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  • What do you think

    The place where I have been finding most of my stuff. Ive been finding mostly tools and scrappers. Do you think it might of been a camp? Maybe thats why I havent been able to find any arrowheads? And I do want to find some so where should I look instead? There is alot of fish traps but I dont dare go near them. Instant jail time if you get caught!

  • #2
    Come on I need some ideas. Help me out. Where do you people find your points? Is it a secret or what? Not one answer for me yet.

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    • #3
      I looked through your photos and I don't think you have a site there.  I see some rough pieces of lithic, but nothing that I would call a scraper or tool.  You have a net weight, but no chipped stone tools.  There is a reason you aren't finding projectiles, it's because you aren't finding anything else.  I would go to a new spot.  If it were a camp, you would be finding projectiles, drills, scrapers, bi-faces and manos.  I don't want to discourage you, but there is a reason people aren't posting on your threads.  No body wants to tell you the truth about your "artifacts".  But, I feel like we're all here to learn, and I would like to help in any way I can, even if it's something you don't want to hear.  Trust me, when you do find a camp, you will be going koo koo over how many cool artifacts you'll find.  You're looking for the right stuff, just not the right location.  Most of my broken points and tools come from camps, and my nicest one's are isolated finds, most likely where they were doing the hunting in the field.  Good luck to you, you never know what you'll find out there, but I know for a fact if you keep looking, you'll find that site...

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      • #4
        Glenn, first you need to find a source of fresh water.  Any long term camps need nearby water.  Next, are there any agricultural fields near that water?  If so, can you get the owner's permission to walk those fields?  A freshly plowed field, washed by heavy rains,
        and located near a source of water should be a good bet for campsites and artifacts.  A lot of collectors also walk creeks, checking the sand and gravel bars, etc. But I think fields near water are your best bet and if you walk them you'll find the hot spots in those fields by putting the time in. Good luck.
        Charlie
        Rhode Island

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        • #5
          Glenn, Also look for high sandy ground next to the water source that Charlie mentioned. I drive around looking for new sites or Google earth is also a good way. Look for a place you would camp! When ya find a likely spot secure permission and WALK! Look for clues like flint flakes and firerock (burned rock). Mark.

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          • #6
            Glenn

            That's some really sound advice Charlie, Tyson and Mark have given you there. No point in looking harder in a place that hasn't shown much promise. If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got. The best place to look is in the vicinity where other finds have been made.

            Although I'm in the UK (you're in Georgia, right?), it took me about thirty seconds to find this site on Google:
            http://www.georgiaindiancouncil.org/...s_georgia.html

            As well as the known native sites, there are a number of collections and museums listed. Every specimen on display in every one of those collections will have a label that gives a location. Go have a look and take a notebook with you.

            In the UK we have something called the "Portable Antiquities Scheme" where collectors can voluntarily register small finds on a national database. You can search this database by artefact type, age and location. Every find has a map reference with a small random error built in to give the finders a little exclusivity on rich areas. But it's more than good enough to establish which areas would be worth checking out. I wouldn't be surprised if museum services in the US run something similar... even at local or State level.

            I would also make the following suggestions, whatever part of the world you live in:

            MAPS

            Take a trip to the library and see if they have any old maps of your area. Look for old tracks, trails, streams and such that may not exist or be apparent today. Look for archaic place names that are no longer in use. I'm sure there will be old native names for places and features and maybe names that are suggestive of something that was found there or used to happen there. In the UK you can get large scale maps that we call "Ordnance Survey" maps. They are modern maps, but include all known historic features as well. I would be surprised if you don't have something similar in the US.

            CONTEXT

            Think about what a native's needs would have been. In ancient times, shelter was important so caves and rock shelters are good places. Even if not inhabited, they were frequently used for storage.

            Lithic tools need a source of good material so look in places where there are outcrops of nice chert, jasper and such. Tools were often made in situ where good material could be quarried. A decent geological map will help.

            High points in the landscape were often used for game-spotting, so kill-sites are frequently on plains near the foot of these high points. If there's a nearby stream then that's where on-the-spot butchery of large carcases would have happened to divide up the proceeds or make it easier to carry.

            RIVERS & STREAMS

            The tips about camps near water are absolutely right. In addition, near waterfalls is a potentially good place, especially if there is a splash pool at the bottom. When searching rivers, check out any sharp bends in particular. The inside of the bend is where the current is slack, so that's where anything washing down the river is likely to get deposited. That's also where you often get a small "beach" that's worth searching. Old streams that have run dry are always fruitful in my experience. Look for gravel bed features.
            The tip you were given about searching after heavy rain is a good one. But droughts are good too. Go to lake shores and ponds where the water has receded after a long dry spell.

            DITCHES

            I like ditches. You can walk in them and get to subsurface layers without all the hard digging! Look for animal bones. You can often see them sticking out of the banks and they're easier to spot than tools. Ditch walls after heavy rain, particularly.

