Got a new place to hunt today!

[EricTheCat]

First of all, I want to through out a general thank you to the members of this forum. Members here have been incredibly helpful and patient with my occasional "geofact/artifact" threads. I am learning so much here and I feel like I am finally getting on track. Thank you!

So I went to my local farm store today to pick up some mulch. I have had good experiences there, for example they let me search for agates in their rock pile. Well today I decided to ask if he owned any farm fields where it would be okay for me to look for artifacts. I worded my questions carefully to make sure he understood what I was asking. As I was explaining I swear his face was saying "no" but then he says "Yes, and I know right where you can start.". He told me I can look any time, just stop by the store to tell him first (and if he is not there, it is still okay). )) He pointed me to a field that is maybe 1/4 of a mile from my house. It is near the top of a large hill with a pretty good overlook. I drive by this field almost every day and many days I have said to myself "THAT would be a field worth searching".

I went out there today and looked for about an hour. So far I did not find anything I would definitively say is an artifact, but it was a short hunt and also the dirt is pretty dry. I was surprised how much rock there is at this location. I noticed plenty of material rock that would be good for knapping (flint, chert, agate, jasper, even big rocks of such and quartz). Also a good mix of just old stuff (old glass, pottery pieces (not ancient, but old looking)). My gut tells me this is a good place to look and worst case I get to spend time outside looking at rocks and dirt.

Here is a quick pic of one of the fields:


The pic is looking toward a creek valley and in the opposite direction there is a river less than a mile down and this particular location is almost strait up from the highest bluffs on the higher side of the river. The fields may not be that huge but I am thrilled for this opportunity to take my chances.

Just some good news I wanted to share. Now hopefully soon I will have some more artifacts to show!

Edited to add, these three pieces have some interesting features. one on the right is real sharp. Still not enough for me to say it couldn't be a geofact or incidental breaks but what do you think?:












Happy hunting,
Eric

 

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[rock]

Looks like you might find something good on the next rain by the material

 

[quito]

looks nice, you must be eastern side of south minnesota

 

[EricTheCat]

Looks like you might find something good on the next rain by the material

The forecast here is looking favorable (supposed to clear up by around noon tomorrow).

 

[rock]

I always wait for the soil to dry that way it doesn't mess up the field

 

[EricTheCat]

Good point, I am glad you said that. Even dry as it is I felt just like I do when I am walking around in my own garden. Sort of feels like walking on egg shells around all the plants. I probably would have gone out too soon but realized what I was doing as soon as I stepped in it, but better to have it on my mind now and avoid making a muddy mess of things.

It was my first field hunt. Before that it was all drops, drains and wash outs.

 

[ptsofnc]

I always wait for the soil to dry that way it doesn't mess up the field

I try to not even leave any footprints in the fields I have permission to hunt. It is such a privilege that I soooo appreciate! Good luck with your searches!

 

[EricTheCat]

looks nice, you must be eastern side of south minnesota

You bet. You must have been able to tell because we have hills? The river I referred to is the strait river, it empties into the cannon river which is considered a major route to go from the woodland regions (from the Mississippi river) to the planes region. Interesting story, the cannon river got its name from a miss-translation. The French called the river "the river of canoes" but somewhere along the lines canoe was miss-translated to cannon.

 

[EricTheCat]

I try to not even leave any footprints in the fields I have permission to hunt. It is such a privilege that I soooo appreciate! Good luck with your searches!

I shall try to leave no trace. I feel the same way. Those fields are his livelihood. I don't want to do anything to mess that up. Not to mention he is a good neighbor. Thanks!

 

[EricTheCat]

Well the rain ended much earlier than expected and I managed to get in a 3 hour hunt. Once again, nothing conclusive as far as an artifact goes (but I did find a 1 pound agate! haha, also pulled out an interesting shell fossil)

Here is the most intriguing piece from today. What really perks my interest on this one is the parallel scratches along the right edge. Almost looks like what I would expect wear from much use to look like. Is this the kind of scratches someone might see on a heavily used scrapper or am I way off? Still learning here.

 

[Americus]

Good luck in future hunts.

 

[EricTheCat]

Thanks Americus. If I had one percent of the "luck" you seem to have I would be doing good in my book! (luck is in quotes because I know it's not all luck!)

