Question about surface finds.

[ConnorT]

My uncles property has chips and flakes on the surface of the ground, you can walk right over to a flake and pick it up, so my question is, why are artifacts on the surface in some areas, but underground in others.

[willjo]

It may be an old field and people in the past may have picked up all artifacts on surface, i run into a place on a timber company land like that

[Cecilia]

Time and weather does it my property, or maybe covered 50 yrs ago from dirt when house constructed. I’m not sure I wouldn’t have heart attack if I just reached down and picked up artifact! (Only one I visually saw surface had been already partially scratched up by chickens!)

[Claycald]

Soil shifting and erosion due to wind and water would be my guess.

[Bushman B]

In my area, the soil is very sandy and we have pocket gophers that like to dig chips/artifacts and whatever’s down there and kick them up. In ways, it’s nice to be able to check gopher mounds for pointed rocks just after a rain 😃 but it also disturbs the original position of the artifacts and depth is no longer meaningful 🤷🏻♂️ Has its positives and has its negatives.

[vonfatman]

On our farm, you can look at places along the creeks and see layers of campfires that have been laid down for many, many years. It can be a challenge for me NOT to "dig in" to those artifact rich banks...but unless it's a celt or some really unusual or special object, I wait for the banks to give up their goodies. The banks are needed to hold the soil. Erosion should not be "helped" by my desire for more "stuff".

The rocks, cooking stones, tools, etc. will be in different layers depending upon when the folks living there showed up and left. After they left, flooding, wind blown sand/dust (loess), weather pattern changes, etc. can all pile layers of soil on top of artifacts, or the converse, the flooding and blowing can also expose them...double edged sword. Never assume a creek was "always" right where you see it today...look where it was!

On some areas, the field work (farming) will have worked itself down into the layers of artifacts and can kick them up and can also damage a few. It is always a puzzle to me as to how the rocks got "there" and that puzzle keeps me guessing and making up what I think may have caused the goodies to "get there"....

vfm

[Jethro355]

Some sites I have hunted were occupied for centuries or longer. The buildup/deposition of soil and debris occurs slowly over time and covers everything, and erosion exposes some. I can think of at least two sites with a strata that reaches 7 feet or more, and one that’s close to 10.