Help with rockshelter dig.......

[bci101tractors]

Hi,

Thanks

 

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[GatorBoy]

Super excited for you! Great spot. Yup that's pottery. Also a deer lowar mandible section. They were hunting and spending long periods at that site. That means there will be stone tools and debris. I also think I see discoloration from smoke on the interior of that shelter.

 

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[Tnmountains]

Going to be a great site. It is dry and has preserved bone. The pottery is the best sign of all. It means long habitation.

 

[Tnmountains]

It only takes a few years for mother nature to "restore" a dug shelter. It's very hard to determine as some diggers start at the front and go to the back....this style of digging/sifting normally results in the debitage located in the front (e.g., the wall sand is sifted and dumped at the front of the shelter). We call this reverse back filling. Others dig from back to front which results in the debitage from the front being deposited in the rear...true back filling.

In my experience, the largest concentration of artifacts will be against the back wall and that's where I always start, I want immediate results...this helps me mentally when I run into an 8 hour dig with nothing to show.

I always key in on the "knapping" rock. Most knapping was done sitting down or at least supported by some structure...the process of knapping requires leverage that is difficult to achieve standing up or sitting directly on the ground.

If your site has a "number" with no associated record, it was probably ID'd as a site for excavation. Test digs or lack of funding may have eliminated the site from exploration. A test dig sometimes means that nothing was found but more often than not, it means that the condition of the shelter will not reveal proper scientific data. It could yield 100 artifacts but if the shelter is home to a burrowing critter or two, the shelter is essentially worthless for study.

Get a digging buddy and share with him/her. Digging solo is hard. Be able to recognize ALL artifacts. I have found hundreds of tools (especially scrapers) in sift piles simply because the previous diggers had a certain shape (arrowhead) in mind when they dug. Don't worry about graves, they are seldom found in rock shelters. Unless you're in the arid Southwest, you'll never know if you're digging a grave because mother nature will have already reclaimed the organic matter.

Pics would be awesome but all of us understand if you don't. I always post pics of my shelters because I don't worry about someone being able to find the ONE shelter that I'm digging in....lol...I mean....how would they find it?! It's not like there's a mile marker or similiar feature that gives it away.....best of luck.

I have seen shelters and mounds dug 150 years ago by civil war soldiers. You can quicky tell if the ground has been disturbed. It may look healed but the soil is very light and unpacked unless it is a wet seasonal shelter with out much use.

 

[GatorBoy]

In your first photo you are walking past a large stone on your way into the shelter. I would check all around that. If it were me I would have used that for a platform for all kinds of things.

 

[releventchair]

Your on your way!

 

[Tnmountains]

If you all remember Tree dug hundreds of artifacts outside his shelter as it was a yearly use site. He is still digging them. Good point Gator outside can be the trash pits. They kept the shelters pretty clean of debri. I have found many points and tools in a dried up wet weather stream below a shelter. They were tucked in everywhere. I miss that place.

 

[rock]

Thats a nice looking site. Glad you posted these for everyone to see. I know of 1 cave but I havent gone in. Some big animals around here.

 

[GatorBoy]

Now that you know for a fact that exact spot was a habitation you can kind of lay out the entire area as to where artifacts should be. I bet the creek that runs through your property there is loaded.

 

[releventchair]

Bci, if your going to work inside or screen use a dust mask. If it comes out at the end of the day clean feel free to call me names. Padded layers in a cooler can save some grief on delicate finds. Nice versatile lodging your on there!

 

[SOHIO]

hmmm should i sit this one out .....

 

[rock]

hmmm should i sit this one out .....

Were you on vacation? Havent seen you in a while.

 

[bci101tractors]

Why would you sit this one out??
Please explain.

 

[bci101tractors]

LOL.

I dont get it

 

[GatorBoy]

He has personal views on shelter digs....welcome aboard.

 

[bci101tractors]

I wish he would speak it. He must want to, otherwise he wouldn't have said anything. You guys know what he's talking about and he must want me to know as well.... spill it.

He has personal views on shelter digs....welcome aboard.

 

[bci101tractors]

I am certain to respect your opinion If you would give it...

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Tractors, my apologies for the comments made by SOHIO, they were uncalled for and they were wrong, you are not breaking any rules here nor laws. SOHIO is on an extended timeout for them.

TreasureNet with not tolerate threatening other members in any way shape or form......

 

[Edmundruffin]

Tractors, my apologies for the comments made by SOHIO, they were uncalled for and they were wrong, you are not breaking any rules here nor laws. SOHIO is on an extended timeout for them.

TreasureNet with not tolerate threatening other members in any way shape or form......

This is not the first forum Sohio has been off of for the same behavior.
The only other advice I would add, Tractors, if the dirt/dust is light and hangs in the air is to use a filter mask. You don't want that stuff in your lungs. Good luck and please post your finds.

 

[Edmundruffin]

hmmm should i sit this one out .....

Yes, you should have.

 

[GatorBoy]

Agreed