I can get pretty long-winded on this topic, so bear with me! Typically, we look for a few things: a good water source-or where one may have been thousands of years ago, semi-flat ground that is in close proximity and easily defensible, and where a latrine or easily accessible waste disposal area may be (typically downwind, so have an idea of prevailing winds). It's a fun exercise to try and determine the location and layout of an encampment or village, and it makes the hunt much more interesting than just picking up artifacts. We try and catalog or map what we find in an area, and also which way they are oriented in case there may be a ceremonial component. It's a little more time consuming but we try to be diligent.
Indians had many of the same problems we have today, although on a different scale that we can barely comprehend. Thirsty? Turn on a faucet. Hungry? Open the refrigerator. Hot? Turn on the air conditioner or get some ice. Cold? That's some common ground we still share. Both of us have a type of shelter we can go in that is designed to battle the cold. Although we have access to gas or oil for fuel, wood is still very common. That's about the point where the similarity ends, however. We only need the fuel supply when it's cold or for convenience. They needed it all day, every day, 24/7 and 365. It has been estimated that an Indian family conservatively used one-third of a 10" diameter tree per day, every day. That's assuming normal winters and a perpetual cook fire. Today, the normal practice for a timber company is to plant and maintain 300-400 pine trees per acre. If a clan of 50 Indian families were to follow the previously mentioned formula for tree consumption and had modern tree populations, simple math shows that wouldn't take long to seriously thin out an area-and the tree density was nowhere near what it is today. So, in my opinion they would rotate campsites in a certain pattern, use them for a few years then move to the next one. They would return when the resources were back to peak levels, both game and fuel supply.
Anyway, that's basically how we do it, and we've been very fortunate. If you're finding a lot of points or artifacts that you feel weren't lost or discarded, start looking!
