Museum quality Indian artifacts on my property in my yard!

[blackfootinaz]

Hi I live in Flagstaff AZ and I am looking for any info on how I can authenticate or prove what I have found is real artifacts and how best to sale if possible. I took all of my pieces to the Northern Arizona Museum and was told that what I found was "Museum Quality" and they were excited about what I found. I was also told that since I found these on my Private property that I had all rights to them and could sell them if I wanted. Unfortunately they were all too busy to help me or come out to my home to further investigate. Now I want to find a safe place to show or share these items. Any thoughts?

 

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[RiverRat3]

Welcome to tnet. Could you resize the pictures so we could see your artifacts better.

 

[MICHIGANJAY]

Welcome to T-Net!!! That is too cool. I can't imagine having a site like that on my property. I cant wait to see what else you find. Keep it Up. M.J.

 

[High Plains Digger]

Some of those are woven baskets with mud mashed in side of them then put in the fire. And as I remember, they are pretty old. I have a couple of small pieces I found in Colorado. I have been told that in the "old days" a guy would look around the base of the cliff and if he found a pile of pottery shards, he would look for the structure up in a overhang or cave. These piles of broken pottery would be knee deep.

 

[High Plains Digger]

Oh, yes. Cool mano and matate, unless that is a pestal. Cool what ever it is. Not to burst your bubble, but potsherds are seemingly of little value, there are so many out there. I remember seeing them for sale, but they weren't much. Went to Bandolier Nat. whatever and while walking around, there were still a large number of small pieces of monchrome and multi colored sherds laying around. And for the record, WE DID NOT PICK ANY UP, ok? I mean it. But from the ones from private property I discovered that they could be ground down an shaped to be either drilled or have a bale put on it or wirewrapped and make a nice piece of jewelry out of it. This has also been done with old Chinese porcelain.

 

[armadillo70]

That one in your hand looks like a native american tack hammer or something. Maybe a plummet. Not sure, but it is badbutt for sure

 

[gemee]

Why did all these old pottery artifacts end up in small shards? Were the Indians in a habit of tossing or smashing them up?

 

[High Plains Digger]

I don't know. Perhaps "easy to make, easy to trash". Plus there was so many in use over so much time, there had to be lots of pieces from natural attrition. I read something about "sacrifice" once, but didn't buy into it. I think it is thousand of years x hundred of people = lots of broken pottery.