A question fo all of you "pro" artifact hunters

[diggemall]

OK, here's the deal: I own 20 acres of farmland in Oconto County, WI, and have access to many more acres in the area. My family owns another 40 acres of land along the Niagara escarpment in Kewaunee County.

As someone who has never done any real artifact hunting, my question to you guys and gals is; could you share a few tips / pointers on how you decide where to focus your efforts, how you conduct your searches, best times to search, and why.

I have kept most of my 20 under plow for about 16 years and have never stumbled across anything here. The 40 in Kewaunee cty has been in the family and under plow for 6 generations and there is only one area that was ever identified as having any artifacts that I am aware of, and that one was supposedly cleaned up in the 50's or 60's.

There's no running water (rivers or streams) which I suspect would offer annual exposures of new stuff, so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Diggem'

[Flintfinder of Mo.]

This is just me, but if I don't see a stream that holds water year around, I don't bother hunting the fields near it. It seems that here in Mo. they followed the waterways with the game they hunted. They also needed water to survive, I don't know if you have any springs or natural lakes or ponds on the ground you can hunt. I do know that the water tables were different back then, but I find most of my points somewhat close to a river or creek. I have noticed that if the stream does not hold water year round that I don't find any points. JMO... Good luck ...... John

[uniface]

Ask whether you'd live where you had to go maybe a mile or two for a drink of water and you've got your answer.

You can never say "never," but the reason that the advice to look for sites on higher southern exposures near where two creeks (or a creek and a river) converge is such a cliche is because it so generally works in actual practice.

[joshuaream]

You are in copper country, maybe start with a metal detector and see what signals you get... If not, get out there after a good till and a good rain and walk your fields. Most of us put hours into looking, so don't get discouraged if you walk 30 minutes without seeing anything. Take a decent walking stick and flip a lot of rocks, there should be something there for you to find.

Water is important, but I've seen plenty of good finds from fields without currently visible water sources near by. There are still swamps in your area, and many more were drained over the years... It could have had a lot of water 500 years back.

Do you have any old springs on the property (any small areas that still stay green even in a decent drought?) On many farms they were left in the tree line because the horses and tractors would get bogged down in the mud, and with later field tile drainage systems they shrunk them down to pretty small areas, but in ancient times an isolated resource like that was a magnate for game animals and hunters. I've pulled a lot of early relics from old springs.

[Treasure_Hunter]

Note...Just because there is no running water now doesn't mean there never was in the past, creeks, streams, rivers all of which I have found points in and on lands adjacent to, and all 3 change courses over time.

Check for signs of water in past history, gulley's etc, if there are any springs near by the odds are high someone camp near in past. Springs were a source of constant water even in the dead of winter....Springs were a constant source of clean water for many, many generations. I have found many a nice point by a creek no wider then a couple feet, but creek was spring feed from somewhere up stream.

If you find a stream walk it, see if you can find a small water fall, even only a foot, I have found points under tiny waterfalls where they wash down stream from heavy rains and got stuck in the hole waterfalls make. Stone bottom water soures are the best....

[steve71]

This is just me, but if I don't see a stream that holds water year around, I don't bother hunting the fields near it. It seems that here in Mo. they followed the waterways with the game they hunted. They also needed water to survive, I don't know if you have any springs or natural lakes or ponds on the ground you can hunt. I do know that the water tables were different back then, but I find most of my points somewhat close to a river or creek. I have noticed that if the stream does not hold water year round that I don't find any points. JMO... Good luck ...... John

your very wrong many streams that dont hold water may well have held water years before.an area here in texas some oldtimers said there was an earthquake long time ago that dryed up many streams.

[steve71]

i'd say look for washes where the water drains when it rains.walk your local rivers creeks ect if you cant find any on your property