. Oftentimes one or both ends were pointed ; other times they were shaped into endscrapers (as this one was) or gravers (as in my avatar picture). They are (to my mind at least) to be distinguished from the fairly common Early Archaic elongated triangular endscraper by their parallel sides and showing sequential removals from their edges, giving them a rounded cross-section. As with this one, their proximal ends are sometimes end-thinned (probably for hafting).
This particular example is 2.5" long, 1" wide and made on a torqued (twisting) flake, 0.5" at its thickest point. The material may be blue-grey Flintridge or a high grade of grey Upper Mercer.
Find location, for now, was presumably somewhere in Ohio. It arrived two days ago in the mail with some other tools sent by a friend who lives there. I keep watching for his reply to my twenty questions about what he sent but he must be out hunting arrowheads or something. I'll let you know when he lets me know.![]()
PS : Thank You, Gibby !!!!!!!!!!!