Good Day Digging

[Garscale]

A friend and I had a pretty good day digging last Thursday near the Brazos. About 50 completes and another hundred or so broke. Fun day.

 

[antmike915]

I have no words.

 

[Silver Saver]

That looks like a super fun day! Whole lot of nice points! Great recoveries

 

[welsbury]

Smokers for sure. Do you still use modified potato digger?

 

[Garscale]

Smokers for sure. Do you still use modified potato digger?

No. I took all the principals from the old peanut combine and built a mega screen with a 35 hp Kubota on it. Three tines as fast as before and quiet.

 

[old digger]

Nice, but don't you think that's cheating?

 

[Tony in SC]

Good stuff!! How do you decide where to look?

 

[PaleIO]

What style is the first picture?

 

[dirstscratcher]

I have no words.

I do, it's just not fair!!

 

[Garscale]

What style is the first picture?

Probably a San Jacinto. Basically a scallorn knife

 

[Garscale]

Nice, but don't you think that's cheating?

Cheating who exactly

 

[Garscale]

I do, it's just not fair!!

What isnt fair?

 

[old digger]

Cheating who exactly

Using a machine to sift through a bucket loader of material. Just doesn't seem right. I can fully see surface hunting, but digging out a site and how do you not damage certain artifacts and destroying others. If I started digging in the scale on somebody's property I would surely be escorted off the property with a gun, or be arrested and in jail. I guess they are pretty lenient down there?

 

[Garscale]

Using a machine to sift through a bucket loader of material. Just doesn't seem right. I can fully see surface hunting, but digging out a site and how do you not damage certain artifacts and destroying others. If I started digging in the scale on somebody's property I would surely be escorted off the property with a gun, or be arrested and in jail. I guess they are pretty lenient down there?

Well you jump to a bunch of conclusions there. I guess you think I damage more than a shovel? Well I don't damage a tenth of what shovel digging does.

Next is your assumption that I'm just digging up someone else property. I guess it never crossed your mind that I bought the dang place so I could dig it? You think I should be escorted off my own property at gunpoint?

Next is that it just doesn't seem right to you. I don't know you and you don't know me. The artifacts I dig have no bearing on you what so ever. Your user name is old digger. Go look in the mirror and see if you might be a little green.

 

[old digger]

Wow! I wasn't personally attacking you, just the way you are doing it. If you had such a treasured site I would think that you would want to excavate the site for it's historical value. You have some really nice artifacts there and some awesome materials. Wishing you the best in your searching for those elusive points.

 

[ToddsPoint]

Private property. Ain't it wonderful. The land belongs to him, and so do the arrowheads within the land. He can do whatever he sees fit to do with them. Private property is one of our most important founding principles. Gary

 

[newnan man]

Nice points and if it's your land I guess you can do as you see fit. I do understand others concern about using a bucket loader to search for artifacts. It's not normally done as careful hand digging may allow a more thorough study of the context of a site. Most of my life I have searched fill dirt brought in to, or fresh construction site excavations for artifacts. I have hundreds from this but zero info on anything that would tell me something about how these people carried out their lives. They were just points disturbed from where they originated. I am not being critical in any way as to your methods. You are obviously in an artifact rich area and most likely all these types of points are known and have been researched for decades. I had worked in Texas some time back and in the Hill Country there were several places that you could go and buy a fresh bucket load to sift through and keep whatever you found. They had a small bucket loader and sifters on site and you paid a fee for however many loads you wanted to sift. I'll admit it was not my cup of tea. I never liked fishing in pay lakes either!

 

[Garscale]

Wow! I wasn't personally attacking you, just the way you are doing it. If you had such a treasured site I would think that you would want to excavate the site for it's historical value. You have some really nice artifacts there and some awesome materials. Wishing you the best in your searching for those elusive points.

I do excavate the site for the history. We are talking about multiple sites and properties. Sure looks like a personal attack to me.

 

[joshuaream]

Texas is completely unique when it comes to relics, digging, land use, etc. What's normal there can be completely shocking to others. You won't be the first person to be taken aback by a Texas sifter dig, and the arguments rarely solve anything.

Pay Digs? Yes, lots of collectors build collections that way. There are a couple of guys who's full time job is finding decent sites, securing a lease, and running digs.

Leasing land to dig for relics? Yes, most of Texas is privately owned, and leases for hunting, digging, etc are all common land uses.

Legal to dig? Yes, Texas has laws lean towards protecting the land owners rights, and if you are the land owner or you have their permission you can do things there that are simply not allowed in many other states. Actually, many Texas based Archaeologists are the friendliest to collectors because they don't freak out that you picked up a rock and have a collection.

Many sites in Central Texas are rock middens, and given the massive deposits of flint/chert, native people made and discarded a lot of tools. It's mind blowing.

Joshua

 

[Garscale]

Nice points and if it's your land I guess you can do as you see fit. I do understand others concern about using a bucket loader to search for artifacts. It's not normally done as careful hand digging may allow a more thorough study of the context of a site. Most of my life I have searched fill dirt brought in to, or fresh construction site excavations for artifacts. I have hundreds from this but zero info on anything that would tell me something about how these people carried out their lives. They were just points disturbed from where they originated. I am not being critical in any way as to your methods. You are obviously in an artifact rich area and most likely all these types of points are known and have been researched for decades. I had worked in Texas some time back and in the Hill Country there were several places that you could go and buy a fresh bucket load to sift through and keep whatever you found. They had a small bucket loader and sifters on site and you paid a fee for however many loads you wanted to sift. I'll admit it was not my cup of tea. I never liked fishing in pay lakes either!

Well at least you were diplomatic and I see what you are saying. That said you make some of the same mistake old digger made with jumping to conclusions. Every site I dig is different. In past sites I have worked closely with the scientific community. I dare say I have contributed more to science than any individual digger I know. I am very capable of digging a stratified site in layers.

Now for the site the artifacts in this thread came from? The surface rights have long been under contract to a sand and gravel company. We recently learned that it will be mined starting this summer. My digging partner just managed to buy it so we can screen as many of the artifacts out as possible before they end up mixed in concrete and poured on a freeway somewhere.

There have been several folks like the post saying in some how cheating? Still no one had answered who it I'd they think I'm cheating?