Saltwater questions

[gilmerman]

Mr. Scepter, as I stated before, you have shared with us some terrific salt water points, the best I've seen on this forum. The Black triangle point you posted was beautifully beveled. A question, was the saltwater area above the water once and was anything more than fish hunted? How far from shore line are artifacts found on average? Is there signs of occupation under or near the water? Thanks for your sharing with us.

 

[tomclark]

The points I've found in saltwater (close to shore/shoreline) were definitely eroded out from water's edge middens, worksites and villages/camps and also from submerged sites just offshore when water levels were lower. When walking a beach you can see the line where the stuff comes out and we concentrate on that and of course the high and low water lines. On coastal sites with long habitation you find all kinds of items not related to fishing/shelling.

 

[unclemac]

nearly all my finds are salt water finds. First of all look for a bay and not an ocean beach. For the most part the oldest habitation sites are long ago under water, a lot of the continental shelf was once really good coastal environments. But of course there is a lot of more modern (8,000 years to the present) sites too. Where fresh water meets the salt water is a good place to look. Not larger rivers, too much flow...but seasonal streams and year round sloughs are a good bet. Every tide uncovers a new set of gravel but I find that giving things about 2 weeks is a good time span. Also, gravel and sand sort out by size so look for points among the similar size background rocks. There is also a tendency for things to accumulate right at the "line" where the beach slope stops and the tide flat begins. Points also get "stuck" in cracks and roots and such...they sort of "float" due to their shape and move around more than other rocks. Look also for signs of habitation, bricks on the beach is a good sign as is broken aqua colored glass (old bottles). Settlers often built cabins at abandoned Indian habitation sites, (access to fresh water and food resources). Fish were not hunted for the most part, they were "gathered", nets, fish spears etc. On the coast fish runs were predictable and unlimited. There was a lot of deer and elk hunting, also seals (with a spear) and migratory birds too...actually anything that moved really. Due to earthquakes many habitation sites get shifted up or down (usually down) and coastlines are constantly eroding which can uncover more and more artifacts. When a tree falls or a cliff erodes, look for fresh points to fall with them. A lot of what you find will be very surf tossed and smooth. Know the usable lithics in your area too and train yourself to "see" those rocks...along with the shape. Most of what you find will be right there on top, sometimes, not often, a bit under the surface.

hope that helps

 

[arrow86]

Very good advice from unclemac

 

[Out Of Time]

They say that in paleo times the coast at San Francisco extended 50 kilometres further west than it does now.

Considering that it's becoming accepted that the Americas were first populated by both land travellers through Berengia and sea-farers along the ice flows, it's most likely that there is plenty of important early archeology lost at sea.

There are rocks at the beach in Sonoma County that have traces of Mammoth grease on them. a scratching station and wallow apparently. In the past they stood at the edge of grassland extending westward.

It's easy to forget the big changes, both geological and environmental, that many areas have undergone.

I'm curious about ocean wear versus freshwater wear from creeks and lakes.

Does salt water cause a specific patina?

 

[unclemac]

algae will stain artifacts on a salt water beach...often little dots of green or black. but often the points are just smoother and clean of any patina. sometimes also you may get a rust like staining from the bog iron deposits.

 

[Out Of Time]

You can see algae on mucker's finds. Does it actually stain the lithic? Or will it wash off?

I can imagine the salt could leach minerals out of some kinds of stone and perhaps erode things quicker than fresh water, but I'm just guessing really.

 

[scepter1]

Mr. Scepter, as I stated before, you have shared with us some terrific salt water points, the best I've seen on this forum. The Black triangle point you posted was beautifully beveled. A question, was the saltwater area above the water once and was anything more than fish hunted? How far from shore line are artifacts found on average? Is there signs of occupation under or near the water? Thanks for your sharing with us.

Thanks for your comments! I'm a bit late in responding, and I defer to unclemac's excellent post above rather than repeat his advice. My area of hunting is a bit different in that I think my area was basically a summer use only spot and probably a summer trading / large gravel bar potlatch beach (some artifacts are from hundreds of miles away), All access was by canoe only. As unclemac states, rising waters means most artifacts are forever covered with water. There are no rivers here, and the closest village and fishing is 9 miles in one direction and 14 miles in another. No artifacts found above the shoreline (rising waters) and no signs of occupation. Most of my finds (and the best ones) are found high up on the beach after higher than normal tides. And mine all come from the beach - no bank exposures that have artifacts.

A single tide change here can be up to 22 feet between low tide and high tide:

 

[arrow86]

That pic is unreal ...... I thought I had it rough scanning 5-20ft wide beaches ....... holy smokes that’s a lot material and area to hunt

 

[unclemac]

That pic is unreal ...... I thought I had it rough scanning 5-20ft wide beaches ....... holy smokes that’s a lot material and area to hunt

...yeah, but it keeps us old guys out of the bars....

 

[unclemac]

You can see algae on mucker's finds. Does it actually stain the lithic? Or will it wash off?

I can imagine the salt could leach minerals out of some kinds of stone and perhaps erode things quicker than fresh water, but I'm just guessing really.

no the salt water doesn't effect them and scrubbing does nothing for the algae...but a good long bleach solution soak will....