Cheap, Educational Fun

uniface · Jul 14, 2009

Scored 50 West-Tennessee thumbscrapers recently for $12.50 on flea bay - Dalton era through Lord knows when. About six distinct types, and endless fun studying as to how they were made. Probably 85 % are various Dover cherts (very educational in itself seeing the different colors & grades it comes in). One looks like good Fort Payne but has a greenish cast to it, one rhyolite (or a darned good lookalike for it) and a few of what must be southern Jasper -- pinkish/reddish stuff of no great quality. A lot of them seem to have been cleaned of the kind of heavy, black river tannin I'd expect from Florida river stuff.

Does this sound about right for the area ? It's hard to tell from 500 miles away.

Southern Jasper comes from . . . (?)

Th3rty7 · Jul 14, 2009

uniface said:
Scored 50 West-Tennessee thumbscrapers recently for $12.50 on flea bay - Dalton era through Lord knows when. About six distinct types, and endless fun studying as to how they were made. Probably 85 % are various Dover cherts (very educational in itself seeing the different colors & grades it comes in). One looks like good Fort Payne but has a greenish cast to it, one rhyolite (or a darned good lookalike for it) and a few of what must be southern Jasper -- pinkish/reddish stuff of no great quality. A lot of them seem to have been cleaned of the kind of heavy, black river tannin I'd expect from Florida river stuff.

Does this sound about right for the area ? It's hard to tell from 500 miles away.

Southern Jasper comes from . . . (?)

Sounds like a solid score. Hows about some pictures? Are you sure this " southern Jasper " isn't some low grade of chert? Why strip the patina off your artifacts? I've never understood this, patina gives em some character and more importantly authenticity. " flea bay" lol

uniface · Jul 15, 2009

thirty7 said:
Why strip the patina off your artifacts? I've never understood this, patina gives em some character and more importantly authenticity.

Some (many) were probably field finds, and never had it. The others came cleaned except for two, with stuff left on some edges (maybe on purpose to show they were river finds). (Back when these were legal to collect, of course).

I'm not sure about the jasper -- that's why I'm asking :laughing7:

It seems on this end that the way chert (or whatever) weathers (changes) over the millenia is patina. That's pretty permanent.

The jury's out on whether "patina" and "ground caliche" are synonyms. (I would have associated "caliche" with cave environments). Came up not long ago in a discussion of Knife River.

Patina = river tannin ?

People (not only here, but in general) are using the same word to mean three different things. :help:

naturegirl · Jul 15, 2009

Uniface is "computer picture challenged" :wink:

Just joking, would love to see some pics, but totally understand. I also understand now why one would buy points. Been bouncing that around in my head. Why buy some you didn't find? What you said about endless fun studying them, I get it now!

ng

uniface · Jul 15, 2009

Turns out, after some further reading, that the pinkish stuff is likely to be the buffalo River variety of Dover that's been toasted a little but well short of baked.

You have to live where they lived, NG. At one time, I did. The area around the forks of the Susquehanna just abounds in artifact sites. But up here in the mountains, the few places they might have lived are towns now.

Glad to see you back, by the way :hello2:

thirty7 said:
Hows about some pictures?

I can create folders for pictures, but I can't get them to open. :dontknow:

How 'bout Option 'B' ? (I send you stuff and you photograph/post it) :laughing7:

Tnmountains · Jul 15, 2009

uniface said:
Turns out, after some further reading, that the pinkish stuff is likely to be the buffalo River variety of Dover that's been toasted a little but well short of baked.

You have to live where they lived, NG. At one time, I did. The area around the forks of the Susquehanna just abounds in artifact sites. But up here in the mountains, the few places they might have lived are towns now.

Glad to see you back, by the way

thirty7 said:

Hows about some pictures?

Click to expand...

I can create folders for pictures, but I can't get them to open.

How 'bout Option 'B' ? (I send you stuff and you photograph/post it)

Have you set up your mouse yet for your mac? Like right click dbl click etc? I am seeing hardly any tannin on river artifacts. They look almost new to be honest. The soil will stain the chert's. Very acidic soil and field finds are heavily patined as are dug items.