Help with rockshelter dig.......

[bci101tractors]

Hi,

Thanks

 

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[Sallysue]

I found some of my best stuff in them Good luck

 

[bci101tractors]

Thanks fellas

 

[GatorBoy]

Start at the drip line... start shallow and work your way back... and be sure to move the dirt to the outside...and off to the side..otherwise you will need to move it when you want to dig deeper in the area you already covered. Also..a sifter is a good Idea for checking the dirt you moved. Seeing as you have 7 to choose from... I would start with one associated with a water source if there is 1 on your property.

 

[releventchair]

Once legalities cleared if any, and shelter evaluated for stability,hearth area to body length into entrance would be an appeal to me. If time were available entire floor from several feet out side to all of interior eventually. Any smoke staining above can indicate amount of use if comparing shelters,some may be seasonal only others used more. Findings will help tell.
Expect layers of occupation. If interested in what time frame most finds are ,keeping track of how deep they were will help with exception of refuse or storage pits if on site. Layers of charcoal will show too,from hearths over time. Some times colored layers too. Good luck!

 

[bci101tractors]

Thanks,

 

[jamey]

i would get help from a university in your area,some really important things come from them that could help us understand more about who was here before.could really encourage some students also

 

[bci101tractors]

Thanks again

 

[bci101tractors]

Thanks guys

 

[jamey]

thats what i dont understand about archeys,they complain about surface hunting and such but never go look themselves.id be on something like this like white on rice.well id say save everything you find and show it on here

 

[releventchair]

With no documentation found after research why not figure they are un dug as an approach.
Drip line and other high use areas if you imagine you are using shelter,in fair and foul weather, different seasons or keeping an eye out,drip line would or not be a high traffic area? Fire would be moved too depending on conditions. If knapping or butchering occurred where would you do it ?ect. A little time there you,ll get a feel for purpose made areas.

 

[jamey]

hi again,id go in and just look for odd rocks and start were you see one,id take my time in each one and try to find out what is assoeiated with graves and leave that one alone

 

[rock]

Id like to see the pictures of the caves.

 

[Tnmountains]

Hey, thanks for the info, to the untrained eye, these shelters look untouched (never dug). How do I know Any signs that I should be looking for?? There are no mounds of dirt or anything obvious...
Thanks again

The soil inside will be light and fluffy if dug. Hard and packed if undug. A probe will tell you a lot.

 

[1320]

It only takes a few years for mother nature to "restore" a dug shelter. It's very hard to determine as some diggers start at the front and go to the back....this style of digging/sifting normally results in the debitage located in the front (e.g., the wall sand is sifted and dumped at the front of the shelter). We call this reverse back filling. Others dig from back to front which results in the debitage from the front being deposited in the rear...true back filling.

In my experience, the largest concentration of artifacts will be against the back wall and that's where I always start, I want immediate results...this helps me mentally when I run into an 8 hour dig with nothing to show.

I always key in on the "knapping" rock. Most knapping was done sitting down or at least supported by some structure...the process of knapping requires leverage that is difficult to achieve standing up or sitting directly on the ground.

If your site has a "number" with no associated record, it was probably ID'd as a site for excavation. Test digs or lack of funding may have eliminated the site from exploration. A test dig sometimes means that nothing was found but more often than not, it means that the condition of the shelter will not reveal proper scientific data. It could yield 100 artifacts but if the shelter is home to a burrowing critter or two, the shelter is essentially worthless for study.

Get a digging buddy and share with him/her. Digging solo is hard. Be able to recognize ALL artifacts. I have found hundreds of tools (especially scrapers) in sift piles simply because the previous diggers had a certain shape (arrowhead) in mind when they dug. Don't worry about graves, they are seldom found in rock shelters. Unless you're in the arid Southwest, you'll never know if you're digging a grave because mother nature will have already reclaimed the organic matter.

Pics would be awesome but all of us understand if you don't. I always post pics of my shelters because I don't worry about someone being able to find the ONE shelter that I'm digging in....lol...I mean....how would they find it?! It's not like there's a mile marker or similiar feature that gives it away.....best of luck.

 

[1320]

Keep in mind that it's quite possible that only one of the seven may have been occupied. I've seen stretches of cliff line with 5 and 6 shelters but only one of them was used. Of all the shelters that I've had good luck in, each shares several common traits with the other. Native man was purposeful and careful when he chose a shelter to set up shop. In the summer, he may have chosen a northern facing shelter..vice versa with a winter location. Shelters don't appear to be the habitat of choice at least for any length of time. Most likely multiple short duration visits, perhaps a seasonal thing......

 

[jamey]

i wish i was as smart as you 1320

 

[GatorBoy]

Its from experience.

 

[rock]

1320 That was one of the best described ways to hunt a cave that I have ever heard. If that hasnt been used as a sticky yet in the cave section it should be.

 

[1320]

Thanks Rock, appreciate that. Gator is correct....experience. Sooner or later, you start subconciously picking up on the arrangements and before you know it, instinct causes you to put it all together without giving it a second thought.