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Unfinished? Long, first time post. Apologies in advance!

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  • Unfinished? Long, first time post. Apologies in advance!

    For those who haven't read my intro post, my family has just inherited a very large collection of artifacts, mostly arrowheads and tools. We know very little about classifying these items, but I've been reading this forum and have gotten some good advice on getting started. Everything was just piled into cigar boxes, so we want to sort through everything and see exactly what we have. We homeschool, so we are using this as an impromptu lesson in Florida history! There is a local artifact show coming up that we will be attending, so we hope to learn a lot there too.

    We are fairly sure that almost everything was collected in our local area, the Central West Coast of Florida. Some items are written on, dated as early as 1959, and locations are noted. These 3 have no notations, but #3 has a faded sticker on it that is similar to others marked Maximo Point, which is in Pinellas County, I believe.

    Now that you have some background, the photos I've attached are all similar and look unfinished to me because they look partially notched at the shaft. Please feel free to correct my terminology! Any info you can pass on would be helpful. What would you classify these as? Should I sort the collection by shape, condition, or not bother? If you could tell me if I should clean them in any way, that would be great too. Sorry if I'm asking for too much in one post, I have a lot of questions and a LOT of artifacts!

    Thanks so much!
    Susan
    Central West Coast of Florida, total noob!

  • #2
    Hello Susan and welcome to the site. Florida is a real hotbed of archaeology all around. From ancient fossils to ancient artifacts that state is really loaded with history. You could sort them by size and similarity and maybe you can get them out of the boxes to avoid any damage. I would not clean them unless they are just covered in dirt and then I would suggest a soft toothbrush and warm water...no more. The folks at the artifact show should be able to give you plenty of info on your inheritance. Keep us posted. By the way that point in pic 2 has a really cool striped patina...
    The chase is better than the catch...
    I'm Frank and I'm from the flatlands of N'Eastern Illinois...

    Comment


    • Sday
      Sday commented
      Editing a comment
      Thanks for the advice! I thought that would be the way to tidy them, but just wanted to be sure. I've got about half of them covering my dining room table at the moment because seeing them piled up in the boxes was too much for me, lol. I'm trying to take out the ones that are whole, or mostly whole and deal with those first.

  • #3
    Keep the Maximo items separate from the rest. You'll be able to arrange them by time period or "type" after some study and help. Get all the help you can at the show. Ask for opinions on each piece and write it all down. Many collectors are into Types, SubTypes and some are Lumpers like me who put artifacts in more general categories basically determined by age.... First one looks like maybe it's made from rice-grain chert...strange the flake scars look sandblasted or ground and really heavy patina... it is Thonotosassa-Like, Archaic Stemmed. It is a finished piece. Knife. A NICE ONE.
    Second one is coral. I think preform. Probably Archaic. Third is think preform, too. Last one material looks like BayBottom Chert. A preform/blade.... almost certainly MAXIMO! Because:
    Maximo in Pinellas is where 90 percent of my shell artifacts and about 50 percent of my lithics come from!!!
    Last edited by tomclark; 08-18-2018, 07:31 AM.
    Professor Shellman
    Tampa Bay

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    • Sday
      Sday commented
      Editing a comment
      Which one is "that one?" LOL. I numbered them in the photos. We have quite a few from Maximo. I was reading a bit about it this week, very interesting! Lived in Hernando county all my life and had never heard of it! Really appreciate your insight, so thanks again.
      Last edited by Sday; 08-17-2018, 07:07 PM.

  • #4
    Really strange...my whole post wasn't included... Here is what I wrote....

    Keep the Maximo items separate from the rest. You'll be able to arrange them by time period or "type" after some study and help. Get all the help you can at the show. Ask for opinions on each piece and write it all down. Many collectors are into Types, SubTypes and some are Lumpers like me who put artifacts in more general categories basically determined by age.... First one looks like maybe it's made from rice-grain chert...strange the flake scars look sandblasted or ground and really heavy patina... it is Thonotosassa-Like, Archaic Stemmed. It is a finished piece. Knife. A NICE ONE.
    Second one is coral. I think preform. Probably Archaic. Third is think preform, too. Last one material looks like BayBottom Chert. A preform/blade.... almost certainly MAXIMO! Because:
    Maximo in Pinellas is where 90 percent of my shell artifacts and about 50 percent of my lithics come from!!!
    Professor Shellman
    Tampa Bay

    Comment


    • Hoss
      Hoss commented
      Editing a comment
      Yes, preforms were started and not finished. SOmetimes they were made and stashed in caches to be used later. Fint was not laying around every where so going to get it was another life way. Rather than carry chunks back Native AMericans would make preforms at the quarry and carry back the preforms to be made into points, blades or even just used for trade later on. I will wait for Tom to reply as he is most knowledgeable when it comes to that area of FL.
      Last edited by Hoss; 08-18-2018, 01:36 PM.

    • Tam
      Tam commented
      Editing a comment
      Really nice Tom

    • Sday
      Sday commented
      Editing a comment
      Thanks for the clarification, Hoss!

  • #5
    I would like to add that those are some great pieces. Thank you for sharing them with us.
    TN formerly CT Visit our store http://stores.arrowheads.com/store.p...m-Trading-Post

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    • #6
      Good information Hoss in simple terms . I always like to read these over till they stick .

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