1320
Silver Member
Several Tnet members have been frowned upon over the years for digging in shelters and quite frankly most of the ill will comes from either uneducated or philosophically differing opinions.
First and foremost, some think that an exclusive ban of digging shelters on Federal land exists…well, kinda…..ALL digging is banned.
Some think that shelter digging is banned on private property while open air sites are legal. Why would a shelter be off limits while an open air site is ok? Doesn’t make much sense at all. The advocates against shelter digging have a bad habit of trying to interpret State laws and often bend/misquote them to keep you out of a shelter. They do the same with open air sites too but for some reason, they make rock shelters out to be some mythical shrine that unlocks the key of native man. One thing is certain, there are no Federal laws that address private property digging in individual states. Anyone that makes a blanket statement that ALL rock shelter digging is illegal is terribly misinformed and is most likely venting a personal philosophy.
Some think that the archeological record in a shelter is significantly greater than can be found on an open air site…absolutely no truth. Most shelters were used temporarily. Only a brief snap shot of the lives of native man can be captured in a shelter. I would argue that native man didn’t like spending too much time in a shelter…ever camped out in one? A great argument can be made that open air sites provide better quantity and better quality artifacts by comparison. If you want a diversity of tools….look for an open air site. The best understanding of native man has and will continue to come from open air sites.
Graves? Graves are not exclusive to rock shelters, native man has graves all over the planet. You are just as likely to dig up a grave in an open air site. Graves in a rock shelter for the most part are not recognizable as such. The dampness destroys organic matter rather quick. Open air sites create much better preservation of organic matter. Most rock shelters are wet or damp 24/7/365.
Most shelter naysayers will scream at the top of their lungs that you need to stop digging in that shelter and call in an archaeologist. That’s the best one of all! There are few archaeologists that specifically target rock shelters and the reasons are abundant and if you know anything about archeology you would understand. No particular order….
1. Hard to find a pristine rock shelter. Most have been dug in, dug at, used for other purposes by modern man. It’s all about context. Archeologists don’t approach shelters today like they did in years past. It’s not about the arrowheads anymore. It’s about plasma, resins, fibers, seeds, climatology, natural disasters, etc. If the matrix of the shelter is disturbed it doesn’t get a professional analysis, period.
2. Rock shelter excavations don’t add substance to what we already know. The data that the pros seek is too far gone due to dampness, water damage and mankind’s alteration. Rock shelter excavations create more questions…pieces of the puzzle are forever missing and archeologist don’t engage in conjure/speculation anymore.
3. If a shelter does get a profession look, it’s most often because an amateur made a discovery of significance AND the shelter is pristine…play the lottery…
4. Multi occupation (light bulb goes off). Native man did his own digging in rock shelters. He buried food, cached tools and food supplies. Cave critters love to dig, burrow and cache as well. Historic man has used shelters for housing live stock, collecting salt peter, moonshining, etc. Fence posts were dug to hang fences, trenches were built and buried collect salt peter….all of these simple acts rearrange the context and make study worthless. Very few rock shelters stratify like open air sites…it’s called sand.
Naysaying is ok in my book, it's engaging and I think it can be used constructively both ways. However, I regret that we have so few members now that will post anything from a shelter dig. I wish you guys would come back. I enjoyed seeing the images of the shelters period, the artifacts coming from them was a bonus. I for one, posted my home State's laws regarding this matter but it did little to change the mindset of a few folks which did upset me a tad but I'm not gonna let it stop me from posting from here on out. Shelter lovers, get ready!
First and foremost, some think that an exclusive ban of digging shelters on Federal land exists…well, kinda…..ALL digging is banned.
Some think that shelter digging is banned on private property while open air sites are legal. Why would a shelter be off limits while an open air site is ok? Doesn’t make much sense at all. The advocates against shelter digging have a bad habit of trying to interpret State laws and often bend/misquote them to keep you out of a shelter. They do the same with open air sites too but for some reason, they make rock shelters out to be some mythical shrine that unlocks the key of native man. One thing is certain, there are no Federal laws that address private property digging in individual states. Anyone that makes a blanket statement that ALL rock shelter digging is illegal is terribly misinformed and is most likely venting a personal philosophy.
Some think that the archeological record in a shelter is significantly greater than can be found on an open air site…absolutely no truth. Most shelters were used temporarily. Only a brief snap shot of the lives of native man can be captured in a shelter. I would argue that native man didn’t like spending too much time in a shelter…ever camped out in one? A great argument can be made that open air sites provide better quantity and better quality artifacts by comparison. If you want a diversity of tools….look for an open air site. The best understanding of native man has and will continue to come from open air sites.
Graves? Graves are not exclusive to rock shelters, native man has graves all over the planet. You are just as likely to dig up a grave in an open air site. Graves in a rock shelter for the most part are not recognizable as such. The dampness destroys organic matter rather quick. Open air sites create much better preservation of organic matter. Most rock shelters are wet or damp 24/7/365.
Most shelter naysayers will scream at the top of their lungs that you need to stop digging in that shelter and call in an archaeologist. That’s the best one of all! There are few archaeologists that specifically target rock shelters and the reasons are abundant and if you know anything about archeology you would understand. No particular order….
1. Hard to find a pristine rock shelter. Most have been dug in, dug at, used for other purposes by modern man. It’s all about context. Archeologists don’t approach shelters today like they did in years past. It’s not about the arrowheads anymore. It’s about plasma, resins, fibers, seeds, climatology, natural disasters, etc. If the matrix of the shelter is disturbed it doesn’t get a professional analysis, period.
2. Rock shelter excavations don’t add substance to what we already know. The data that the pros seek is too far gone due to dampness, water damage and mankind’s alteration. Rock shelter excavations create more questions…pieces of the puzzle are forever missing and archeologist don’t engage in conjure/speculation anymore.
3. If a shelter does get a profession look, it’s most often because an amateur made a discovery of significance AND the shelter is pristine…play the lottery…
4. Multi occupation (light bulb goes off). Native man did his own digging in rock shelters. He buried food, cached tools and food supplies. Cave critters love to dig, burrow and cache as well. Historic man has used shelters for housing live stock, collecting salt peter, moonshining, etc. Fence posts were dug to hang fences, trenches were built and buried collect salt peter….all of these simple acts rearrange the context and make study worthless. Very few rock shelters stratify like open air sites…it’s called sand.
Naysaying is ok in my book, it's engaging and I think it can be used constructively both ways. However, I regret that we have so few members now that will post anything from a shelter dig. I wish you guys would come back. I enjoyed seeing the images of the shelters period, the artifacts coming from them was a bonus. I for one, posted my home State's laws regarding this matter but it did little to change the mindset of a few folks which did upset me a tad but I'm not gonna let it stop me from posting from here on out. Shelter lovers, get ready!
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(we're buddies so i can say that right?) How do you know what is waiting to be discovered out there. There are man think of for instance that if found could put a different spin on the record or who knows even possibly something cothat could unlock even great mysteries of mankind as a whole. Thats a little dramatic but you know what I'm trying to say...we not but nonetheless I will be staying out of shelters just so I can sleep at night. 
