Dug Point... Info/help

OutdoorAdv · Jan 1, 2017

Hey guys, I was digging a trash pit yesterday at a late colonial, early 1800's site and my first ever point popped out of the ash layer in the pit. The complete post on that hunt is in today's finds here. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...head-1812-navy-button-teacup-shoe-buckle.html

This arrowhead was incredible to find. I thought it was a musket flint at first, which I find in trash pits.... But quickly realized what it was when I wiped the dirt off. I know nothing about these things. Could someone maybe tell me more about it? Do you date them based on style or the material used? It looks like it knapped off in large flakes, so would this be a type of flint?

Thanks in advance

quito · Jan 2, 2017

Looks to me like a piece either a point, or knife that was nearly exhausted that has been modified into a halfted scraper.

Jon Stewart · Jan 2, 2017

Nice point BUT your detector finds are incredible.

OutdoorAdv · Jan 2, 2017

quito said:
Looks to me like a piece either a point, or knife that was nearly exhausted that has been modified into a halfted scraper.

Thank you quito! Great information to know. I know nothing about these so its hard to see what was knapped and what was maybe broken. As soon as I posted this something replied to my main post in todays finds and mentioned that it might have started out as a Susquehanna Broad Spear maybe.... again, I dont know anything about them, but it certainly looks similar to the ones on jefplat.org.

Jon Stewart said:
Nice point BUT your detector finds are incredible.

Thanks a ton Jon! I really appreciate it. Whats funny is this was my first point or any Native American artifact of any type... so the point is what got me really excited. It was a killer day in the pit with metallic artifacts too, but most of those are things I've dug before... so the point was really special to me. I suppose if it wasn't my first point, I wouldn't be so excited.... but the age of something like that is hard to wrap my head around.

crj1968 · Jan 2, 2017

OutdoorAdv said:
. I suppose if it wasn't my first point, I wouldn't be so excited.... but the age of something like that is hard to wrap my head around.

I don't think the excitement ever wears off....it just makes you want to get out there more ! Nice finds!

jamey · Jan 3, 2017

nice material on that one,be careful they will make you want to leave your detector at home though,i think the base is called bifurcated.

jamey · Jan 3, 2017

i looked around alittle for you,it would be hard to tell on that one,if you knew when the flint was exposed it would help date it,it could fit in with a kirk though they way its made but i do not know much.

OutdoorAdv · Jan 3, 2017

crj1968 said:
I don't think the excitement ever wears off....it just makes you want to get out there more ! Nice finds!

No kidding! I really want to find more now. Many of my friends have found them while detecting plowed fields, so I was hoping I would find one sooner or later. I never imagined it would come out of a Colonial trash pit though.

jamey said:
nice material on that one,be careful they will make you want to leave your detector at home though,i think the base is called bifurcated.

jamey said:
i looked around alittle for you,it would be hard to tell on that one,if you knew when the flint was exposed it would help date it,it could fit in with a kirk though they way its made but i do not know much.

Thanks a ton Jamey! Funny thing is I returned to this site last weekend and walked the creek looking in the exposed gravel areas. haha I figured it'd be as good a place as any to look. I've uncovered musket flits in a different trash pit and I thought this was going to be another one when it popped out of the ash... what a surprise though. This trash pit was at a Colonial house and it was in an ash layer that produced stuff from the 1770's to 1810 or so. That said, my best guess is someone was plowing the field 250 years ago and turned this point up, brought it into the house and it was eventually thrown in the ash bucket and tossed in the trash pile. That ash layer in this trash pit is the best I have for when this point was possibly unearthed for the first time... and I was lucky enough to find it the second time. I really appreciate you taking the time to look around.

dump_digger · Jan 7, 2017

I date things by style, trying to do it from material would be too difficult. Is it obsidian? That's what my initial thought on material was, but it's hard to tell. So, you look at form, and even then it's difficult because some forms were used from the Paleo Period to the Woodland Period (Paleo is 11,500-10,000 B.P, Woodland is 3,000 to 1300 BP. There are five periods in between). After consulting my good old Overstreet guide, I would guess yours to be a Hardaway (early Archaic, 9500 - 8000 B.P). This form is found especially in North Carolina. Wide ones, like yours are called "cow head hardaways" in N.C. It has definitely lost its tip and then was probably used as a scraper. This is just my guess : )

Mrdigz · Jan 7, 2017

Really Cool Hafted scraper. Even cooler is where you found it!!

OutdoorAdv · Jan 7, 2017

dump_digger said:
I date things by style, trying to do it from material would be too difficult. Is it obsidian? That's what my initial thought on material was, but it's hard to tell. So, you look at form, and even then it's difficult because some forms were used from the Paleo Period to the Woodland Period (Paleo is 11,500-10,000 B.P, Woodland is 3,000 to 1300 BP. There are five periods in between). After consulting my good old Overstreet guide, I would guess yours to be a Hardaway (early Archaic, 9500 - 8000 B.P). This form is found especially in North Carolina. Wide ones, like yours are called "cow head hardaways" in N.C. It has definitely lost its tip and then was probably used as a scraper. This is just my guess : )

Thanks a ton dump digger. I believe it's flint... It's a blue grey with some white lines in it, knapped surfaces are smooth and it's not translucent at all. I'm pretty sure it's not obsidian, which to my knowledge is more like a black volcanic glass? So I thought it was some sort of flint based on its color and how smooth it is.

dump_digger · Jan 7, 2017

it probably is. It's a great first find though. You're going to be hooked now looking for Native American Artifacts. I'd love to dig a colonial dump though. Seriously cool! We don't have any of those in AZ though.

Mrdigz · Jan 8, 2017

dump_digger said:
it probably is. It's a great first find though. You're going to be hooked now looking for Native American Artifacts. I'd love to dig a colonial dump though. Seriously cool! We don't have any of those in AZ though.

Take a week long trip to the east coast and you'll be digging colonial dumps in no time!!!

Rege-PA · Jan 8, 2017

Big Sandy Auriculate......Early Archaic, hit something hard evidenced by large impact flute from tip. Love those deposits on it, they only appear usually on the side that was laying down, trapping moisture underneath and causing the minerals to leach out and attach themselves. All points tell a story!