Artifacts

A Special Thanks to all the farmers and land owners who trust us not to "stomp the crop" and allow us to walk their land and collect our treasures. Especially: T & J. S. and D.S.

Note: All of the artifacts in my collection are field and river/creek finds. None are burial or ceremonial artifacts. Like most collectors I take pride in preserving and protecting the remnants of Stone-Age America.

	09 Oct. 2007 It was 90+ degrees today and I just had to get out on the river one more time this year... and am glad I did!!!
	23 March 2009 Fantastic weather... Fantastic hunting... Fantastic time with my brother Gus!!! Gus pulled this very nice Adena Blade (1000BC - 800AD) off the banks of the still very cold Ohio River. It was not only the best find of the day...but it was the only find of the day!!!
	The top point and far left were found on 01 Oct. 2007. The center and far right were found in late Sep. 2007 on the banks of the Ohio River.
	A Turkeytail - Harrison Scraper (2000BC to 500 BC) Found along the banks of the Ohio River on 9 July 2009.
	01 Sep 09 I'm baffled on this one! It's pottery, however I can't tell if it's a broken shard from a much larger piece or if it's made this way. It truly resembles an animals head!!!
	A PERFECT MADISON!!!! Jordan's first perfect point of the summer!!! Found on the banks of the Ohio River on 26 July, 2005. It's 1 7/8" long. Some of the point is buried in the sand.
	25 Feb. 2006: My first trip out this year. I stepped out of the boat and noticed this point about 6-7ft up the side of the dirt river bank...I knew it was a pine tree corner notch and that it was going to be a great day!!!
	25 Feb. 2006 continued: After pulling out the point above I noticed this about 8-10 ft away with footprints all around it!!
	Here are the two points above after being cleaned up. The point on the left is about 2 3/8" long.
	This is everything I found on my Feb. 25th 2006 trip. WHAT A DAY!!!!!! I was climbing into areas under fallen trees and drift piles that in the summer months I would never had gone...we have seen several large snakes at this site...but a man's got to do what a man's got to do to find the good stuff!!!
	Jordan and I returned to the same site that produced the points above on 01 Mar. 2006. Even though someone else had been there since my last visit we were still able to find these points. The point and the knife on the right measure about 2 1/4" each!
	17 July 2009 Enough of working around the farm...around 8 pm the night before I realized that I needed a mental health day... I'm glad I did!!! Point types L to R: Pickwick (I think) 400BC to 1500BC Unknown flake point it has pressure flaking all around the point and basal grinding in both sets of notches. A nice St Charles drill 7000BC to 3000BC And a Madison Point 900AD to 1700AD
	The Mystery Rock I took the Mystery Rock to an event at the Falls of the Ohio State Park in late summer 2007. Three archaeologists looked at it and felt that it is a small grinding stone.
	This is an Indian fire-pit that has been exposed on the banks of the Ohio River. In the area that is orange and black there are broken pieces of hearth stone and flint chips. There were many large areas of charcoal in a cupped line as in the bottom. Taken in June of 2005
	No.... it's not broken....It's a perfect "Kirk Snapped Base" that is between 6000 and 9000 years old. I wasn't sure if it was a snapped base or a broken point until I researched it on line and in the Overstreet Guide (page 486 8th edition). It has wonderful serration and is made of Harrison County Flint. Found on 29 Dec. 2006 in KY on the banks of the Ohio River. Thanks John S. for going with me on this trip!
	I drive hours and hours to get to fields where I have SOME chance of finding a point.... and then I put a basketball goal in my backyard and find 5 broken arrowheads!!!! I'll now plant anything the wife wants planted....without griping!!
	Christmas came early this year!!! This 5" full groove ax and points were given to me by a member of our family. He understands that collecting is truly an obsession with me and that if the house were to catch fire, my collection would be the second thing (after my family) that I would get out of our house. My wife would probably say they would be the first!!! Thank you Earl for the wonderful gift!
	So what were they hunting with this????? Ok... so it's not an artifact...but when I saw it laying on the shore I knew I had to add it to my collection!!!! It's a natural rock formation.... like most points I find...it's missing the tip!!!! P.S. I know that you have seen better looking legs on a picnic table....so stop laughing!!!!
	29 May 2008 A fantastic day of headhunting...the boat didn't break down... the river was smooth as glass and the 10,000 poison ivy plants that we came in contact with did not do any damage!!! This piece of pottery is by far my best...on the reverse there are 6-7 very distinct finger tip indentions left by the ancient potter. HOW COOL IS THAT!!!!
	After years of picking up broken ax heads I finally found a whole one!!! Its a 5 1/4" long 3/4 grooved ax. I found it in about 2' of water in the Ohio River ( It was covered in moss and zebra muscles). I was so excited I dropped it back in when I realized what it was, but grabbed it before it hit bottom.
	The "Dish-Pan" hands of a riverbank arrowhead hunter! This point was found deep in the sand on the banks of the Ohio River on 5 Aug. 2005.
	Jordan's Great Day!!! All found on June 17th in less than 2 hours of hunting. Thanks again to T & J!!
	Nothing like the excitement of finding a point! Found by my son Jeremy on 17 May 2003 in Illinois. A nice Calf Creek.
	09/09/09 A very unique day!!! First I find the black point...it's fluted on both sides. This leads me to believe it is a Paleo point that was reused in more modern times. The white point is a Madison point that has been reworked into a super sharp drill. I believe both are rare!!!
	24 April 2008...THE WORST TRIP EVER!!! Several things happened including having my boat prop fall of in the middle of the river and I had to be towed in. I fell once and "racked" myself with a spring loaded tree branch and then went on and found twice as many snakes as points!!! God blessed me with this point...had I been blanked on this trip I would have probably sold the boat and forsaken the smell of river mud in the morning for the rest of my days!!!
