Trying to gain a better understanding of artifacts in general

[Amymtl]

Decided to gather a bit more of FACTS from this amazing sea of knowledge and understanding of native artifacts. I'm thinking now it's what I should have done in the first place. So my first question is - were their artifacts(points,tools etc) mostly all made from flint and or chert?
were thier artifacts ALL OF THOSE consisting of items to which each bore evidence of working, pecking,etc. and only those that were done?Or are there any examples of some without? I'm asking this question bc it will save me time and be much easier for me to know what to bring into the house and keep u no?
Did they make drawings(not etched or carved) on prices of flint/chert or rock?
thx to everyone for giving me help in understanding about artifacts.

[Kentucky point]

To answer a few of these questions I can say that the overwhelming majority of artifacts found, are "arrowheads". These are mostly made of chert, but this varies from region to region. What area are you from? In the far western U.S., Artifacts can be made out of agates, cherts, volcanic glass, petrified wood and a few other lithics like Jasper. On the Eastern seaboard, there is Rhyolite, quartz, quartzite, even slate. There are different cherts too along the seaboard. In the southeast, there are many varieties of cherts and rocks suitable for arrowheads. The creme de la creme lies in the Central United states, where cherts are everywhere, and there are many hundreds if not thousands of different lithics arrowheads can be made from.

[Amymtl]

I'm sorry that I didn't state where I'm from in this post. I'm from Gainesville TX right next to the Red River and just a handful of miles from lake texhoma where I now live . physical address is Willis Ok. Less than 1/2 a mile from the lake. A lot of this area is owned by the Indian nation and certainly was inhabited by them.

[Hal Gorges]

One other comment, the flint points that you will be finding are older than stuff associated with the nations.and from a different people

[CMD]

Be aware that if the land is owned by an Indian nation, as in reservation land, it’s most likely illegal to hunt and collect on that land.

[Hal Gorges]

For someone starting out it’s enough to know that the bulk of artifacts are lithics ( stone ), that’s what you will be concerned with..Yes any flint that has a series o flakes removed ( large or small ) is a artifact...any stone ( term is interchangeable with flint, chert, etc. ), that doesn’t have flake removal ( big or small ) is not an artifact but possibly may have been found by N/A folks and kept for who knows what reason, the requirement for this to be classified as an artifact hinges on weather or not it was found in an established village, campsite, etc...The really great thing about this hobby is, you also get to use IMAGINATION...You go girl.

[Cecilia]

Please pardon if this little explanation is too basic and off from what you’re asking. My knowledge is mostly from books and what I learn here. To clarify, term “Arrowheads” as used in forum refers to all projectile points, including:
-those attached to spears;
-those attached to shorter spears used in conjunction with a throwing device known as an “atlatl “, which propels the spear farther than longer spear thrown by hand;
-and those attached to slender spears known as “arrows” used in conjunction with a bow, which propels arrow even farther and with more force than atlatl.

Those attached to arrows are the smallest and most delicate of the projectile points, and were used by the People (my term for ancient ancestors) for only about 1200-1500 yrs in America, though they have a longer history in other parts of the world. The other two types of projectile points (those used with spears and atlatls) have the most extensive history.

[Hal Gorges]

Picture this:.Hands clapping.

[Lindenmeier-Man]

Yes Yes !

[Artifascination]

Any artifacts that you find will be worked in some way or another. I’m sure there are natural objects that were used but without being altered by human hands there is no evidence to prove its use. Most native artifacts are made from cherts and flints that are knapped (arrowheads and flint tools) into shape as KP stated. Some tools are hard stone that have been pecked or ground into shape and some will be drilled and or carved. Then you have the softer materials such as shell, Steatite (soapstone), and pottery that are usually going to be shaped and decorated into jewelry, or smoking pipes and cookware. They did ground up iron ore (ochre) for color to decorate objects and themselves. This is the only possibility of finding a drawing on stone that is not carved or etched that I can think of. Unfortunately weathering has erased most of the pigments of color from the ancient artwork unless it was found in a cave. Hopefully this helps and good luck on your hunt!

