UnderMiner
Silver Member
- Jul 27, 2014
- 3,782
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- Detector(s) used
- Minelab Excalibur II, Ace 250
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
I finally got a day off from my busy schedule today and was super excited to finally get back to digging the 1930's Packard Coupe that is still buried underground. I decided to stop by a local beach first that I have been searching on and off for the past 20 years. I've found alot of stuff at this site and was always suspicious that it contained Native American artifacts (due to the presence of flaked and chipped stones) but NEVER found definitive proof. After 20 minutes of searching on my hands and knees through the gravel, sand, and pebbles I spotted a distinctive shape - the back end of a Native American spear point. I had not been expecting to find anything more than an arrowhead, so the size of the artifact took me by surprise as it was nothing more than a dream for me to actually find something like this. And just like that the dream had come true at last.
It only took 20 years but it finally happened - my first definite non-debatable Native American artifact! Persistence payed off!!
The spear point is made from knapped Obsidian Stone and may be anywhere from 1,000-5,000 years old. It was likely made by a member of the Algonquian Matinicock tribe that once populated Long Island, NY or a tribe of Native Americans that existed before them.
In Situ:
Reconstruction on paper of the completed point:
Shortly after discovery:
As the tribe that produced it may have once looked:
For thousands of years the Matinicock lived on the shores of Long Island where they hunted, fished, and harvested shellfish. In 1656 the Matinicock tribe on Long Island was devastated by an attack by Dutch colonists lead by Thomas Hicks in the Battle of Madnan's Neck. Most of the Matinicock were either killed or fled Long Island after this battle. The few that stayed behind were either driven away or killed by small pox epidemics that were also occurring at this same time.
It only took 20 years but it finally happened - my first definite non-debatable Native American artifact! Persistence payed off!!
The spear point is made from knapped Obsidian Stone and may be anywhere from 1,000-5,000 years old. It was likely made by a member of the Algonquian Matinicock tribe that once populated Long Island, NY or a tribe of Native Americans that existed before them.
In Situ:
Reconstruction on paper of the completed point:
Shortly after discovery:
As the tribe that produced it may have once looked:
For thousands of years the Matinicock lived on the shores of Long Island where they hunted, fished, and harvested shellfish. In 1656 the Matinicock tribe on Long Island was devastated by an attack by Dutch colonists lead by Thomas Hicks in the Battle of Madnan's Neck. Most of the Matinicock were either killed or fled Long Island after this battle. The few that stayed behind were either driven away or killed by small pox epidemics that were also occurring at this same time.
Last edited:
Upvote
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While I've found black slag glass dumped in waterways or used as railroad ballast, to me it isn't easily visually distinguishable from obsidian, so context matters. If you've been finding it quite often it is probably old industrial waste, dumped alongside the household garbage, but I can't prove anything from over here so good luck!
