Cupstone facts for kids

Cupstones are ancient stone tools that look like rocks with small, round dents or "cups" in them. They are also known by other names like anvil stones, pitted cobbles, or nutting stones. These interesting artifacts are some of the most common stone tools left behind by Native American cultures, especially in the Midwestern United States.

The small, bowl-shaped dents in cupstones are called "cupules." Similar cupules and cup and ring marks have been found in many parts of the world, including India, Europe, and the Middle East. Sometimes, these marks are found near complex petroglyphs (rock carvings) or huge stone structures called megaliths.

What Are Cupstones Called?

Experts in archaeology sometimes use the terms "pitted stone," "cupstones," and "nutting stones" to mean the same thing. One idea is that these dents were made by cracking nuts. However, scientists are still looking for more proof to confirm this idea.

What Were Cupstones Used For?

Scientists are still studying cupstones to fully understand their purpose. These tools might seem simple, but they can tell us a lot about how ancient people lived and made their tools.

There are many ideas about what cupstones were used for:

• Processing food: They might have been used to grind nuts, seeds, or other plant foods. Think of them like an early version of a mortar and pestle, which is used to crush things.
• Making medicine or pigments: People might have ground plants for medicine or minerals to make colorful paints.
• Storing things: The small cups could have held liquids or other materials.
• Making tools: Some believe they were used in making arrows or for fire-drilling.

It's hard to know exactly when cupstones were first made. Many are thought to be from the Bronze Age or the Upper Paleolithic period, which was a very long time ago. However, some cupstones found in North America and Europe were made more recently.

Where Are Cupstones Found?

Cupstones have been discovered on almost every continent, except Antarctica! They are found in places like ancient Celtic Europe, Australia, Borneo, and the Middle East. Some of the oldest cupules ever found are in India, dating back hundreds of thousands of years.

In the United States, cupstones are very common in states like Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. But you can find them in other places too.

The dents in cupstones can be different sizes and numbers. They can be found in soft rocks like sandstone or very hard rocks like granite. Some cupstones have a mix of large and small dents, which might mean they were used for many different things over a long time. The dents can be tiny, like 1/16 of an inch, or as large as 6 inches deep.

Scientists believe that some dents were made by spinning or grinding a tool in the rock, especially in softer stones. In harder rocks, the dents were likely made by hitting the stone with other rocks, like hammers. Some very large cupstones, weighing several tons and having many big dents, are thought to have been used for special ceremonies or religious purposes. These large ones have been found throughout the Mississippi Valley.

Stories from History

We have some old stories and records that tell us how Native Americans used "nutting stones" in the past. For example, a record from 1587 says that Native Americans in Virginia had stones in every home for cracking nuts and grinding shells or other materials. This was probably true for many tribes living east of the Mississippi River at that time.

In Hawaii, cup and ring marks are often found with other rock carvings. In some areas, these marks were used as special places to put a child's umbilical cord after birth. This was a custom also practiced by other Polynesian peoples.