Ancient Digs! + In Situs!

[Bent_Twig]

more

 

[Bent_Twig]

another

 

[Bent_Twig]

another, a nice blade.

 

[cobaltbot]

Thanks guys, Twig thats a great start to your year!!

 

[lexdigger]

Got out and walked a few rough plowed fields sunday. Found a handfull of brokens and this nice unifacial blade! Made of brassfield chert and has some excellent pressure flaking along one edge. Can't wait to get a good gulley washer so I can get out and find some killers!!!

 

[Grampy Green Jeans]

Nice photos of great finds!
I went for a walk 2 a site where there r many shells dumped over an embankment. They r from ancient encampments,and cover over a quarter mile long. So there was many people and they spent much time there, from the volume of shells.
A local collector had shown me many nice points and spear tips years ago, he said came from that site. He has since moved away.
I had a nice walk but was at a loss as 2 where i should be looking... for artifacts and such. Would time better spent digging through the shells on the embankment? (they range from a foot, to maybe 3 feet thick, over the top of original embankment soil) Or Should I focus on material at the base of the shells, sliding out of the bank? There are roots holding the bank together, though there r spots w/ some good erosion.
I left the site w/ few clues where to start... The neat thing was the volume of shells and size of the site was much larger than I thought!
Any ideas for my return trip? Should I run the shells and material through a screen as I dig?
Almost forgot... when I was on a farm dump dig for bottles I found this stone... not sure if it is anything ... though it has tiny grooves on the edge that looks different from the other edges, poss. scraper? Depending on response, I might take it 2 local museum and ask them.

 

[Grampy Green Jeans]

other view

 

[Grampy Green Jeans]

here

 

[akronmarbles]

RE: Ancient Digs!

Here's an Adena projectile point I found last weekend while digging an old farm dump. It was mixed right in with toc trash. It's made of nice Coshocton flint and measures 3.5" long.

 

[lexdigger]

Sounds like you've found a midden site. Ancient people used to put thier trash in pits and piles the same as we do today. Alot of shell middens have produced nice artifacts including arrowheads, pottery, and bone tools. It sounds like erosion has eaten into it and spread it out along the banks. I would definitly surface hunt the entire area, but I would also try to locate the source of the midden and dig into it. Who knows what you'll find, but you will never know untill you dig into it! Keep us posted!
P.S. Your stone appears to be a scraper or blade of some sort. It's not uncommon to find ancient artifacts in dumps and privies.