Documenting your site and finds?

[Uncle Trav]

Do any of you folks document your finds and and hunting sites? I’m not talking about writing a paper for publication. I’m talking about for fun or your own interest. There’s nothing in the world like finding a dusty artifact in the wild. For me the fun doesn’t stop after a point is put in the frame. These artifacts I find have a story to tell but their voices have been muted by time so my hunt doesn’t stop when I walk out of the field. I’ve been doing a lot of reading about the local area. I want to know the who, what, where, when and why of my site as well as I can. I’ve read pioneer recollections of native people from the first settlers in my area. I’ve made my own site maps and studied historic maps and read archaeological surveys from the past around my area. Do any of you folks go down the rabbit hole with documenting your sites and finds? Thanks for listening to me ramble on.

[Hoss]

you should keep a record of what and where found by whom. I used to trace my finds on a 3 x 5 cardex and add some descriptions with the date and where found and my name. They are packed up now I am moving again soon. I learned this from my Dad who also did this . However he lest places on them like Cow Bone Alley. Maybe 5 people knew that spot. Dad named it and me and some cousins knew where it was but it is a housing development now. I have gone through and just added what town it was in. With todays GPS it could be a whole lot easier to pinpoint your sites.

[Uncle Trav]

Thanks Hoss. I’ve started to keep a log for my one small site. Every find helps build a bigger picture of the site. I was at a huge antique mall in Indiana a month ago and saw a ton of artifacts for sale. Many high priced frames filled with points and many loose artifacts. Even a birdstone! Almost none of the artifacts had any documentation at all beyond the state they were found in. Seems a shame what history may have been know about those artifacts is now lost.

[willjo]

Yes without documentation it is little more than a rock

[willjo]

Now with the computer and word it is easier to record my finds, when I first started years ago I traced them in a notebook and numbered them and penciled in information. If I have any Paleo material I have one of my Archaeologist friends record them in The Paleo Database of the Americas. I have several recorded there. The photos are first my sheets I record and second a sheet used to enter a point in the P.D.A. this sheet is for the Georgia section

[Uncle Trav]

WOW! That is impressive work. That type of dedication really helps to fill in the blanks. I hope to gather enough information about my site so that down the road there is more that just a bunch of cool stuff for someone to ponder over and scatter to the wind.

[Hal Gorges]

Hey Trav, you’re on the right track for getting the most out of collecting..I happened to spend more time documenting pottery from one particular site but this is what I did for points way back before computers, Willjo has a great system. pic. Is old school

[loudog]

Glad see you are documenting your site! Everyone should do it, I only hunt our farmland and put every artifact that can be identified in frames to make a record of what was found on the farm and to add my piece of the puzzle to the big picture.

[gregszybala]

Yes to everything you mention Trav. A big part of the fun and education of what we find. Take photos of every find with date and location and keep my finds by site.

[paohrocks]

Absolutely Trav. I catalog everything, all my relics are assigned a number and a site name (usually the property owner) along with that I record the type of artifact, material and date. Even the broken stuff is kept in separate site boxes. It's amazing the story a site will tell you if kept organized.

[Uncle Trav]

Thanks guys. Lots of good tips and input. On my small site I’ve found everything from late Woodland to one hint of Paleo. Documenting this site is important to me. After every artifact I’ve found I stand in that field and marvel at the history that is all around just waiting to be discovered. The pipe I recently found is the best example. With the cryptic design carved into it it makes the pipe a tangible link to one individual who camped on that very site. The stories these artifacts could tell make my imagination run wild.

[KyChipStone]

OnX hunt app.....This app allows me to mark on a map where I found every point . It stores a photo of every find and has a place to input notes on every piece. Above all of that , I pay annually for the land owner service so I know who to find to ask permission. This app has been a game changer for me allowing me to search topo maps for new locations........90% of my entire collection came from one site that I have heavily researched. Although it was multi occupational site, it has been fun learning about the cultures that used this site..,,Cheers!

[Turn Rocks]

On X Hunt. Tracking feature is great

[SGT.Digger]

I keep all my finds in a box that are all site specific. I wish I had a place to keep all my hard stone finds there are mostly all at the shelters. When I do bring them home I label them with sharpie. When I field walk I put all of them in the same bag of field finds even though they may be found hundreds of yards apart.