Physiksgeek
Well-Known Member
There are a million ways to find artifacts and a million artifacts to find. These are a few tips that I wrote down at the request of stirrat....who is off to a good start sounds like. I am sure there are others. Feel free to post yours.
1. Look on old maps if available and current topo maps for places where there used to be streams or creeks, or still are. Multiple creeks/rivers merging in close proximity (this may be a measurement of a few miles) is always a plus. Water was very important then, like now. Ancient civilizations were centered on small bodies of water. Layman's terms...look for places that you would like to camp. Talk to the old timers, they were tilling the land when it was an up close and personal task and can be a wealth of information. Broken ground after a rain is a good place to look. Large fields or bluffs overlooking these creeks are good. Mounds or rises in fields that "look out of place" in a field that is "flat" may be a good sign. Remember too that some of these points may be thousands of years old. Things may have been significantly different then to now, especially because impoundments and resevoirs changed the look of this area dramatically.
2. Long before you see an arrowhead, you will probably see hundreds of chips or flakes. Resist taking these....they are heavy to carry and they will better serve to document camps and villages. Be Patient and be methodical when you are out looking.
3. Get out there early in the day. Light on the ground surface plays an important part in the finding of arrowheads. After a good rain flint has an unmistakeable shine to it.
4. Everything eventually ends up in the water. Walk creeks and small rivers examining the gravels in the streambed. Not my preferred method but some of the finer pieces I have seen have come from the creeks. The piece is most likely found out of context so the history is not as "sure". Follow the runoff ditches from fields to the creeks as well.
5. I have had luck at construction sites also. Once, in Hopkinsville, Ky. as I sat in my car eating my lunch I watched a dozer turning up some curious looking dirt at a new home site. As the owner got down to leave for the day I met him to ask if he minded me looking around after work. He told me I could and I went on to find some really nice pieces of worked flint. Nothing museum quality but it was my first realization that this stuff was everywhere. There was no running water within miles.
6. Join an archeological society and/or subscribe to a publication. Just like anything else in life, being around like minded people is the best way to stay in the loop and as a means to network. Subscribing to a professional publication helps you to stay on top of changes that affect what you like doing as well as a way of documenting your finds. As with anything historical...provenance is important. I am a member of the Central States Archeological Society for example - http://csasi.org/index.htm. Just like the NRA they help to preserve something near and dear to me. There is strength in numbers!
7. Document your finds. Not doing so accelerates losing the history of the area as well as the history of your finds. With the onslaught of fakes this is very important.
8. Be respectful. If you don't own the land you should not be there without permission. Tresspassing is not an option!!!! If you do not own the land but you have permission you should't be trashing it. Also, take the time to appreciate what you have found, do not just do it to merely possess it.
9. Be ethical. Surface hunting on private land with permission is about the only way you can collect and stay on the right side of things. If you are digging, you are most likely in the wrong....IMHO.
10. Have fun!
Two that are non-negotiable is ethics and respect. Adhereing to these insure that you will be proud to show off your finds. Not adhereing to these...to me...would be akin to mounting a poached buck.
Good Luck!!!!!
stirrat said:
1. Look on old maps if available and current topo maps for places where there used to be streams or creeks, or still are. Multiple creeks/rivers merging in close proximity (this may be a measurement of a few miles) is always a plus. Water was very important then, like now. Ancient civilizations were centered on small bodies of water. Layman's terms...look for places that you would like to camp. Talk to the old timers, they were tilling the land when it was an up close and personal task and can be a wealth of information. Broken ground after a rain is a good place to look. Large fields or bluffs overlooking these creeks are good. Mounds or rises in fields that "look out of place" in a field that is "flat" may be a good sign. Remember too that some of these points may be thousands of years old. Things may have been significantly different then to now, especially because impoundments and resevoirs changed the look of this area dramatically.
2. Long before you see an arrowhead, you will probably see hundreds of chips or flakes. Resist taking these....they are heavy to carry and they will better serve to document camps and villages. Be Patient and be methodical when you are out looking.
3. Get out there early in the day. Light on the ground surface plays an important part in the finding of arrowheads. After a good rain flint has an unmistakeable shine to it.
4. Everything eventually ends up in the water. Walk creeks and small rivers examining the gravels in the streambed. Not my preferred method but some of the finer pieces I have seen have come from the creeks. The piece is most likely found out of context so the history is not as "sure". Follow the runoff ditches from fields to the creeks as well.
5. I have had luck at construction sites also. Once, in Hopkinsville, Ky. as I sat in my car eating my lunch I watched a dozer turning up some curious looking dirt at a new home site. As the owner got down to leave for the day I met him to ask if he minded me looking around after work. He told me I could and I went on to find some really nice pieces of worked flint. Nothing museum quality but it was my first realization that this stuff was everywhere. There was no running water within miles.
6. Join an archeological society and/or subscribe to a publication. Just like anything else in life, being around like minded people is the best way to stay in the loop and as a means to network. Subscribing to a professional publication helps you to stay on top of changes that affect what you like doing as well as a way of documenting your finds. As with anything historical...provenance is important. I am a member of the Central States Archeological Society for example - http://csasi.org/index.htm. Just like the NRA they help to preserve something near and dear to me. There is strength in numbers!
7. Document your finds. Not doing so accelerates losing the history of the area as well as the history of your finds. With the onslaught of fakes this is very important.
8. Be respectful. If you don't own the land you should not be there without permission. Tresspassing is not an option!!!! If you do not own the land but you have permission you should't be trashing it. Also, take the time to appreciate what you have found, do not just do it to merely possess it.
9. Be ethical. Surface hunting on private land with permission is about the only way you can collect and stay on the right side of things. If you are digging, you are most likely in the wrong....IMHO.
10. Have fun!
Two that are non-negotiable is ethics and respect. Adhereing to these insure that you will be proud to show off your finds. Not adhereing to these...to me...would be akin to mounting a poached buck.
Good Luck!!!!!