[Amymtl]

Thx for ur info! I have a lot of rocks I now know lol. But a handful look as if MAYBE there is signs of human contact.

[Hal Gorges]

Round one has several flakes removed, I think it’s a crude knife, sometimes called choppers, probably for quick rough work....way to grab, we’ll see if that’s the right I.D. shortly, or not, Lol.

[Mattern]

This is good Amy, your asking better questions and starting to understand more about, what is for the beginner an almost foreign concept. You keep going and you will become an efficient Artifact hunter. Kim

[Amymtl]

Thx for the replies. So I actually found something! I checked closely on these for marks. So I'll show few others.

[sailorjoe]

Because I have not been as active on the forum in recent weeks compared to this summer I missed this thread. I took a bit of time this AM in trying to catch up on my reading. I want to correct and add to some of the info given by some of our great members regarding the term "arrowheads" and "projectile points" as I've had to do a few times over the years. Those terms are used to include not only points for arrows darts and spears but also for knives. Depending on the site you find them on, a high proportion of those points may be knife points, even those that are small. Many of the points found and displayed here are indeed knife points. They may have stems or they may not have stems. Often the same type point style was used in making points no matter what the use of the tool. This is particularly true for many of the points made in Early Archaic times.

[tomclark]

Great "points"! ...and drills are "points", too. They are also often misidentified as such and are often resharpened knives, even an arrowhead.

[Cecilia]

Thank you, SJ! I’ve missed your info!

[utilized flake]

I like the point on the round possible tool...might be a graver tip or long enough to be a perforator...plus it looks unifacial.

[Mattern]

Please pardon if this little explanation is too basic and off from what you’re asking. My knowledge is mostly from books and what I learn here. To clarify, term “Arrowheads” as used in forum refers to all projectile points, including:
-those attached to spears;
-those attached to shorter spears used in conjunction with a throwing device known as an “atlatl “, which propels the spear farther than longer spear thrown by hand;
-and those attached to slender spears known as “arrows” used in conjunction with a bow, which propels arrow even farther and with more force than atlatl.

Those attached to arrows are the smallest and most delicate of the projectile points, and were used by the People (my term for ancient ancestors) for only about 1200-1500 yrs in America, though they have a longer history in other parts of the world. The other two types of projectile points (those used with spears and atlatls) have the most extensive history.

I really don't like correcting my peers but the bow and arrow came about 3000 years ago, along with ceramic technology.They were very primative but surely functional. Kim

[Cecilia]

Thank you! I love corrections; it’s how I learn! I think I meant a time length of predominate usage.

[sailorjoe]

Hi Kim, Peers should be corrected when they need correcting. lol So in that light I will make a correction of my own regarding when the bow and arrow came in use in eastern North America. The majority opinion among archaeologists and anthropologists is that the bow came into common use in the eastern Woodlands about 1400 years ago long after pottery came into use. In other parts of the world the bow was used for a much longer period of time. There is some disagreement about the time and a few people think it was in use earlier but the commonly held view is around 600 AD.

[CMD]

Yep, here in the Northeast, the Jack’s Reef Corner Notch is often regarded as the first true tip used with a bow. About 1500 years ago, in other words.

[painshill]

Adoption dates for the bow in North America:

https://forums.arrowheads.com/forum/information-center-gc33/native-american-culture-lifestyle-gc108/warfare-weapon-usage-gc112/195711-the-bow-arrow

[Cecilia]

Gosh. Eat up this stuff with spoon! Thank you again, Pain!

[Ron Kelley]

Hey Amy, I don't see anything in your pictures that convinces me that it's an ancient artifact. If you have found ancient artifacts in the same area then keep looking there: If you haven't found any ancient artifacts in the area where you picked up these stones then I would look for a different area to hunt.

[Mattern]

You are correct Saylor. But the Archery technology was introduced much earlier in our continents. I just got off the phone with our top Archaeologist, Jim Herbstritt. He says that Archery technology may even go back even further than 3000 years, but there just isn't any solid Archaeological evidence of that. Thanks for your comments Saylor, it is still up in the air. Kim

[Cecilia]

Thank you! And my meaning not clear when get excited. Meant length predominate usage only.