Atlatl Bannerstone?

[mudkicker]

Hey gang. My son found this in the front of our house in the dirt while we were doing some landscaping work. Guys on Facebook said its a Bannerstone and pretty old and pretty rare so I thougt I'd share it on here.

Its kind of small, made of rock, and the hole is about the thickness of a mans pinky finger. Its not been cleaned or anything. This is pretty much how he found it.

 

[sandchip]

You need to start digging and sifting your entire yard. Sounds like a mess, but just backfill as you go methodically through the yard. The hard part is telling you how deep to go, not being familiar with your area. Out at my land, it's about 4 feet.

 

[quito]

I wish I knew what to look for to find further artifacts if they exist at my home. This was found in the vicinity of the foundation and only surfaced while using the rototiller to soften up a bunch of ground so I could shape a grade for some stepped landscaping. Just dumb luck I think.[/QUOTE

Start garden. Big one. Or start with a small excavation and see what you turn up.

 

[OntarioArch]

Yep. Till up a garden spot. Even if you don't find any artifacts, you and your family still benefit.

 

[GaRebel1861]

Very nice find! I’ve known collectors that have hunted for decades for artifacts without ever finding even a broken one. I got lucky after a major flood years ago here in Southwest Georgia and found a whole one. I’ve also found about six halves. But, they are so rare. Good job.

 

[N/A]

Cool find!! I had no idea they used atlatl's in this part of the world. I thought they were only used in Australia.

 

[dognose]

yea thats very nice.

I have found many broken, but never one with the hole intact. Those I have found were always broken at the hole.

 

[catherine1]

That's a great find. I would be sodding out some test holes between where you found it and that creek. If you find chert/flint pieces in a hole, dig around it some more, and follow the flint. From the age of that artifact, I would check all the way to the pan. Soil depths can change with the terrain. You only need to spend about 10 minutes at each test hole to know if its going to pan out. The flint chips will be on the surface, about 1-4 inches down, they seem to float on the soil, and never make it to the pan. But location was everything for these people, they slept above the flood plain, so they could sleep all night.

 

[lairmo]

Awesome! I wouldn't till your yard...hook up to the closest fire hydrant and hydro blast that yard...lol Nice find!

 

[Slowtaknow]

Atlatls have been used for millennia as far as i know, their should be more banner stones found.