Local Quartz Types from Carolina

[stoneaxe27]

Is anyone familiar with eclogite? I believe it is found only in southern Appalachian mountains in a few spots in N. Carolina, S. Carolina, East. Tenn. It is composed of omphacite and garnet. Omphacite is jadeite less than 80% pure. Many of the meso american "jade" items are actually omphacite or eclogite. I believe ceremonial items, bannerstones, pipes and birdtones were made  out of eclogite and traded to the Southeast, Florida and up to the midwest. I hope someone can provide some information as there is none in the literature. Eclogite is the densest metamorphic rock, about 3.5 specific gravity, feels like hematite in the hand, and fairly hard, 7-7.5 MOHs.

[cgode]

Well, since I run into quartz up here in Conn. I figured I'd throw a point or two in here as well.....
first, a nice Squibnocket triangle that I was very lucky to find.....it was buried in sand hiding all the edges, I thought I was poking yet just another piece of lithic material until the point slid out of it's hiding place revealing the form.


Possibly an Adena quartz......

Levanna missing one ear.....

[utilized flake]

crystal is my fave but a  close second is the blue grey sugary

[BarneyBosco]

Let me take some of them off your hands.They would go perfect with my quartz collection.I have about 70 quartz points,not near as many as you.I would love to come visit and find me some of them quartz beauties!
D.Frost

[Butch Wilson]

Thats a nice pile of quartz points ya got there Dan.

[BarneyBosco]

Thanks!
  ..........

[turkeytail]

Nice collection Dan!

[BarneyBosco]

Coker Creek,Tn.

[turkeytail]

All look like morrow mountains? Nice! Mark.

[BarneyBosco]

These are from Coker Creek,Tn. Right on the N.Carolina border.

[shartis]

Thanks for the info JoeM. Interesting and some great looking quartz points. Thanks for showing.

[JoeM]

Allright, let me try a first post and see if I can post pics
and only have it post once. :unsure:
Quartz is one of my favorite rocks. Just as there are hundreds
of varieties of rhyolite in the Slate Belt of the Piedmont of
the Southeastern United States, there are hundreds of varieties of
quartz as well. The further you get away from the Slate Belt, east
or west, the more quartz you will find being utilized. The
secondary status attributed to quartz by many archaeologists and
collectors alike really depends on "where" you are talking about.
In rock poor regions, such as the Coastal Plains, quartz cobbles
from creeks and streams were very much utilized.
I am located in Wake County NC, where there is a good mix of
materials, but the further east you go, the less rhyolite you will
see. By the amount of quartz artifacts in Shartis' collection I
would venture to guess he was located a bit further east of me?
Your chalcedonies, ie; Agate,Jasper,Chert,and Flint are also in the
Quartz family. Exact same chemical signature, just a different
process of formation. Which brings me to the point I wanted to make.
Quartz and Quartzite are two completely different animals. Formed
completely differently. It is good to know the difference to
understand the animal.
I wanted to add this two cents because quartz is always having
to struggle to be accepted as a valid lithic material and
someone needs to stick up for it!
Let me try and post a pic or two of some of the quartz points
I've found. First pic artifacts are from Wake Co. and the second
pic are points from a site in Granville Co.

http://www.varockhounder.com/uploads...4281312783.jpg not found
http://www.varockhounder.com/uploads...2813134693.jpg not found

JoeM

[shartis]

Butch I have not found any gold yet but have been looking and thinking about panning some, My brother has some land with a nice rocky creek thru it near Martins Gold Mine in York County. If you are in to panning let me now.
Scorpion= I have been fortunate to live where there is a lot of stuff and the farmers were nice. Also  a few of the jobs I had put me in contact with land owners all over the county and the job I have now kind of does to. 36 years of looking. Not to much plowed up anymore though. I just posted some of my better stuff on my picture ablum thing that I just figured out how to use. Thanks

[Scorpion68]

Sam - I'm absolutely blown away.  Where in the ..ll did ya get all em points.  I ain't never seen that many in one place cept the National Museum.  Wow.  Did ya find all those.  Course if some of the collections that I've seen under glass were spread out they might appear the same.  Just mind boggling to see all of them spread out that way. ---Chuck

[shartis]

He also found this piece on the site. Looks like micca/quartz and looks to have been used as a hammerstone.