Upon closer inspection, I think I do see some edge work on this last one. Most obvious is right on the other side of some of the scratches (along the same edge) in the first crop here. I think the easiest way I can describe the location of this is it seems like if you follow along that sharp edge for a while the chips are all on one face then those chips stop and then these start on the opposite face to continue the sharp edge:

 

[rock]

Looks like a reduction piece

 

[EricTheCat]

Looks like a reduction piece

Yeah that makes sense. It would explain why the whole thing is not flaked like most of the tools I see.

I am going to hold out for another good rain before my next hunt there. Also going to give it a little time because I do not want to go so often that I wear out my welcome.

Even though I haven't found anything great there yet I am overly joyed about for the privilege of having another spot to hunt. I knew getting in to this that it could be many hours of searching before I find something good. When I do finally find something you can bet that members of this forum will probably be the first to know.

 

[rock]

Yes you can wear out your welcome as I have found out. They didn't even hardly spray the weeds this yr and then planted rite after. The ground was covered most of the year. Usually the owner will come tell me if it is all rite for me to go. This yr nobody came to tell me it was okay so Im staying away for a while in that field. I will hit it in the winter plenty.

 

[Charl]

Thanks Americus. If I had one percent of the "luck" you seem to have I would be doing good in my book! (luck is in quotes because I know it's not all luck!)

Upon closer inspection, I think I do see some edge work on this last one. Most obvious is right on the other side of some of the scratches (along the same edge) in the first crop here. I think the easiest way I can describe the location of this is it seems like if you follow along that sharp edge for a while the chips are all on one face then those chips stop and then these start on the opposite face to continue the sharp edge:

View attachment 1177843


View attachment 1177844

Good eye. That's edge retouch. At the very least it's a utilized flake, which can be described as a flake that shows casual edge retouch but does not fall into the usual categories of flake tools. Maybe a quick cutting implement, one time tool. Hopefully you'll find more as you get to know the field and any possible hot spots.....

 

[rock]

Eric I did want to say when you look at the field from a distance. Look for darker soil spots those could be from old camp fires which could be a camp site. If you see any color change in the soil that would be my first area to look or if it is close to water and high ground. Good luck hope the next time you post you are holding a killer point in your hand. rock

 

[EricTheCat]

Eric I did want to say when you look at the field from a distance. Look for darker soil spots those could be from old camp fires which could be a camp site. If you see any color change in the soil that would be my first area to look or if it is close to water and high ground. Good luck hope the next time you post you are holding a killer point in your hand. rock

Rock,
I can't thank you enough. Hopefully one day I can thank you by showing that killer point that I have yet to find. As I was looking before I was trying to remember all the good tips I had read for field hunting and the whole time I forgot about paying attention to soil color. It will certainly be on my mind in future hunts!

We had one really good rain. I can't wait to go out and look again. Part of me wishes that the incredible display of northern lights on Monday was a signal to all of us that our artifacts have washed out and are ready to be found.

 

[rock]

where I went today all of the run off comes down the field and actually runs rite through a ancient trash pit. the soil is red but it turns to black as it is cutting through the pit. I find all kinds of things but mostly broken pieces and flakes. every once in a while I find a whole one. good luck

 

[EricTheCat]

I expect to find many broken ones before I find the real deal. I got to get out of work early today and managed to get in an hour hunt today before it started to rain. I only found what might be a flake. It doesn't seem to have any natural side, unless perhaps it is just fire popped (but also there is no clear sign of deliberate work so this will probably have to remain in my "maybe"/"probably not" pile). Also found a cool little piece of petrified wood and a cool little eye agate. This place is starting to seem more geological than pre-historic, but no worries I can be extremely stubborn when I set my mind on something.







About the soil color, I only had time to search one of the fields. I noted that one rather large area of the field does have soil darker than the rest, and this same general area of the field seems more rocky than the rest of the field. The farmer told me that he was told that there was once an old house on that land. I suspect that darker area may be where the house resided rather than a camp. By the way, I even noticed a few pieces of charcoal in the darker soil. The charcoal doesn't look that old though (not that I know if it ages, I just would not expect it to look like fresh coals from a fire a few weeks ago).

Just wanted to share my slow progress as I discover what is hidden among this dirt.