Best one yet!

[picnic42]

After several months of hunting and digging... and posting our finds in a display case...
Sunday early evening we went out in this hot and humid weather to try again for a short dig. We started digging on our favorite place... and within about 30 minutes or so... out popped this wonderful artifact!!!!
There it was between layers of dirt... just waiting for me to pick it up. So Peggy and I were the next to have touched it after a thousand years or so.
Can anyone help to identify this as to age or kind?
I think it is a knife... it is sharp on one edge and not worked to a sharp edge on the other.
In my reading and talking... I assume it is not paleo or even close mainly due to it not being very finely worked. This seems to be quite rough and not highly detailed like many of those found on this forum.
I will now have to re-do my frame I had of all the broke pieces and add this to it!
This is so cool....
Thanks to NEOGEO for sending me those pieces to help learn what we are looking for.... and thanks to all of you folks for commenting and guiding us along on our journey.
What a HOBBY!
Ralph & Peggy too

 

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[Tnmountains]

A most excellant recovery guys!!! I think you all may be correct with large knife and possible scraper. Its really large and will look great in the display case. If you can determine the age of your site that may narrow it down some. I really like it and have enjoyed watching your journey.You guys have sure come a long ways
That Neo is a nice guy with his starter kits.

Congratulations
TnMtns

 

[*Molly*]

Hi Ralph n Peggy.

Now thats a decent size blade, I like it. Congrats..

The way to look at it Ralph is blades were made for using then discarding. I found so many blades on a site in Nc it was unbelievable. After asking friends why I was finding so many, they said I was hunting on a slaughter site. When you think about them preparing food everyday & scraping hides n such, its understandable that there are an abundance of blades. I think you are correct in your assumption, as time went by they stopped making there blades so well knapped, also we must take into consideration the material that was ready available..
I'm no expert but am thinking your blade might be late archaic~woodland..
If you go back & start to find several arrows, we can prolly put a period to the blade..

Good luck to you both for your next hunt..

Molly.

 

[joshuaream]

I'd say it's a quarry blank or preform. It has cortex left on the side edges, really basic percussion flaking, and a wavey edge. The next step might have been heat-treating it or just pressure flaking it into a final shape. Although it's a bit crude now, the archaic knappers worked wonders with that material. (I used to find it in a field I hunted near Shelbyville KY.)

From the mix of the other pieces you've posted, it looks like you are on a quarry site or a knapping camp. A lot of times the ancients would whack out quick pieces like that and carry them back to camp vs carrying back heavy cobbles/nodules/chunks of the material.

 

[flintdigger]

It look's like it might be a preform or blank, a lot of times a preform was used as a knife by pressure flaking a edge on it . It is a very nice piece. Congratulations !!!

 

[picnic42]

thanks for all your comments!!!! I... WE have so much to learn.

we have found a few more pieces since this find... and a nice piece that was not broke or chipped at all, which I gave to my son in law who is Native American.

I should be putting up a few more pics tonight or tomorrow of more recent finds... the ground is like concrete now.. so have not been digging for a bout a week now.