            EXPERIENCE

            You'll build this up, but in the meantime borrow someone else's. That's what this site is all about, but if you check around, I would be amazed if there are not amateur archaeological societies in your area that organise field walks from time to time. There's nothing like actually walking the ground in the company of someone who already has that experience.

            You'll get there. It's very clear you're not short of enthusiasm and that's probably the most vital ingredient.

            Look forward to seeing the posts of what you find.

            Roger
            I keep six honest serving-men (they taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who.

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            • #7
              Well put and explained gentlemen. Between the four of you, you have covered the essentials of what it takes to find projectile points and all the various items associated with those peoples that came before us. Maybe a specific part of the forum should be set aside or set up so that newbies can reference items or questions like this that are asked on a regular basis.  ??
              Searching the fields of NW Indiana and SW Michigan

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              • #8
                We talked about that a couple of months ago, a new categorie. What ever happened with that? ANDREW!!! Are you there!!!!! lol!

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                • #9
                  A catagory for newbie questions would indeed be useful.  Glenn, Roger has pulled out all the stops with the wealth of tips and info he provided.  I have another website for you to check.  It's the Society of Georgia Archaeology(SGA). If the SGA is like most other state archaeology societies, they will have many surface hunters as members.  They hold chapter meetings as well as larger meetings and that's where you can meet experienced artifact hunters from your neck of the woods.  And that's what will give you the jump-start you need, namely experienced help from folks near you, just as Roger pointed out. Here's the folks you want to connect with:
                  We are a non-profit organization whose vision is that all Georgians understand the significance of their archaeological sites so that they will support archaeological preservation, education and research.

                  Charlie
                  Rhode Island

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                  • #10
                    This is an excellent discusion with invaluable information.  Thanks to all contributers.
                    Andy

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                    • #11
                      On this very website, besides advice  from knowledeable collectors, on the main page is a header "Artifact Resources" containing excellent articles on the subjects of artifacts and Collecting. I recommend you visit it often.
                      Butch

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                      • #12
                        Thank you for all of your respones to my question. The place Im in use to be a mound that a store dug out and used for fill dirt to build on. And now there is a pound but the hill when it rains turns up stone items. So I am looking there cause its nomans land. And there have been items along the pond as well. They did put new rocks which have mixed in with the old. So it is even harder to see the old ones,but I do have other places I go. We have alot of rain so Ill try my other places till I look them all over again. Again Thanks!

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                        • #13
                          instead of one source of water I try and find where two sources come together. One for bathing and the other for fishing and drinking water. Not necessary for fresh either they boiled water too. I have found sites in the middle of a swamp. Try and seek higher ground near water too even if it is much higher than the river. There could be springs on the hill side you don't even know about but they did. Be patient they were every where and if you keep looking you will find stuff. Have you talked to any collectors in your area? How about the local library or Historical society? Ask older people farmers too they find stuff all the time and don't mind talking with folks. If you stop by a farm and want information offer to buy some plants and then move the conversation towards your hobby. Don't just start out with I want to look for arrowheads. Ask about planting and if they could teach you a bit about that then bring up arrowheads. You might be surprised to know they have three frames in the house and would like to show you where they got them. But always start off subject and bring it around to the hunt.

                          TN formerly CT Visit our store http://stores.arrowheads.com/store.p...m-Trading-Post

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                          • #14
                            More sound advice. Good article Matt.
                            Glenn, it wasn't clear from your original post that you had researched your area. Just goes to show that although this kind of research will always improve your chances, it's not infallible. You never know who might have got there first, either. The same logic still applies though and if you're not finding... then move on to somewhere else.
                            A couple of other things occurred to me after I posted. Settlements and camps, both permanent and semi-permanent are likely to be artefact-rich but in my experience this is where you find large numbers or 'ordinary' things. Especially if you happen to find the inevitable rubbish dump located on the edge of a settlement, where there can be broken stuff aplenty!
                            Really nice finds tend to be isolated. Why is that? I suspect it's because of unintentional loss. My experience is that these kinds of finds are more likely in areas where there was a relatively high amount of people moving through difficult terrain. Like narrow passes. I would also single out narrow or shallow sections of rivers likely to have been used as crossing points. On maps, these are of course often at or near places with the word "...ford" at the end of their name.
                            Roger
                            I keep six honest serving-men (they taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who.

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                            • #15
                              Yes I do look at a place like what you said. Acrossing point in the river where 2 rivers meet. That is where I have found my mortars in my pics. And probally alot of people go there as well. So Im weary about going there to much. There is another place, where I have found the 2 carvings in my pic by my name that I go to some times. Again by a creek and hard to get to. But I have found scrapers and cresent knifes in all places. Maybe Im last getting there I dont know. Thank you for your time.

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