Digging for Artifacts

[SteveSac]

Hey All,

I've been reading alot about digging for artifacts and wanted to know if anyone has any success doing this here. My biggest problem is the lack of information available to me. Where I hunt is a lake that used to be a river bed that is pretty secluded. There are a few huge rock faces that have small overhangs that seem would be ideal to set up camp and get out of the wind in certain situations. I started to dig a bit around one, but not really sure i'm doing it right. I read that some people like to start digging down slope of where they think a camp was and then work their way around. It makes sense to me, but I like to understand the logic behind some of these things.

How deep should I typically be digging? I read that I should dig until i hit bedrock. Should I start digging about 20' below the area where they may have camped? One of the huge boulders that I found is about 15 yards up hill from a small brook. I've walked the brook and havent found anything in the gravel, Should I try digging the walls of the brook first?

I don't really have anyone else to ask and haven't found any literature about native americans in the area. I know they were around since I had a buddy growing up who owned a Nursery about 4 miles away. They found so many artifacts as kids that they contacted the Museum of Natural History and had someone come out and catalogue their finds back in the late 90's. Bummer that they sold the place and houses were built on it.

Again, thanks for any input at all and sorry for all the questions.

Steve

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Family Maps of Hinds County, Mississippi, Deluxe Edition - Grab it through Amazon!

[The Grim Reaper]

What state are you in? First and foremost check out the digging laws in your state so you don't end in jail or with a hefty fine or both.

 

[Indian Steve]

If you find out that it is legal to dig, then you need to get permission from the landowner. It might help if you could post a picture or two of the cave so we could get an idea if it is a good looking site or not. Good Luck!

 

[The Grim Reaper]

If you find out that it is legal to dig, then you need to get permission from the landowner. It might help if you could post a picture or two of the cave so we could get an idea if it is a good looking site or not. Good Luck!

Directions or GPS coordinates would be cool too. lol

 

[ToddsPoint]

We always shovel tested a new site before digging. Dig a hole and see what you hit. If you hit flint chips and pottery you dig and screen. If nothing, move on. Gary

 

[PullTabSlayer]

Ditto what toddspoint said

 

[georgia flatlander]

Steve, after checking the applicable laws, It's probably best to get an idea of where you think they may have lived. Depending upon the age of the site, the land may have changed drastically, or not at all. If you're in a flood-prone area, try a spot above the high water mark. Keep in mind that existing trees have no bearing whatsoever on what was alive 1000 years ago, and creek and river channels may have changed course as well. If you have an easily navigable creek, my suggestion is to try there first. It's much easier than digging dry earth, and you may get an idea of areas they frequented-then move inland. If it has a sandy bottom it's more difficult, and you may have to dig down to clay or a solid surface, but it's still easier than digging on dry land. I've been very fortunate digging, and although it takes a great deal of work (and imagination), it's also a lot of fun.
We've found different types of tools and points at different layers while we dig, and if you're going to "go in" sideways through a bank, you should be able to see the changes in strata as you move forward. Typically, lithic artifacts will work themselves down to a layer of impervious material given time, so if the area has been inhabited for thousands of years, you may find different types situated at different levels.
In any case, make sure you check out the top of the impervious level. Good Luck!

 

[SteveSac]

Steve, after checking the applicable laws, It's probably best to get an idea of where you think they may have lived. Depending upon the age of the site, the land may have changed drastically, or not at all. If you're in a flood-prone area, try a spot above the high water mark. Keep in mind that existing trees have no bearing whatsoever on what was alive 1000 years ago, and creek and river channels may have changed course as well. If you have an easily navigable creek, my suggestion is to try there first. It's much easier than digging dry earth, and you may get an idea of areas they frequented-then move inland. If it has a sandy bottom it's more difficult, and you may have to dig down to clay or a solid surface, but it's still easier than digging on dry land. I've been very fortunate digging, and although it takes a great deal of work (and imagination), it's also a lot of fun.
We've found different types of tools and points at different layers while we dig, and if you're going to "go in" sideways through a bank, you should be able to see the changes in strata as you move forward. Typically, lithic artifacts will work themselves down to a layer of impervious material given time, so if the area has been inhabited for thousands of years, you may find different types situated at different levels.
In any case, make sure you check out the top of the impervious level. Good Luck!

Thank you! And thanks everyone. Very helpful information. I'll send some pics when I go back to the spot and hopefully find some signs!

Thx again
Steve

 

[newnan man]

I don't look much anymore as my knee is shot. I'm used to being on construction sites so I'm always looking at disturbed ground. I have over the last 40+ years found many artifacts including a cache of blades in Portsmouth Oh. I found a killer Beaver Lake here in Florida building a hotel near Ocala. As a kid I found and still have an awesome Dovetail that a bulldozer scraped up behind my grade school when they were adding a new playground over summer break. The schools playground ended at a bluff overlooking the Scioto River and the Ohio Archeological Society did a dig there after I had moved away. Anyway never stop looking.

