new to the forum and arrowhead hunting need help

[pastorandrew]

hello,
I am interested in getting into hunting arrowheads and artifacts with my children, we are all natural rock hounds and pick up pockets full every where we go. Our family farm has never been hunted that i know of, however over the years, my dad and grandfather have found arrowheads and a hammer while picking rocks. me and the kids went out on a sandy hill and picked these up today. my question is are these the broken off pieces from making tools or are they just broken rocks? any help would be appreciated. thanks!
Andrew

[OnewiththewilD]

hello and  :welcome:  to the site! careful now,artifact hunting is VERY addictive!  :laugh:  you just might get yer kids hooked too!  :laugh: yer pieces look like the right kinda materials but i dont see any work on them,BUT ! it seems you definatly got an eye for it ! keep up the search! if theres material in the area theres a good chance theres artifacts laying around too! try checking the washouts and any gravel patches you see around,if theres a brook or stream near by try focusing yer search around it,like the eroded banks,animal crossings,and gravel bars.try and imagine where the best camp sites might have been,like a natural wind break or flat ground in a good location. good luck and keep us posted!

[gregszybala]

Welcome!
Well if your folks found them in the past and your finding materials, you'll be finding them soon. The sandy hill and info Onewiththewild gave you will put you on them. Of course turning the ground, a good rain and or winds will help too. Be patient though, the artifacts aren't always laying around easily found.

[gregszybala]

Welcome!
Well if your folks found them in the past and your finding materials, you'll be finding them soon. The sandy hill and info Onewiththewild gave you will put you on them. Of course turning the ground, a good rain and or winds will help too. Be patient though, the artifacts aren't always laying around easily found.

[chase]

OnewiththewilD wrote:

hello and  :welcome:  to the site! careful now,artifact hunting is VERY addictive!  :laugh:  you just might get yer kids hooked too!  :laugh: yer pieces look like the right kinda materials but i dont see any work on them,BUT ! it seems you definatly got an eye for it ! keep up the search! if theres material in the area theres a good chance theres artifacts laying around too! try checking the washouts and any gravel patches you see around,if theres a brook or stream near by try focusing yer search around it,like the eroded banks,animal crossings,and gravel bars.try and imagine where the best camp sites might have been,like a natural wind break or flat ground in a good location. good luck and keep us posted!

What Onewiththewild said is true. It looks that one of the middle pieces looks heat treated. One of the biggest things is identifying lithics. I cover a lot of ground, and most campsites once your there  you can see why. If you choose to proceed with your kids on this quest, it will be a life time commitment.

[pastorandrew]

Thanks everybody! I can imagine it will become an obsession for us! my oldest daughter who is seven loves gemstones and rocks.  I could never figure out where to take her to look and it seemed everything was hours travel away, then it hit me, why not look for native american artifacts! We are gonna start looking, the field behind our house has been plowed for winter, so we will be walking over it to see whats there!  will be doing more research on what lithics are! Thanks again!

[pastorandrew]

I have been told my entire life that our farm had a Indian trail that went through it way back in the day.  It set between two river systems that are around seven miles apart.  there is a ridge that runs from a high bank on the one river to a high bank on the other river seven miles away.  One woods, on our property has ridge running through it.  There is a beech tree in that woods that has what I have been told my entire life is an indian carving in it.  its around 16 ft high on the tree now, its the fish symbol.  to give reference my grandfathers carving from the 1940's date carved in it, is only 8 or so feet up the tree, my uncles carving is probably seven feet up the tree from the 70's and our carvings from childhood in the 90's are around 6 feet up the tree. So realistically the stories I have been told could be true!  we only have a few very small streams on the property.  but that ridge runs almost 1.5 miles through our place.  Do you all think that is the place to look? If I remember right the previous artifacts were found halfway down the ridge into the valley in the fields.  Before settlement happened in mid 1800's the ridge was all white pine and the swamp was cedar and hemlock.  what are you guys thoughts?

[hvs]

If i found that material in a field i would check every inch of it.. good luck and let us know whether or not you find anything..

[Kyflintguy]

:welcome: To AH.com from east TN!
They gave  good advice,  you just gotta get out there, once you start seeing the signs ( chipped flint,Chert" lithics") follow your instincts  and keep your eyes on the ground... Love seeing families enjoying this hobby together!  Something you and your kids will never forget, making those first finds...
Here's a link to a recent thread with lots of use full tips on what to look for..

http://www.arrowheads.com/index.php/forum/hunting-tips/82887-field-hunting-101-the-basics

[SDhunter]

Welcome to the site.  Your little chips look like a good sign.  Keep looking.     
Gary

[kreative]

Posted by [Hi-Lo]:

Welcome from southern Ontario.