Pottery pieces

[captain redbeard]

Did some scraping around one of my favorite fields, managed some more pottery pieces. Not much for flint that was whole, I do think where I'm digging it has been disturbed at some point in time, but its still worth digging and scraping around if you can still find artifacts.

 

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[OntarioArch]

Hey Capt. -

My sister and I also scraped around and sifted some dirt yesterday just a stone's throw from you - over in Savannah. This is a 'known site' where a patch of 'black dirt' was said to be found. Susquehanna Broadpoints and steatite fragments have been recovered there. Well, we found it...and it's certainly black ....because of the charcoal in it! Not only could you see tiny bits of charcoal throughout the soil, but some pieces were as big as your pinky nail.

We agree with you: digging and scraping and sifting is worth the time and effort only if some artifacts turn up. So we spent almost 3 hours sifting this black dirt and recovered several chert flakes/pieces and several small steatite hunks. The steatite is very soft and very light, kind of a greenish-gray color. As I 'tested' its hardness by scraping it along the edge of our pine board sifter, I left two distinct lines of indentation. That rock is softer than pine wood! (kinda wish I hadn't defaced it...) The idea that some Native American, 3000- 4000 years ago or so, was working with that steatite in some fashion....maybe it was part of a stone vessel....well, it made the labor worth it to me. But will I go back and dig/sift more?

I'd rather walk the plowed field just a few yards north on the same drumlin...IF it is ever plowed this year. It may be a 'no till' field! Down with 'no till' !

 

[captain redbeard]

Hey Chris, good to hear you are getting out! I still prefer field walking for my finds, I actually started digging and sifting because I couldn't really get into the fields anymore by late summer and digging in the area I know had a lot of activity probably has yielded me a little more in terms of artifacts considering how little ground you cover digging. You cover so much more ground walking fields, but so many farmers out this way don't plow anymore and some like you say are the dreaded no-till fields, I think the mennonites are about the only ones who really plow anymore out this way from what I've seen.