how far from water

[trevmma]

what is the farthest you guys have found good fields from a water source. i have a tiny tiny stream in my yard that is 1 foot wide. i live high up about 1 mile from a small river that leads into the great miami about 3 miles from my house, i want to dig but i dont know if the camped that far from rivers. but we are on the high hilled side from the river the other side is flood plane

 

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[luckyinkentucky]

The best thing to remember is what is now water may not have always been water, and visa versa.

I have found Paleo pieces 3 miles from a 'now known' water source, but 10,000 years ago it was a river bank or lake shore. I'll get you a map together to show you what I'm talking about. Give me a few minutes.

 

[luckyinkentucky]

Here you go.

 

[WhiteCountyPaleo]

Yeah, and think about all the drainage ditches there are now. Most of the water has either been drained or manipulated by ditches and I'm willing to bet that since that has happened, a lot of springs have stopped flowing. Almost every farm field has a drainage tile or two. I grew up hunting a spot that was once a wetland but now is nothing but farm land and ditches.

 

[WhiteCountyPaleo]

I would try finding a secondary terrace before the plain goes up the high bank. If it's illegal to dig don't do it. I garantee you if you find a spot that sticks out flat a little bit off the the high bank before it goes up there will be something there. It could also be a spot that has a slight slope before it angles up higher.

 

[*Molly*]

I would try finding a secondary terrace before the plain goes up the high bank. If it's illegal to dig don't do it. I garantee you if you find a spot that sticks out flat a little bit off the the high bank before it goes up there will be something there. It could also be a spot that has a slight slope before it angles up higher.

This is good advice, also I read & experienced hunters told me that one should look for these terraces north banks but south facing..
The campsite I hunt at as no creek, I ventured in the thicket, as I could smell damp, I found sloped banks, so this tells me there was a creek many years ago. Its still there but underground now.
If you can't find a creek, then just look for flat high ground, thats what I did & found what was several campsites Early-Late Archaic,
& Woodland too.

Good Luck, let us know how you get on.

Molly.

 

[Jonnyreb]

Well, Molly pretty well said it. That topo map really says more than a book full of words can say.
Now I have found a few artifacts as far as a mile from water, as on really high hills and such, but those are known as "special purpose sites". Generally kill or butcher stations.
Like someone already stated, before you dig, check the laws in your state.
In some states they will put you "under the jail".
Even if it is legal...its best to keep it under your hat. You could attract unwanted attention so to speak.
Good Luck to you.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

You can bet that anywhere you find a campsite or village site that there is or was water near by. They couldn't have sustained life in the village for very long without a good supply of water. Like others have pointed out, the waterways have changed course over the last few thousands of years and were water is now may not have been water 5,000 years ago and the same goes for just the opposite. If they were far away from a large river or creek they would look for a natural spring that ran year round as a water source. My brother and I found a site like that a few years back that was out in the middle of nowhere with no large bodies of water anywhere to be seen. But we did find a natural spring that was within a couple hundreds yards of the site and the farmer said it ran year round, so I'm sure if it had been there for thousands of years then that was their water supply.