Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Indian Artifacts - Volume II

Is it completely round? Or is it flatter on top and bottom?

Perfectly spherical

Very cool. Our matates are all oval shaped from grinding. We have some natural limestone on the surface here and some sandstone. Nearest flint quarry is about 45 miles away.

Half of a 'mortar n pestle'

Never find any 'bowls' i surmise they just used limestone slabs or wood


Small handed, smooth and well used.

These are made from plucked limestone extrusions and concretions. Either naturally liberated or like I said 'plucked' from exposed rock outcroppings.

Have several from one site.

The bases around here are sandstone squares or ovals that have a ground depression in the middle.

Usually 12-18” across.

you guys made me go take a walk today. Finally melted off enuff and wasn't too cold.

I found a few like that. No grind marks on them. Smooth and worn though.

Archaeologist I showed them to said they were hide stones for working the leather soft in the brain tanning process. He was pretty sure of himself. Got it confirmed by a few others.

The workmanship in the arrow heads is incredible.
How long would it take for a skilled person to make one? Were the heads made by particular people in a tribe, or did anyone do it?
Just excellent work..

Styles, size and materials vary as to when it was made, who made it, and what it was made for.

Didn't take too long to make a point. That depended as well... On craftsmanship and tools and material.

Lots of Indians had the older men make them while sitting in camp.

One reason you find so many "perfect" points is because when a point drew blood, they discarded it. Indians were very superstitious about blood. Hence the menstrual lodges for their women's time of month.
If a point drew blood, it was discarded, and new point put on the haft. Therefore it's a good idea to look for points around a campfire, because that's where they did that work a lot of times. Even better is to look on the North side of the campfire circle. Sitting with their back to the north wind and discarding bloody points while warming at the campfire.

I had never heard that but it makes sense, to me!

"One reason you find so many "perfect" points is because when a point drew blood, they discarded it. Indians were very superstitious about blood."

I don't doubt this at all, because of the unbelievable number of whole points that have been found and we keep finding them. The question comes to my mind is how do we know that is the reason. Is this just a plausible explanation or is it based in fact?

one more today

Not sure where Salmonella is located, but I have seen an enormous collection of points found in North Central Cali. Found a few myself on the Nevada side of the border.

Excellent thread. Maybe someone can shed further light on these.

I found them lying on top of the ground. The area is near Martinsville, VA way up on top of a mountain in a spot I call Jurassic Park. It is a small flat area less than .5 acres surrounded by steep ravines. If you're looking North there are 2 creeks coming in at, say, 10 Oclock and 2 OClock and they join together at 6 Oclock.

From what I could find out they're somewhere around 7 thousand years old but the interesting thing is the stone for the scraper came from the Asheboro, NC area, so there must have been some trading going on. It takes me an hour and a half to get to Asheboro in the Ram. I can't even imagine walking there.

I've been meaning to get back up there and dig around a little but we've had rain galore and it's so steep the mule won't go back up the hill if its wet.

Anyone out looking today?

Me and slumlord went to check some fields
Ain't been plowed yet.
Ground is like a full sponge .

Just wondering, you said you were going out.

That, and tornado on the ground 2 counties west of our spot.
Didnt want to get 1/2 mile out into the field and have a storm pop in.

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