	I found this piece of pottery this fall. I put it in my "Pottery Box" without cleaning it. I later noticed the pattern and cleaned it. The pattern was made with the fingernail of the ancient potter!!!
	The finest artifact that I have found thus far!! A 3 1/2" ground adz found on 17 June 2004 on the farm of T & J. I did make one mistake that day.... when I found this piece I said..."I don't care if I find anything else today" well..... God was listening, because I didn't!!!
	My first fishing net weight!! It was found in a plowed field in Harrison Co. IN on the 15th of April (yes...tax day) 2005. It's about 1 1/4" long and is fully grooved! The 2005 season is starting out with a bang!!! I also found the point below.....
	....within about 15' of the fishing net weight!!! And yes, this is the way it was when I found it!!!
	I found these on a Mississippian site. They are pieces of sandstone that was used to sharpen bone artifacts. I have been told that the one on the left is a rare piece because it has 3 grooves where it has been worked. (two are shown, the other is on the bottom).
	A couple of real nice "nutting stones". My understanding is the Native Americans would place them on their thigh, place a hard nut on the rock and strike it with another rock. This action, over time, would cause the indentions. Both stoned have exactly the same size and shape indentions on the other side. Both were found in the Ohio River on 15 Aug. 2004.
	I'm calling this a bell pestle and not a bullet pestle because it has a very slight flare at the grinding end. This is my first pestle and it was found on 16 April 2005 in Harrison Co. IN.
	Found in the same field and on the same day as the above pestle.....this is by far the largest hammer stone I have ever seen!!! It measures 7" in length, 4 1/2" in width and is 2 1/4" thick!!! It must have been used to crack the large geodes of Harrison Co. flint into smaller workable shards.
	Found by Jordan on 16 April 2005. This is what he calls "the ultimate duckbill scraper"...which it is not!!! He also found the game-ball on the same trip. We have visited this spot several times with little or no luck...this plowing has given up many fine artifacts this weekend... God is good, and we are blessed!!!!
	8 Oct. 04 after a couple weeks of flooding and after about three hours of walking and finding nothing but big rocks for my fish pond....I hit pay-dirt (or sand) with this 4" Adena - Robbins Knife (1800 - 3000 years old)!
	Man am I having a great summer!!!! I have only been blanked once thus far...and that was still a great trip!!! All found on the banks of the Ohio river in August 2006. The sandstone piece in the top/center was used to sharpen bone tools...thus the deep groove toward the top.
	A couple of pottery shards that I found in late June 2005 along the banks of the Ohio River in Kentucky. The smaller piece has what is called a serpent pattern, the larger one is a basic and much more common basket weave.
	A few of the "Duck Bill" or "Thumb" scrapers I have picked up here and there. Many artifact hunters miss these because they are flat and not worked on the bottom.
	Two nice points found on 21 July, 2005. The largest one is 1 1/2 inches long, the smaller one is only 7/8ths of an inch long. Found on the banks of the Ohio River in Kentucky.
	A Great Day!!!! All were found (with about 16 broken ones) in about a 2 hour period on 16 April 2004! What a great way to start out on another season of "Headhunting"!!! Thanks T & J
	Notice the heartbreakers (the two closest to the bottom right corner) one missing a tip...the other an ear. The black pieces on the outside of the points are broken pieces of pottery. All were found in about a three hour period.
	An Adena blade found by my son Jeremy in west/central Illinois. We thought it was broken at first, but then realized it was reworked to be a shaft scraper.
	A few more nice finds from the banks of the Ohio River. Both were found in April 2008
	It wasn't the prettiest point...but it was whole! Type...unsure, its made of Burlington Chert and was found along the Illinois River.
	These are "Artisan Cores". They can be found on Mississippian sites, normally along rivers. These are the bi-product of making razor sharp flint shards to carve into mussel shells and other artifacts. The size of the top and bottom is determined by the size of the Indians fingers! They worked these cores until they could no longer hold on to them without hitting their fingers.
	Many of my most recent finds thus far this year. The Madison point (top center) is the nicest Madison I have found. The scrapers on the ends are uniface scrapers. All were found in either Clark or Harrison Counties in Indiana March thru May 2004.
	A nice find from the waters edge. Found on the banks of the Ohio River in Mid-February 2004. Even a blind squirrel could have found this one!
	All found on 15 Aug. 2004 in an area the size of an average living room. All three are made of local materials from Clark and Harrison Counties in Indiana. The small grey point was found within a couple of yards from the point pictured above.
	25 Aug. 2009 Not much to say...another great day...I AM SO BLESSED!!!
	A very nice chipped adz found in Harrison County Indiana in April 2008. It was my only find of the day and not the best part...the best part was getting out with Jordan and just walking and talking.
	Two nice finds... both are just over an inch long. Both were found on the banks of the Ohio River about 70 miles apart. They were both found in May of 2005.
	A 3" Benton-Bottle Neck (4000BC-2000BC) found in Harrison County IN on Nov. 24th 2006 in a plowed field. I'm calling it a Benton-Bottle Neck because the eighth edition of the Overstreet guide has a point very close to this one (page 381) that was found within 20 miles of this one.
	01 Sep. 2009 A Very good day! When I looked down and saw the drill on the far left I went into "Headhunter Shock"!!! You know... it's that 1/2 second that you know what your looking at but simply do not believe your eyes. This is one of my favorite points!!!

Email me at: Flintframer@aol.com