 

[scruggs]

Good luck on your dig!

 

[firemanphob]

Am I to understand that it is legal in some states to dig for Indian artifacts. I live in southern Indiana and have always heard it is against federal law to dig for Indian artifacts. They will get you here for flipping rocks with a screwdriver. Not trying to cause trouble, just trying to learn.

 

[T.C.]

Am I to understand that it is legal in some states to dig for Indian artifacts. I live in southern Indiana and have always heard it is against federal law to dig for Indian artifacts. They will get you here for flipping rocks with a screwdriver. Not trying to cause trouble, just trying to learn.

Here in Oregon as well. If you have a known camp on your own property, you have to get written permission from the state...and that is a sure NO.

 

[Kantuckkeean]

Am I to understand that it is legal in some states to dig for Indian artifacts. I live in southern Indiana and have always heard it is against federal law to dig for Indian artifacts. They will get you here for flipping rocks with a screwdriver. Not trying to cause trouble, just trying to learn.

I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Reaper. I would look into the applicable laws before doing anything. I live in Indiana, and looked into it a bit because I was thinking about doing some excavating in a field behind my house during the winter months, but I have now ruled that out. Surface collecting of artifacts is fine with landowner permission, but excavation must be done in accordance with a plan that has been approved by IN DNR - Division of Historic Preservation. I guess if the plow pulls up something really cool then I'll call the experts.

https://www.in.gov/inaiac/files/Indiana_Archaeology_Law.pdf

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

 

[bone2stone]

If you have the rights to hunt and dig in a specific area then by all means go for it.
A good way to get an overview of any area is with the use of a drone.
Gander the area with the most potential.
Near water source and natural defensive position with possible weather protective area.

 

[ToddsPoint]

Here in IL you can dig private property all you want. Unless, of course, you hit a burial. Then all bets are off. Gary

 

[dognose]

Be very careful where you dig - if you dig.

I agree with Kantuck.

I thought about digging many years ago, and participated in an organized dig close to Camp Atterbury Indiana. But never have dug due to the possible ramifications.

Check this out, this says he was digging in a National Park and therefor ARPA laws were involved. There are many, many stories like this, often with the same results as this.
This was distributed though the Kansas Archaeological Society in the weekletter.

WESTERN KENTUCKY MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR FEDERALARCHAEOLOGICAL VIOLATIONSTribal leader bemoans the desecration of hallowed remains of ancestors.Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s OfficeWestern District of KentuckyWednesday, June 6, 2018

Louisville, Ky. – U.S. District Judge Greg N. Stivers sentenced Gary Womack, Age 60, from Woodburn,Simpson County, Kentucky, to 15 months imprisonment for 3 felony violations of the federal ArchaeologicalResources Protection Act (ARPA). Womack had previously pleaded guilty to the violations on March 8, 2018.

The case resulted from a three-year undercover investigation by the National Park Service, based uponallegations that Womack possessed human remains which originated from Mammoth Cave National Park. TheFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) assisted Park Service agents throughout.

The undercover investigation revealed Womack’s dealings in artifacts removed from the graves of NativeAmericans buried in caves and rock shelters in South Central Kentucky and also burials from as far away as theOhio and Mississippi Rivers. Womack dealt in artifacts from the so-called “G.E. Mound” case prosecuted inthe Southern District of Indiana in 1992. Artifacts recovered from that case were supposed to have beenreturned and re-buried at a site in Posey County, Indiana 1; however, Womack purchased artifacts from theprevious prosecution in 2015 in Boonville, Indiana for approximately $2,500, and transported them toKentucky, where a portion of them were sold to the undercover federal agent.

Womack also pled guilty to twoadditional counts charging him with trafficking in archaeological resources (Native American artifacts) from theWestern United States. All artifacts in the case have been recovered and will be repatriated according to law.In sentencing, Judge Stivers told Womack that he was disturbed that the defendant had chosen to dig the gravesof the ancestors of Native Americans for profit and had done so while being fully aware of the laws he hadchosen to violate.

A letter from Ben Barnes, Second Chief of the Shawnee Tribe, of Miami, Oklahoma, was made a part of therecord and read at the sentencing hearing. The letter states, in part: “The remains that are within the soils of ouroriginal homelands contains the hallowed remains of human beings, our ancestors. We would urge the court tosend a message to all those what would desecrate a grave, that ARPA violators will be prosecuted to the fullestextent of the law.”This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ream. The investigation was conductedby the National Park Service Law Enforcement Division and the Bowling Green Resident Agency of the FBI.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdky/p...nced-prison-federal-archaeological-violations