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[CaptFrank2001]

About 2 weeks ago I found one very nice projectile point on my property (5 acres). Since then I have found 100+ pieces. Most are what appear to me to be preforms or maybe the correct term is blanks. I have also found what I believe are 4 scrapers and 3 axe or adz heads. It appears like my property was used to start the process since I have found very few pieces that I would say are finished. I am open to any input as to what I have here. Thanks

 

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[ptsofnc]

Looks like it could be part of a (fired) clay vessel. Seems to have some kind of grit (sand, crushed quartz) tempered into the piece. When you find your first point in the creek, you'll really be hooked!

 

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[yakker]

Yup- you've got it! That looks like the bottom of an incised bowl- or some part (extrusion) of an incised bowl. Keep at it- we'll be looking forward to seeing your results! And WELCOME! Yakker

 

[rock]

Thats a great find. Its what I call a leg of a pottery pot. It should of had 3 or 4 of them and by the size of the one you found the pot would of been very large. Im from North GA but dont know that type of pottery. Most of the pieces I find here are 1500-500 yrs old. Thats a nice keeper IMO, congrats

 

[CaptFrank2001]

Thanks for the great info. That makes it all fall into place. I looked a bit today in the same area and found nothing more. I will look in a bigger area tomorrow. Thanks again.

 

[rock]

It will change after every rain. I dont know how big your creek is or how deep. But if it has any depth to it after every rain there is the chance of something great showing up. It would be interesting on seeing what your creek looks like. Maybe take some pics of it and post them here? Its important to know the different types of rocks from your area as to the texture and color when doing a hunt and looking for artifacts. Some rocks just arent the quality for making chipped stone artifacts.

 

[CaptFrank2001]

I think technically this is not a creek it's a branch. It is spring fed and has good flow and never has been dry. Depth is from several inches to maybe 2 feet deep in place. Here are some iPhone pictures. I should have used my good camera. If I could just teach the Rotty's to look for artifacts.

 

[rock]

Looks like that creek swells pretty well when it rains. I havent found many falling out of the walls but that is where they come from. Maybe study some of them walls for different colors of soil. I know here in the fields there might be different colors from red to darker black and of course sandy white. I find more artifacts in the red sections. I do know of one spot which is sandy white that has turned out some nice ones like the one in my avatar. Good luck, rock

 

[CaptFrank2001]

I have done quite a bit of looking and I am not finding anything in the creek. Next I will try looking in the walls carved out by the creek.

 

[rock]

Pic #6 is a prime target if the water flows over it when it rains. Logs and trees are good in a creek they create large sand and gravel bars which slow down the artifacts as they are in the tumble and will land on those bars.

 

[CaptFrank2001]

I am still finding a lot of rough points, I'm guessing preforms or pieces that broke while being worked on and then discarded. Also found a few other interesting pieces. The search continues.

 

[rock]

Well if there wasnt much flint in your area the points will be rough due to there wasnt much good rock to knapp. They still had to make due with what they could find. It must of been a real hard life for them by the material I have seen some post from your area. Quartz is going to be some of your best finds. Good Luck and keep hunting, rock

 

[CaptFrank2001]

I'm wondering if it's just a very old site. Just about everything I find is rough, unfinished or broken. Here is another nice piece but it's broken as well.

 

[ptsofnc]

Capt..........Stay at it. I'll be very surprised if you don't at some time find "surefire", nice points. As I said before, I find lots of quartz/quartzite pieces that appear to have been worked (some minor flaking along the edges, edges ground, small blank shapes, etc.). With quartz it is hard to tell sometimes. I'm looking over a site now where I find clusters of quartz on a hillside (some of it "water smoothed and rounded with edges abraded) that I'm convinced were carried to the hillside (there are no natural quartz outcrops on the hillside) and tested for quality and "worked" to some degree but then not used any further. Good luck!

 

[yakker]

I've got to add that I love the fact that there was a folding chair in one of your 'branch' photos! Looks like you're coming up w/ some good stuff there, my friend! It really is a horrible addiction- once you find something, you'll never give up on a site. Especially if it's a spring-fed branch/creek. There should be a lot of stuff lurking around. Possible that much of it got either washed further down or buried under years and ages of composted forest debris. Keep at it, my friend! You're doing great Yak

 

[CaptFrank2001]

Thanks. It is addicting. I have 2 Rottweilers to keep me company. They love to go into the woods first and then wind up in the creek to cool off.

 

[rock]

Well here is some of my Quartz artifacts I find in a area close to me. I get to go maybe once a yr to this spot. Some are flakes, tools and scrapers. I like the quartz stuff even though it was tough to work. I havent found a point yet but every year I have hopes so I can date the spot. No pottery found either. These are my best finds so far.

 

[ncnurseryman]

Captain. I'm in NC too and a lot of what you show is similar to what I find. It drives me crazy when I find something that might be a point or might not. Sometimes I just can't tell. That's when I love finding points that leave no doubt that they were worked.

 

[CaptFrank2001]

It's so easy to pass a lot of this stuff by. But I am finding that after a while (must be a learning curve) it is quite easy to pick out what to most people just looks like rocks.

 

[CaptFrank2001]

Well I guess I hit the "Mother Lode" today. At least it is for me. I was walking my dogs and not even looking when I glanced down at this. I took some pictures before I even picked it up to show how easily I could have missed it.

Is is OK to clean these or is it better to leave them as you found them?

 

[rock]

I use warm water and a tooth brush on mine. They shine rite up. Lets see them washed and dry. Congrats