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Artifact Find....

23K views 210 replies 34 participants last post by  HookBender 
#1 ·
Found my first intact arrowhead last week.....



One night last week HookBender, Dana.Birrell and I went fishing for 'eyes but they weren't biting. So we decided to go scour a spot where HookBender and I had spotted flint flakes previously. After about an hour I came about this beauty! Best fishing trip I ever had that I didn't catch any fish! I'd been wanting to find one for the last 3 years. I'd found scrappers, preforms, and broken arrowheads previously, but never an intact one before.

I contacted a guy from the Ohio Archeological Society and sent him pictures. He told me that it's made of Coshocton flint and that the concave base and corner notches suggest it's from the early archaic period. His estimate was that it was likely knapped around 8,500-9,500 years ago.

HookBender and I have been on a roll the last couple weeks.....I found a broken arrowhead in Pickaway County while fishing about 5 weeks ago and then HookBender found his first intact arrowhead 3 weeks ago (likely an Adena point also made of the same Coshocton material).

I can't wait to find my next one! We have plans to go with 1basshunter to one of his artifact hunting spots once the weather warms up a bit. HookBender and I would love to tag along with anybody else who is interested in searching for Native American artifacts. We're both novices at finding artifacts and would like to learn from some people with more experienced. Drop me a PM if you'd be interested in hunting together!

-Flash
 
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#153 ·
From what my brother says, she couldn't be any more excited. :)
I went on a short metal detecting hunt at a street/sidewalk tear out 2 days ago and dug this 1865 2 cent piece. Not a very common coin so it was cool to find one.
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Lol I was being sarcastic. She was shaking so bad. Did she send you a pic of her coin yet? Your 2 cent pc is a great coin too. The grand son has been bugging me to get him a decent detector.
 
#156 ·
You will get many different opinions on that question. For a good all around entry level turn on and go detector I recommend the Garrett Ace line. They make a 250, 350 and the new 400. You can find a 250 for around $200 but you may find a great deal on a used one. Whites and Fisher are also good. The Whites Coinmaster is another good machine for beginners. No matter which one you get, they all take many hours of use before you get good at distinguishing good targets from bad. You will still dig bottle caps and pull tabs, but much less of them. It's real easy to get discouraged when all you are finding is junk. If you bury coins and rings in the ground at different depths along side some junk targets, it really helps give you an idea of the sounds and VDI numbers that you are looking for. I can tell a coin signal probably 80% of the time before digging. Using headphones helps a lot also.
All metal detectors will find plenty of coins and other goodies. The high end ones go a bit deeper, but not as much as one would think for the difference in money. The cost is in the amount of data that they give to help ID a target. My machine is a Garrett AT Pro which is a mid grade one. The one thing I like about it is that it's water proof to 10 feet deep. Most all detectors have a water proof coil but the head units can't get wet.
Hope this helps. It's a fun hobby for sure.
 
#157 ·
all eyes.... agreed the at pro is one fine unit, when this post first started I had just bought one and you gave me some info about working the bugs out and trying different thing like burying coins and seeing how they detect. well I took your advice and got most of the bugs worked out and I have found some very cool things. again thanks for your advice im having a lot of fun now
 
#158 ·
That's awesome. Glad to hear you are enjoying it. A coin has such a clean distinct sound (usually) and the VDI doesn't jump around much if at all. When in doubt, the iron audio can help determine a bottle cap or other unwanted targets. I keep getting better all the time and don't dig nearly as much junk now.
 
#159 · (Edited)
Turtle Tortoise Common snapping turtle Reptile Kinosternidae
After reading this thread I started looking more intently at the ground near my feet. In my quest for stream small mouth I began looking at stream beds and the stones there. Being a novice I picked up anything that may be an unusual mineral or stone tool from the past. I likely found neither but they seemed interesting so I picked them up. Did I find anything or just rocks?
Black rock is very light for its size and has a shinny surface. Could it be just a peice of coal that has been polished by the action of moving water? An odd color stone or something else. The second stone Is it a stone tool for grinding? Or just a rock with a dip in the side. Thanks in advance for the opinions.

