Whoop, whoop, METATE!

[tomf]

Took a long walk on the creek yesterday.

Found what I believe is a turtle-back scraper.

Also an interesting , if unspectacular, point (mostly unbroken)

A couple of brokes and bunch of debitage from a particular spot which I will have to investigate further.

Pulver eggs.

Best of all, a very nice example of a metate.

I'm a very happy hunter today!

[tomf]

It's a beauty.











I think this type is set into the floor and used with a pestle and hopper basket.

[SurfaceHunter]

It looks like a nice one very well defined

[tomf]

The grinding hole is about 2 & 1/2" deep.

I'm thrilled to have found it and lucky too. The hole was obscured by another rock but something about the shape caused me to look.

Old timers say this valley used to be littered with grinding stones but that was way back.

I doubt there are many left to find, at least not just laying out in the open.

This example must weigh 50 lbs or so, carrying it back to the house, 3 miles through water, it felt light as a feather.

[SurfaceHunter]

I bet it felt like an anchor instead. Good thing you didn’t step in a hole

[redrocks]

Nice finds .. congrats on the good hunt...might be more like a mortar than a metate

[SurfaceHunter]

Very true

[tomf]

True. I guess metate is the flat kind that works with a mano.

Whoop, whoop, mortar! Just didn't have the same ring as a post title.

I looked for the pestle that might have gone with it but no luck.

Maybe next time.

[SurfaceHunter]

I think Red has a good point on that cause it’s not flat. Hey Tom just wondering was the divot side facing up or down?

[tomf]

If the divot is the hole, it was divot side up but there was another stone laying across it that kept it hidden.

There were some large stones around but this one was larger still and the squared edge caught my eye,

It was a rush when I moved the covering slate and saw the hole.

Acorns were central to life in these valleys for millennia so the mortar and pestle are significant part of the story.

It's great to find one that can't be mistaken.

[SurfaceHunter]

If it was found in that creek then what I’ve read doesn’t apply. In the actual campsite setting it would of been turned upside down that’s how they left them in the fields until their next visit. But in a creek with swift water it’s different but you would think seeing it’s so large the campsite should be close by. I’ve never found a nice one like that just the grinders

[tomf]

Agree that it most likely got flipped by the creek.

Luckily it didn't 'kill' it.

I suspect you are right about a village, though.

About 1/2 a mile upstream I found an area of the creek that had an unusual quantity of debitage. Far more than any other spot I've found.

I had made a mental note to check higher up the banks on my return journey but hadn't expected to be carrying a very heavy precious stone.

Even so, I hopped up the lower of the two banks, through a fence and into a vineyard (I know you shouldn't trespass but curiosity and lithic fever is to blame).

I discovered that the first few rows of vines closest to the creek are littered with debitage as is the creek below.

Interesting that it's mostly very small flakes.

Maybe they were operating a workshop that specialized in finishing blanks.

I've read that local Wappo indians were famous as go-betweens in the obsidian/ shell trade.

Anyhow, there is something there.



I feel like I'm peaking in my hunting activities.

I might have found a site last week (see my 'lookout point post') and perhaps another yesterday.

My beady eye is double sharp at present.

[Jethro355]

That thing is a monster!!!

love the Killdeer eggs too! Hardly ever see 4 in a nest...

[redrocks]

Ok what's a pulver and a kildeer

[tomf]

Those things are harder to spot than arrowheads!

Of course you know they are there cause mum and dad are doing all they can to drive you off the beach.

I move a bit quicker and watch my step.

[Bloody Fourth]

So the killdeer eggs look the same over here in NC as they do in Cali! They sure do make pretty eggs. They always make nests in our blueberry beds or in the fields, and when you get near they do the famous wounded dance, I’m hurt over here come eat me instead and get away from my eggs!

[SurfaceHunter]

Bird they nest on the ground

[redrocks]

Thx Glen

[Louvier]

That is a lifetime find. Just picture it's original maker using it as the center of family life ... Food as grain , then ground into many forms and uses. Ancient Cuisinart ... Make an outside altar out of it. Thanks for a look , J. Louvier

[Tam]

What an amazing find . Saving the past and living it . What a great day !!!

[gregszybala]

Congrats on that. The past folks on the West coast must have ate a lot of nuts.

[Glacial Pebble]

Beautiful!!

[Kentucky point]

Outstanding! Arguably one of the best examples I have ever seen!

[Lindenmeier-Man]

Incredible how water worn those points are... ! I think the chances of finding the pestle near by are good ! I’d dig a little into the ground where you found it ....

[Jethro355]

This is a baby one, Red...they are like cotton balls with toothpick legs, and fast as a jackrabbit.
i find them all the time when artifact hunting in the spring. This one was only a couple hours old.i parked my sidexside next to the nest so I would remember where it was and not step on it. When I came back the eggs had turned to babies.

[redrocks]

Thanks Jethro..what a cool little bird.. those eggs are gorgeous

[SDhunter]

Beautiful mortar