Relic Excavation: how?

[Flint-seeker]

Forgive me if this has been posted before, but I have searched and can't seem to find an exact posting on this topic. Feel free to put a link in here to other forum posts that have discussed this...

To date, I have only searched for arrowheads along creek beds and freshly tilled farm fields.

I am very curious, how do the relic hunters know where to dig? I mean, I am surrounded by forests, creeks and some small rock sheltered areas in southwestern Ohio, which I have learned is heavy in American Indian artifacts and Native American history...

So, to those of you that have dug with success, what am I looking for? A recession in the earth on a hillside? A certain impression or type of rocks in a clustering along the sides of eroded creek beds? It must be something I am missing. How do you folks know where to begin looking

At the present rate, I see myself randomly digging in "cold" areas and going home empty handed. How do you all do it?

Any and all suggestions are highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Shane

 

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[ohioaxeman]

you have got to put yourself in the Indians shoes... err moccasins! If you had to live in the wild, you have to determine where you'd put your shelter, a water source, food source, etc... Then go from there! There is really no definite place to tell someone to search, but anywhere near water is a good start!

 

[tmodel]

AU!! thanks for this thread i would tell you if i knew, but i need all the help i can get on how to know where to dig..maybe the two of us can get a lot of good advice, thank you every body that responds to your thread AU!!! Terry

 

[Flint-seeker]

AU!! thanks for this thread i would tell you if i knew, but i need all the help i can get on how to know where to dig..maybe the two of us can get a lot of good advice, thank you every body that responds to your thread AU!!! Terry

Thanks, I'm glad I'm not the only one wondering!

 

[Rege-PA]

Look for the following in plowed fields.
Concentrations of clam shells, pottery sherds, concentrations of flint chips, darker staining of the soil or ash, charcoal, burned bone fragments from fire pits that have been plowed up. Search rises in the flood plain, especially where a smaller stream enters a larger one. Many village sites are located in saddles of hills with a good spring nearby. South facing rock shelters were preferred but investigate all openings or over hangs that could shelter several people. Go with someone who has found points in your area, after you find a few you will get the hang of it. If you locate a rich area you might want to excavate but that has other techniques. Get out there!!!

 

[Treefrog]

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,376072.msg2675878.html#msg2675878

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,381969.msg2724779.html#msg2724779

 

[tmodel]

AU!! is this the type of digging you were talking every thing they said is good if that is the type you were looking for.. when i read your post i thought you were talking about open air villages, with tee-pees made of hides or brush shelters made of poles and pine tree limb tips.. i could have told you about rock shelters did not think that was what you were looking for!!!! Terry

 

[tmodel]

ow i did not see Axemans post his advice is good for what i think you are talking about, if you can think like an indian, i cant seem to do it, i need some exact clues that use to help them know or are you all that dig open air villages and camps just able to think like an indian!! Terry

 

[The Grim Reaper]

The first thing you want to do before you bring up the first shovel full of dirt is make sure you are on private property and have written permission to dig. Get it in writing so they can't come back and say they didn't allow you in there to dig just to cover your own rearend.

Don't dig on any state or federal forest land because that will get your butt in the clink in a heartbeat if you are caught.

 

[Flint-seeker]

Excellent information everyone, thanks very much! I plan to head out very soon to walk some farm fields, but will definitely keep these tips in mind for future relic hunting.

Thanks very much everyone!

Shane

 

[oldgoat]

Shane, if you go shelter hunting, look at the top edge of the shelter, if you can see smoke marks there I'd give it a shot.... Dig a test hole, don't forget the outside lip of that shelter, on a sunny day I would sit out there and watch for passing game, if I was in their place that is....lol. some folks think I'm old enuff to have been there....goat

 

[catherine1]

Dig a few test holes in the areas you are finding flint. Check the creeks and tributairies. This will lead you to the artifacts. It is tiresome/and rewarding.

 

[tmodel]

AU!! when you are walking your fields and get your pockets full of artifacts, look a round is there hills or ridgelines around you ! check then out and see if there is a line of bluffs with hollows or caves under them. [2&1/2] feet high or higher and say [5] feet to as far as it wants to go wide, by[2] or as deep as you want to go! hills or ridges do not have to be high. [50] feet in height is plenty to containt a liveable or campable overhang. they only lived in rockshelter in bad weather and out in the valleys during warm weather or so some arches say. YES! be sure to follow SRV s advice and do not dig till you have written permission to dig for artifacts on that land!!!!!!! Terry

 

[RGINN]

First of all, state law where I was born says that anything below the ground belongs to the state. Second, 'diggers' destroyed Spiro Mounds, and some very cool stuff has been lost as the lessees didn't think it had commercial value. They just poked holes everywhere. That being said, check your state laws. In Oklahoma, literally anywhere along a major water way had a village, usually above the second terrace to avoid flooding. Along the Wa$shita River, there was probably a village every mile through the whole state at one time or another. Where two creeks run together is a good location. There was a good chance of water there. Surface finds are an indicator. Shell, pottery sherds, chips, etc. I have found that in undisturbed locations in Oklahoma (no farming or erosion) there is approximately a foot of earth above the Plains Villages sites dating back to a thousand years ago. Good hunting.