Ratio of broken arrowheads to complete arrowheads

[Good luck jack]

Hi All,

This may be a silly question, but when you hunt for arrowheads, on average, how many broken arrowheads do you find before you find a full arrowhead? Ill define a full arrowhead as 90% intact. Thanks everyone!

 

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[welsbury]

Not trying to start an argument, but i am not so sure the plow is the culprit as much as we’d like to think. My understanding with the natives in this area, and likely other areas was that if their point suffered damage, they would unhalft the broken points back at home and discard them. Then put a new point on if they couldn’t modify the damaged point. We can find more whole points in water or gravel bars is because they were often missed shots that didn’t damage the point and the dart or arrow wasn’t able to be retrieved.. Watering animals were an easier target, and favorite hunting places were often at watering spots.

also, I find way more bases than tips, and imho that lends an amount of credence to this theory. Anyone else have similar results, more bases than tips?

No clue really what my ratio of brokes to whole is, but I do typically find more bases than tips. I do not hunt any fields because there are none and I have only one creek that I regularly find points in because there are very few creeks, though wherever there is water there is usually signs of use. All are camps that have never been plowed. I always had that same thought that the brokes were shafts that were brought back to camp and refitted or on occasion retipped leading to more bases than tips. I do have a sizeable collection and have been hunting points for close to 50 years whatever that is worth. This is in my area of the northern GB.

 

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[11KBP]

I do have a sizeable collection and have been hunting points for close to 50 years whatever that is worth. This is in my area of the northern GB.

Your observations from hunting points for close to 50 years are very valuable. I'd like to see your GB collection sometime welsbury.

 

[1320]

Not trying to start an argument, but i am not so sure the plow is the culprit as much as we’d like to think. My understanding with the natives in this area, and likely other areas was that if their point suffered damage, they would unhalft the broken points back at home and discard them. Then put a new point on if they couldn’t modify the damaged point. We can find more whole points in water or gravel bars is because they were often missed shots that didn’t damage the point and the dart or arrow wasn’t able to be retrieved.. Watering animals were an easier target, and favorite hunting places were often at watering spots.

also, I find way more bases than tips, and imho that lends an amount of credence to this theory. Anyone else have similar results, more bases than tips?

Based on my observations in shelter finds, I would agree with the "bring it home" theory. The base to tip ratio (more bases) is very high. Every now and then I will find both pieces of a broken tool but it's a rare occurrence.

 

[tamrock]

With all the buffalo, elk and mule deer of the past 5000 years stomping on the rocky grounds of the mountain states, had lessen my chances of finding a complete arrowhead to maybe 200 pieces to one 90% complete example. Still I have a blast finding any kind of authentic example, to the smallest of size.