Something kinda neat in the creek bank-New pics from today

Charmin · Nov 11, 2010

My daughters and I walked down a dried up creek bed the other day. I was looking in the side of the creek banks for flint and saw some red(burnt) rocks and charcoal. I think this was probably a camp fire (?). This creek that we were searching in has changed its course over the last few hundred(or thousand) years and now is cutting into a place where we think there was a major indian camp. Everytime it rains, artifacts(or flint) washes out of the bank. This is the first time I've found rocks from a camp fire though. The creek bank is probably 12' to 15' high and the camp fire rocks were about 4' down from the top of the creek bank. Here's some pics..... (I'll have to reply with more pics because I can only upload 3 at a time)

*Molly* · Nov 12, 2010

Re: Something kinda neat in the creek bank

Looks a promising place to dig SC..
Look forwards to seeing what comes out there.. Good Luck.

Molly..

Charmin · Nov 12, 2010

Re: Something kinda neat in the creek bank

mad.co.walker said:
i smell a clovis so be carefull if you start digging !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now wouldn't that be NICE

?! You'd probably hear me scream all the way to Illinois

. Thanks mad.co.walker!

flintdigger said:
You might want to carry a screen along if you plan to do some digging, it looks like a good place you may be surprised at what you find with a little digging and scratching around. Good luck !!!

My dad just fixed me a little screen to carry (when we metal detect) so I'll take that with us. Thanks flintdigger!

The Rose & The Rebel. said:
Looks a promising place to dig SC..
Look forwards to seeing what comes out there.. Good Luck.

Molly..

Thanks Molly---We'll post anything interesting that we find.

Tnmountains · Nov 12, 2010

Re: Something kinda neat in the creek bank

Very cool Sandcreek. You know it could hold some old stuff in that spot finding that uniface at 4 feet. I hope you pull a mastadon and buckets full of goodies from there. I bet a lot of it has washed down that new creek as well. Good luck and great pictures. Really nice blade :thumbsup:

HH
TnMtns

Charmin · Nov 12, 2010

Re: Something kinda neat in the creek bank

TnMountains said:
Very cool Sandcreek. You know it could hold some old stuff in that spot finding that uniface at 4 feet. I hope you pull a mastadon and buckets full of goodies from there. I bet a lot of it has washed down that new creek as well. Good luck and great pictures. Really nice blade
HH
TnMtns

Finding a mastadon would be killer, TnMtns

! There's old stuff here, but it sure takes lots of erosion to bring it out. We were blessed with some much needed rain today, so after the creeks go back down, you know where we'll be headed to :wink:

.
Thanks for the comments :hello:

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buckshot · Nov 13, 2010

Re: Something kinda neat in the creek bank

Way to go!!! sc. Looks like spot has good potential. Nice find and Good Luck...

Charmin · Nov 13, 2010

Re: Something kinda neat in the creek bank

buckshot said:
Way to go!!! sc. Looks like spot has good potential. Nice find and Good Luck...

Thanks buckshot! This site is one of the best ones that we have access to. Now if the water will just go down and the leaves wash away, maybe we'll find something really good.
:hello:

Charmin · Nov 13, 2010

Re: Something kinda neat in the creek bank

Well, we couldn't stand it and had to go back today to see if the creek was up too much to dig. It wasn't, so we loosened some of the bigger rocks and found a few pieces of flint in between the layers of charcoal/rocks. Took a better picture to show how big this thing is. Also found a flake knife(?)---not really sure on this, so someone correct me if I'm wrong in calling it that. It is just a small, uniface piece but has some flaking along the edges. Maybe this was a quickie tool? This was found on the gravel bar by the midden.
Here's the new pics....

Tnmountains · Nov 13, 2010

It sure looks like those knock off flakes may have seen some quick use. What fun exploring. Anything found down the creek? If it was a firepit could be half of it or the camp is already in the creek :hello:

HH
TnMtns

Charmin · Nov 13, 2010

TnMountains said:
It sure looks like those knock off flakes may have seen some quick use. What fun exploring. Anything found down the creek? If it was a firepit could be half of it or the camp is already in the creek
HH
TnMtns

TnMtns---Yes we have found other artifacts down the creek. This is probably one of the most beautiful places you will ever see and the indians camped all along this little creek for about a mile or so. Above this firepit, is a big creek bottom. In the winter months, it is about 10 degrees warmer in this bottom, so I'm sure the indians probably used this creek bottom as a winter camp---its protected on all sides from the wind by big hills, especially the north side. Then, the further down the creek you go, the land rises to produce an ideal spot for a summer camp where we've found grinding rocks, ect... Easy access to the creek as well as easy crossing made this a perfect creek to be near for a camp.
I don't think we'll do much digging in that firepit---that's is a lot harder than it sounds, especially with the dirt so packed around those rocks! I've got bloody knuckles ::)

. We'll just wait and let the rains wash stuff out. We had a blast exploring and taking pictures though! Just finding a firepit will be something we'll always remember.

