Indian paint pot

• Indian paintpot

So called because of local folklore and historical speculation in which they are said to have been used by indigenous people as sources of paint or dye.^[1] While iron oxides were indeed used as an ingredient in paints, the “pots” are a natural geological formation, and the extent to which these specific formations were utilized is unknown.^[2]

Indian paint pot (plural Indian paint pots)

1. (chiefly eastern US, Long Island) a concave, iron oxide–containing mineral concretion such as red shale which sheds a chalky, reddish debris when wet and rubbed, often found along beaches

   Synonyms: Indian paint rock, paint pot, paint rock, rattle stone