Native American Obsidian Spear Point!!

UnderMiner

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Jul 27, 2014
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I finally got a day off from my busy schedule today and was super excited to finally get back to digging the 1930's Packard Coupe that is still buried underground. I decided to stop by a local beach first that I have been searching on and off for the past 20 years. I've found alot of stuff at this site and was always suspicious that it contained Native American artifacts (due to the presence of flaked and chipped stones) but NEVER found definitive proof. After 20 minutes of searching on my hands and knees through the gravel, sand, and pebbles I spotted a distinctive shape - the back end of a Native American spear point. I had not been expecting to find anything more than an arrowhead, so the size of the artifact took me by surprise as it was nothing more than a dream for me to actually find something like this. And just like that the dream had come true at last.

It only took 20 years but it finally happened - my first definite non-debatable Native American artifact! Persistence payed off!!

The spear point is made from knapped Obsidian Stone and may be anywhere from 1,000-5,000 years old. It was likely made by a member of the Algonquian Matinicock tribe that once populated Long Island, NY or a tribe of Native Americans that existed before them.


In Situ:
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Reconstruction on paper of the completed point:

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Shortly after discovery:
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As the tribe that produced it may have once looked:
Matinecock.jpg
For thousands of years the Matinicock lived on the shores of Long Island where they hunted, fished, and harvested shellfish. In 1656 the Matinicock tribe on Long Island was devastated by an attack by Dutch colonists lead by Thomas Hicks in the Battle of Madnan's Neck. Most of the Matinicock were either killed or fled Long Island after this battle. The few that stayed behind were either driven away or killed by small pox epidemics that were also occurring at this same time.
 

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I would contact a NY university’s archaeology department. I think obsidian points in the northeast are extremely rare or unheard of. Supposedly one was found in Vt years ago but can’t be accounted for now. From what I remember if it was proven to be found here it would turn the archaeology world upside down
 

I would contact a NY university’s archaeology department. I think obsidian points in the northeast are extremely rare or unheard of. Supposedly one was found in Vt years ago but can’t be accounted for now. From what I remember if it was proven to be found here it would turn the archaeology world upside down

i wouldn't because they would say it would be to of a historical find and want to take it and you wouldn't get it back
 

Try posting your artifact on to the North American Indian Artifacts forum here on Tnet.
 

I’d bet that beach has had fill brought in from elsewhere which may explain the obsidian.
 

If you do a google search for "Hopewell obsidian" I think you may be quite surprised. Those Hopewell points look quite a bit like yours. Raw obsidian traded from the west to OH Hopewell center and chipped there. Finished point travels from OH to your area. Ohio to NE is not a stretch like Idaho to NE. Gary
 

That's awesome!
Congrats.

Sent from my VS810PP using Tapatalk
 

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