Back about 20 years ago, I was a “research analyst” in charge of the wood science lab at the University of Kentucky (the job wasn’t as prestigious as it sounds...they paid me starvation wages). One of my duties was to identify wood (by species) from samples that were brought to the lab.
Dr. Dillehay was then at the University of Kentucky, and deep into his research at the pre-Clovis site at Monte Verde in Chile. One day he sent over a small sample of something he’d found at Monte Verde, wondering if I could identify it for him.
It was a most curious object. It appeared to have wood structure (even under 20X magnification), but it was not wood. It appeared to be made of some dark lustrous metal, like a lead-antimony alloy; although it was harder than linotype. I couldn’t scratch it with anything, so it was probably at least as hard as tungsten. It was a complete mystery to me, and I had to return it to Dr. Dillehay with no conjecture as to its origin or nature.
Discarded UFO part?
Maybe a meteorite chunk? For some reason I’m having a “The Gods Must Be Crazy” flashback. ;’)
http://www.anomalies-unlimited.com/Clamps.html
“Very few of these clamps have survived but analysis of those from Pre-Columbian America show them to be made of a very unusual alloy - 2.05% arsenic, 95.15% copper, O.26% iron, 0.84% silicon and l.70% nickel. There is no source of nickel anywhere in Bolivia. Also the rare alloy of nickel-bronze-arsenic requires extremely high temperatures. The Puma Punks bracket holes, when analyzed, showed platinum, a metal which only melts at 1753 C and aluminium, which supposeedly wasn’t discovered and produced in quantity until the 19th century...”
Stone Technology images on the website.
Ah. Clearly ironwood...