A Little Help Defining What An Artifact Is.

[monsterrack]

Webster defines artifact as (any object made by human work or skill) Now with that being said we all know we are talking about Native American items. 1st would you go deer hunting if you were unsure of what a deer looked like and the answer is no (I hope) Lol. !!!! When I fist got started I brought home more rocks than you would believe and still have some of them. I still pick up nice rocks or ones that look different. Then I started reading and looking at any photo of artifacts I could find(so I would know my target).

We don't know it all about the life style of the NA but we do know a good bit. Most NA didn't have time to make real nice stuff because they were hunter gathers. Meaning where the food was they were there also so they made some crude tools, but you can tell it is a tool by shape and wear pattern. So all items like an axe, hoe, celt,and gouge have a bit to them, just like the tools we use today. All items like hammer stone, maul, pestel, motar, net weight, atlatal weight, plummet all had wear pattern and a certain look. I'm not saying all artifacts will look alike but you will be able to see with out a doubt what it is.

Now did they just have round rocks laying around that fit in their hand(yes). What would be a better defense than a wall of rocks being thrown at a intruder or wild animal. They could be used to cook or boil water with, but just because a rock fits your hand does not make it an artifact and just because it was found on a site does not make it an artifact unless it has been altered by human work or skill. If you want to collect every rock you find on a site then you will have a good rock garden.

Then the time came that they did not have to be hunter gathers and became farmers, tradesmen, artist and skilled stone workers. This is when you will see effigy's and super fine pipes an other works of art. A effigy does not have to be turned a certain way or held just right to get the view you see. When you pick it up you will know it is an effigy. Most of all read, find you a hunting buddy and put some miles on the ground. Study your target and you will hit the bulls eye.

 

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[WannaDig3687]

I have a huge rock garden! I have a collection of on the driveway that my heart says they've got to be more than just a rock, but that little voice in my head says,"you'll know when it's the real deal."
Thanks for the lesson![emoji4]


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[monsterrack]

I wrote this not to come down on anyone but to try and help the new artifact hunters. I welcome other members to add their comments on this post also.

 

[Charl]

Well, I will add something to this thread. There is a class of objects, often found on native sites, that I will indeed collect and add to the assemblege from that site. And they are not artifacts at all. They are known as manuports. The artifact guide put out by the Massachusetts Archaeological Society describes them this way: "These consist of items which were transported to sites as raw materials, but which were not themselves altered for use as tools. Their cultural association can only be demonstrated in the presence of other artifacts, or by the types of wear that they display.......Great caution must be observed in assigning odd rocks found at sites in this class, since it is often impossible to tell whether they have been transported to the site by human or other means".


Examples of manuports that I will collect include "shaman stones", which were discussed very recently on this forum. And with these, unless found in an excavated context with actual artifacts, you really have to realize one is on shaky ground when it comes to proving it was transported to the site by ancient Native Americans. But, if you know your site like the back of your hand, you can sometimes be fairly certain it got there because ancient man brought it there. Fossils can be included in this class of possible manuports as well.


But, there is one class of manuports that is easy to identify: paintstones! I love 'em. In the case of my sites, I have found chunks of graphite. I even know where the native graphite mine was located, since it was still in use when the English arrived, and they made note of it. I collect them because they show marks indicating they were scraped or gouged to extract the black graphite, which would then be mixed with bear grease, and used to create a black pigment. I love the fact that I can be certain this raw material was being used by a native to make paint. So in my pocket they go when I spot them, even though they are not truly artifacts at all.


Look at my finger just from rubbing one. Graphite, of course, is the raw material of the "lead" in lead pencils. These were all found in the same field, a multicomponent site lasting from Late Paleo through the 1600's. Paintstones are not artifacts, but they are part of the story of ancient human activity, so I like to collect them when I find them on my sites.

 

[WannaDig3687]

As a newbie I can say I really appreciate all the information. Thanks. I need to go buy some books or visit the library.

 

[Old Pueblo]

An artifact is simply anything made or altered by man. If you cant pick it up and move it, its called a feature.

 

[Tony in SC]

Well said and good post. We all were beginners at one point, we all are still learning. It's common to find a rock that really looks like an artifact but you're told it's not, Don't go off the deep end, just drop it and pick up another, and another, and another.

I wrote this not to come down on anyone but to try and help the new artifact hunters. I welcome other members to add their comments on this post also.

 

[WannaDig3687]

So I have started a new practice. I pick these possible artifacts up and take them to my pile to await the wash. I wait a few days and then take another look. No real artifacts yet. But at the end of the day, they're still cool looking rocks and I haven't finished surrounding my house with rock gardens yet! [emoji41]


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