Rock

Ruler Tape measure Plant
 
#161 ·
View attachment 220647 After reading this thread I started looking more intently at the ground near my feet. In my quest for stream small mouth I began looking at stream beds and the stones there. Being a novice I picked up anything that may be an unusual mineral or stone tool from the past. I likely found neither but they seemed interesting so I picked them up. Did I find anything or just rocks?
Black rock is very light for its size and has a shinny surface. Could it be just a peice of coal that has been polished by the action of moving water? An odd color stone or something else. The second stone Is it a stone tool for grinding? Or just a rock with a dip in the side. Thanks in advance for the opinions.

View attachment 220645
View attachment 220646
Hey FishingIsFun, keep your eyes on the ground, that's half the battle!

You're definitely picking up the right kind of stuff. A lot of the arrowheads that come out of Ohio are jet black (Coshocton flint). I can't tell you how many pieces of coal I picked up!

Also check out some photos of stone axes, gorgets, and bone tools. Most people aren't aware of these other kinds of Indian Artifacts.

Right now I'm averaging about 1 arrowhead for every 8 miles of creek/field I walk (fitness app on my phone). If you keep looking, you WILL eventually find an artifact. Staying within 200 yards of water will drastically improve your odds.

I'm looking forward to seeing your first find. Keep hunting!
 
#160 ·
The fist piece does seem to be a tumbled piece of coal. It isn't showing any signs of being manipulated by man.
The second stone, I will also have to go with natural. Nutting stones usually have a more uniformed drilling pattern, and Mortars (mortar and pestle) are usually larger than that.

Mother Nature can be deceiving, mix that with a little hope and imagination and the possibilities of what it could be are endless![emoji6]

You do have the right idea though. These are characteristics to looks for so well done!
I have virtually zero success with creek hunting. Someday I keep telling myself, someday.
 
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#167 ·
Leaf Artifact Metal
Basal grinding is present. Here is a side by side is another PF Big Sandy. Not all Big Sandy's are "big".
Intrusive Mound types are corner notched.
An intrusive mound point shares almost every single attribute with the Jack's Reef type, fitting since they are in the same type cluster.
I still gotta go with BS.
 
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#168 ·
View attachment 229423 Basal grinding is present. Here is a side by side is another PF Big Sandy. Not all Big Sandy's are "big".
Intrusive Mound types are corner notched.
An intrusive mound point shares almost every single attribute with the Jack's Reef type, fitting since they are in the same type cluster.
I still gotta go with BS.
Just looking at the concave base is why I was thinking Jack's or intrusive. Materials of the 2 look the same. Did you pick those up close to each other?
 
#182 ·
This is too good to let die. I take it nobody has ever hunted with a found arrowhead? I would think that would be the neatest thing ever. To harvest a deer for Thanksgiving with one of these and a longbow.
Ah, to dream.
I have seen people that hunt with their own made flint points. As long as they meet the state standards, why not?!
 
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#195 ·
I didn't realize the arrowhead was regulated when hunting?
If you look at the regulations under "Allowable Hunting Equipment" it gives the explanation. Minimum of two cutting edges, minimum width of 3/4in.
I thought there was some others pertaining to the "arrowhead" but that all I could find after a quick search.
 
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#184 ·
Sort of a sidetrack - has anyone ever found any evidence of anything resembling an ancient clam bake site? I ask because the native peoples would have had everything they needed for something like that - fish/shellfish, firewood, stones - I don't suppose much would remain from a 500-year-old site but I'm just asking out of curiosity.
 
#185 ·
Most of the archaeological reports I've read usually show some mussel shells from midden pits,
but not enough to point to a serious "clam bake". I did find remnants of a shell mound in the woods once - turns out the area was used for clambakes in the 30-50's. The old beer bottles gave it away. I remember reading that fresh water mussels are edible, but nowhere near as tasty as
the salt water version.
 
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