Native1858 · Nov 13, 2010

Very cool. I like walkng creek beds, you never know whats there.

Charmin · Nov 13, 2010

Native1858 said:
Very cool. I like walkng creek beds, you never know whats there.

Yes, and finding this makes me look more closely at the creek banks. Most of the time my eyes are down on the bed of the creek/gravel bars.
Thanks Native1858 :hello:

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naturegirl · Nov 14, 2010

Yesterday was gorgeous wasn't it? I know what you mean about how hard the dirt is, and if we ever get enough rain to soften it, it'll be too muddy. but I bet you'll be finding stuff there for a long time. That is so neat to see the fireplace in the creek bank like that, it's bigger that it looked in the first pictures. When I was out yesterday I almost took pictures of the creek bank, so I could go home and study them on the computer :laughing7:

Charmin · Nov 14, 2010

naturegirl said:
Yesterday was gorgeous wasn't it? I know what you mean about how hard the dirt is, and if we ever get enough rain to soften it, it'll be too muddy. but I bet you'll be finding stuff there for a long time. That is so neat to see the fireplace in the creek bank like that, it's bigger that it looked in the first pictures. When I was out yesterday I almost took pictures of the creek bank, so I could go home and study them on the computer

We're all about those in-situ's now---You just never know what the camera will see that you don't :wink:

. Yesterday was an absolutely perfect day to be in the woods! The creek bank was so muddy and slippery under our feet that we couldn't hardly stand up to dig, but once we got some of the drier dirt loosened up and under our feet, it was okay. This is a huge pit and there are animal bones and shells mixed in wth the rocks, but when you touch them, they just disintegrate.
Thanks naturegirl!!

sidmind · Nov 15, 2010

Are there any experts out there who could describe what is going in the creek. Example. is there a general theory that says if the fire pit is 2.5 feet below the surface that it is 2000 years old? or is carbon dating the only way?
I am fascinated by this thread and the photos.

flintdigger · Nov 15, 2010

This is a really interesting thread, are you planning to top search the creek bed or are you planning to dig and screen the wall of the creek bed ? It look's like the artifact's are coming out of the wall of the creek in the old campfire area and not washing from further upstream. Keep us updated on this thread

Jonzer · Nov 15, 2010

That red piece could be a knife, could be a spokeshave.
Spokeshave IMO.
I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing that fire pit is out there.
Go dig it!!

Charmin · Nov 15, 2010

sidmind said:
Are there any experts out there who could describe what is going in the creek. Example. is there a general theory that says if the fire pit is 2.5 feet below the surface that it is 2000 years old? or is carbon dating the only way?
I am fascinated by this thread and the photos.

That would be great if someone could explain or tell us approx. how to date this site. (Or if we can get deep enough into the firepit to find artifacts that can date it by identifying them .)
There are actually two firepits---one is a little lower from the other, can you see that in the pics?...could this be just from the land settling differently or maybe its an older pit? Another question I have...Why would the indians have a firepit this big unless it was to cook a big animal? I always think of them having small campfires or fire-rings. Did they have a communal pit that everyone used? (I need to do somemore searching online and see if I can find out any other information about this.)
Thanks Sid!

flintdigger said:
This is a really interesting thread, are you planning to top search the creek bed or are you planning to dig and screen the wall of the creek bed ? It look's like the artifact's are coming out of the wall of the creek in the old campfire area and not washing from further upstream. Keep us updated on this thread

Unless that ground softens up some, we can't do any sifting/screening---its harder than my head around those rocks. I broke three tools the other day, and all I did was loosen some of the outer rocks. You know, I think this just might be the outer edge of the firepit because there aren't any red rocks in the creek below this pit, so nothing else has fallen into the creek yet.
Yes, the artifacts are coming out of the wall of the creek....That uniface blade was approx. 4 feet to the left of the pit stuck in the bank, and I found two or three other big pieces of flint stuck in the bank to the right of the pit. Thanks flintdigger!

Jonzer said:
That red piece could be a knife, could be a spokeshave.
Spokeshave IMO.
I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing that fire pit is out there.
Go dig it!!

I couldn't hardly sleep that night after I figured out what it was.

We'll be going back, but it may be after deer season, because the rancher(and his sons) that this land belongs to, all deer hunt and I don't want to take a chance on getting shot or making them mad by messing up their hunting. Maybe in the meantime, we'll have some really good soaking rains to loosen some of that dirt around those rocks!
Thanks Jonzer!