When I first saw this post I said, " WOW, that's the nicest one
of those things I've ever seen!" But what is it?!?
Since it comes from an area where we know there is soapstone
and it is so heavily carved, we can assume it is soapstone. It is
1/2" long. Both ends have been slightly flattened and it looks like
there is a slight polish on the rounded parts of the ends that
would come from it being rubbed against something relatively
soft, like cloth, leather, or skin, during it's use life. I don't know
what you might see by a magnified look at the wear markings
in the groove?
To your list of what it might could bees, which was,"weight,
pendant, or bead", I can only add, Bola stone. But which one
of those things it was is only a guess.
It could be a fishing weight, and when the owner wasn't using it,
he kept it in his pocket, and that's where it got worn smooth?
Or it was a bead or button to keep your coat closed in the winter?
Bola stones often have flat to indented ends, but that would be
really rare, it's kindof small for a bola, and the flattening of the
ends could've happened incidentally in manufacture.
So take your pick, or come up with something else.
It looks like a fishing weight to me, but I have to wonder about
that soft polish. And it's so nicely made. My first guess is going
to have to be in the bead department.
But who knows. The pros can't even say for sure about these
things, but it doesn't ever hurt to take stuff like this in to them
and see what they have to say. I do it all the time.
Don't let
it out of your sight, ofcourse, but you can show it to them.
There's no telling what they can tell with magnification these days.
Sometimes one question just leads to another. Ain't it Great.
That's a very nice little artifact. Joe