Anything here?..

[Copperhead]

After reading a story in thel paper about some temporary Indian shelters and artifacts that were found on local town property...I took a hike to check it out..

Here's some pics of the shelters and something I found hunting around the general area(don't know if it's really an artifact)...the area is fairly wooded and very rocky..There is a small lake close by, but most of it's shore area is private.....there is also a seasonal stream running through much of the property...Any tips for what areas I should concentrate on?...Thanks...

[Yeti]

I doubt that they stayed there for overnight or any length of time. I don't see any smoke suet on the rock ledges. Indians would had a fire even if it was overnight. You want to look for black streaks going up the walls and on the ceiling of the ledge. When look for charcoal bits on the ground at the base of the black streaks. After finding that. I would sieve through the dirt on the floor with a 1/4" mesh screen. Look for flint chips.

[Christ_in_you]

Hey great looking rock shelter. It just so happens that this is exactly what I'm doing right now. I'm also interested in knowing if that is limestone layers I saw in the bluffs. Those limestone layers can sometimes be removed without a lot of trouble. They are usually fossil rich, as for the shelter it has most likely been worked. If you r up to some hard work u need to start by making a screener with quarter inch rabbit wire so u don't lose any birdies. Start in the lower areas as you hopefully wont need to dig to deep. Then, every 4 square feet dig sample holes looking for bones,flakes,signs of fire, so on. These hole may need to be deep a first until you find the layer. It wont take long to see if there is any activity. Good luck and feel free to ask me any questions. This is real hard work, but dividends can be great. Ray

[Copperhead]

I doubt that they stayed there for overnight or any length of time. I don't see any smoke suet on the rock ledges. Indians would had a fire even if it was overnight. You want to look for black streaks going up the walls and on the ceiling of the ledge. When look for charcoal bits on the ground at the base of the black streaks. After finding that. I would sieve through the dirt on the floor with a 1/4" mesh screen. Look for flint chips.

Kind of the same thing I was thinking..the article stated "know to have sheltered Native Americans long ago"...I didn't notice any soot on the ceiling of either spot....the upper one does seem capable of providing some long term shelter...I going to have to research the area more..

Hey great looking rock shelter. It just so happens that this is exactly what I'm doing right now. I'm also interested in knowing if that is limestone layers I saw in the bluffs. Those limestone layers can sometimes be removed without a lot of trouble. They are usually fossil rich, as for the shelter it has most likely been worked. If you r up to some hard work u need to start by making a screener with quarter inch rabbit wire so u don't lose any birdies. Start in the lower areas as you hopefully wont need to dig to deep. Then, every 4 square feet dig sample holes looking for bones,flakes,signs of fire, so on. These hole may need to be deep a first until you find the layer. It wont take long to see if there is any activity. Good luck and feel free to ask me any questions. This is real hard work, but dividends can be great. Ray

Sorry, don't know the makeup of the rock...but there is much layering..




As for excavation...the upper shelter floor is rock ledge..the lower seems to have been scraped down already...my next trip there I'll try to do some digging around...That's why I was looking for suggestions on other spots that might produce some artifacts..

Thanks for the comments..

[ohioriver hunter]

After reading a story in thel paper about some temporary Indian shelters and artifacts that were found on local town property...I took a hike to check it out..

Here's some pics of the shelters and something I found hunting around the general area(don't know if it's really an artifact)...the area is fairly wooded and very rocky..There is a small lake close by, but most of it's shore area is private.....there is also a seasonal stream running through much of the property...Any tips for what areas I should concentrate on?...Thanks...

Nice pics ,very interesting

Jeff