"Man, Das da biggest ting I never saw."

[Lone Star]

"Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

Fellow Flintaholics, Besides site boxes I've been goin thru old pics. I may have sent this in here before, I'm not sure. I know it's been in IAM and on some discussion boards a few years ago.
My first diggin' buddie got on a side track at the "Chief Site" a few years ago when we discovered an extension of the site that went out into the bayou that was particularly rich in large pottery peices. The pottery was sitting on the clay underlayment below the elboe deep, stinky, dog breath like, rotten, organic mud. You can't dig in it, hell you can barly walk in it. The only way to find out what was there was to stick your pointed hand in the mud and twist like a drill to reach the clay foundation with your fingers, feel around a bit and do it again a few inches away. With the aid of a few large stainless steel shish-kabob scewers he would feel for anything that was solid, going inch by inch untill the water and mud together made it too hard to reach. Pottery makes a certain sound and has a certain feel. About the 20 th day into this and about 18 pots about 50 % or more, he felt and heard a "Clink" instead of a "thump" . This is what he pulled out of the mud.
Thanks , Lone Star

 

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[*Molly*]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

That's a nice size. Awesome.

 

[SOHIO]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

Very nice.

 

[Cachefind09]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

It looks like the tip has been broken off and reattached. Did that occur after the point was found? I would have a hard time living with myself knowing I broke something like that.

 

[arrowman]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

This proves it, size DOES matter!

 

[Tnmountains]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

That thing would be worth the muck. You do not see many points that size. Perfect. Thanks for the story and picture.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

Nice looking Blade. That thing is definitely a mnoster.

And Molly, I like your new avatar. If that is you then all I have say is DAAAAAAMMNNN!!!!

 

[Get-the-point]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

This proves it, size DOES matter!

Lol............that is a awesome piece. I could only imagine finding just the pottery in that mud, but the points too. Man that is crazy. What a discovery!!!!.............Thanks for showing...............GTP

 

[Lone Star]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

Hey thanks ya'll! Now please remember I'm not the one who found it. I wasn't even there. Jim had a few months off between jobs and he was there every day for a while. I, unfortunatly have too many bad habits that need money to support and I had to work. It took me about 6 months to get him to let me have it a few days for some posterity pictures.
The thing that blows my mind is that it is soooooo out of context in terms of size. In an area where we are so far from lithic tool source that every flint peice was used untill it was totaly exhusted, even flakes, something this size would be found intact. It may be cerimonial in nature. It just seems to large to be functional for survival.
I still remember the look on Leland Patterson's face when he saw it. All the H.A.S. crew at Rice University were mobilized for another dig within minutes.
Re the tip: I believe its a fracture, I don't think it was repaired.
Re Molly's Avatar : Holy Smoke ! What a pleasant suprise !~~~~ I must be hunting the wrong places. ~~~
Thanks again. Lone Star

 

[newnan man]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

That has the shape and size of a Ross Blade. I do not know if they are found in your area but the ones in the Ohio area are commonly made of Obsidian and Knife River flint which is found thousands of miles from Ohio. It should be checked out as it would be extremely valuable if it is one. A fantastic find for sure.

 

[mad.co.walker]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

Nice looking Blade. That thing is definitely a mnoster.

And Molly, I like your new avatar. If that is you then all I have say is DAAAAAAMMNNN!!!!

I TOTALLY AGREE. YOU CAN WALK WITH US ANYTIME !!!!!!!!

 

[SnakemanBill]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

Yeah that's a nice point, whats awesome is that picture of Molly!

 

[GL]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

Dat is a biggun! Nice!

 

[Neanderthal]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

Believe it or not, the only thing really "out of the ordinary" about this piece is the material. It's a Little River point, they are found commonly in the OK, AR, LA, TX four corners area and surrounding vicinity. I have seen them with the convex flared base like that before, although they aren't as common. The size of that one isn't too unusual, they get very large, some well over 10" in length. They seem to be the more southern variation on large group of basal notched / stemmed knives that include the Smith and Ouachita.

(Ramble on - trivial info to follow)

Smith are usually found more northward into the Ozarks area. They are large, parallel - sided and are straight up pressure notched. The best examples that I know of were found by Don Arthurs of Salina, OK in the 60's. They were dug by Don in Kenwood, Oklahoma in a bluff shelter. There were three in the cache, stacked on top of each other and ranged in length from 10 1/2" to well over 13" in length and all were around 3" wide and made of Reed Springs chert. I think Don told me that he sold them to Greg Perino (who at the time was curator of Gilcrease museum in Tulsa) for $200. At least one of them is displayed at Gilcrease the last time I looked, the other two were in curations. If I remember right, they were pictured in CSAJ sometime in the late 60's? They had an unusual feature about them, an extra little "notch" on the barbs going in sideways. For the record, 90% + of the points identified as Smith by collectors.....aren't.

Ouachita are related as well. Their namesake is the mountains that are spread in between Oklahoma & Arkansas. I have seen them get to astronomical proportions as well. The best example that I personally have seen was made out of a very colorful pink & gray striped Novaculite, I think it was around 9"? The Oauchita typically have more convex sides than a Smith, many being made on a large ovoid preform. Most examples are made of Oauchita quartzite or novaculite, but I've also seen them made of Johns Valley materials and even Edwards.

The biggest difference between the Ouachita and the Little Rivers is the basal configuration. The Little River always appear more basal-notched, while the Ouachita look more stemmed (smaller stem anyways). The notches on the Little River can range from minimal intrusion to very deep, with a stem area ranging from straight to expanding. They can be mistaken for Hopewell or other points at times, but the method of manufacture is completely different. They are always reduced with large, random percussion flakes and very little attention is paid to edge treatment or profiling in early form. Little River type was named by Greg Perino for points found on Little River in McCurtain Co, Oklahoma. Although Greg is credited with finding the best cache, I think his wife actually found them. They are all made of gem grade heated novaculite and are displayed over at the museum.

Smaller, exhausted examples of these types of blades are often found as isolated finds. However, ones of that size are more frequently found in groups or caches.

(ramble off)

 

[*Molly*]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

This proves it, size DOES matter!

Yes it does, Arrowman.


Thanks for the info Matt.

 

[mad.co.walker]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

AS CHUCK BERRY WOULD SAY HERE IN ST. LOUIS........... GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY....... JUST KIDDING MOLLY

 

[Johnny X]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

HOLY SMOKES!

 

[*Molly*]

Re: "Man, Das da biggest ting' I never saw."

AS CHUCK BERRY WOULD SAY HERE IN ST. LOUIS........... GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY....... JUST KIDDING MOLLY

I hear that ALL the time..