ax head found in washington

[michael bergman]

looking for any info that can be shared about this ax head I found in Washington. it has a relief of a horse and under the best of lighting the face of a conquistador. The bottom is fluted for a wood handle to notch into.

 

[digordie]

Very cool artifact. Looks like it could have been a battle axe type club. I can see the face as well. Very cool find. Im semi familiar with the area your talking abt. I used to live in Washington.

 

[unclemac]

unclemac. If you are from this area it was located two miles behind the high school in Adna on the highest ridge and the trail is heading west. It is an elk trail that I believe the natives fallowed sort of like a highway. There are pieces of flint and pressure flakes in thousands of feet both directions along with arrow heads. There is also a lot of petrified wood in this area along with agate. I left almost all my finds laying right were I found them

Had a sister once that was a teacher a long time ago in Centralia...yep, I know the area a bit. You are in great elk country that is for sure. You can hear those big males bellow right up to the open of the season...and then they get real quiet. The reason I ask about Pe Ell is that 6 (one of my favorite drives actually) was a major route from the interior to the coast and Adna is right about where the Chehalis end and the Chinook take over. What you are finding is spot on too. Agates and petrified wood wash down the rivers and creeks from the Willapa hills to the coast..this particular material is 20 to 30 million years old.

If you are in an area where you are finding a lot of pressure flakes then I assume you are at a nice decently high elevation in relationship to the surrounding area and that you have good line of sight in most if not all directions. These people were not just big salmon eaters but elk too was a major source of protein and as many as you see today just imagine what there used to be.

Your head knocker appears to be the right kind of stone for tools of this type in the area and the shape is not unheard of. I would prefer some signs of hafting though but this isn't 100% required.

Nice find, go back and take some pictures of the area for us when you get a chance. Some nice in-situs too would be appreciated. The trouble with finding things where you are is that you need a good forest fire to clear the ground and nobody wants that.