Tooks some things to Archeaology Day for input

NCPeaches

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Mar 24, 2013
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Western Piedmont North Carolina
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Today was Archaeology Day at our museum with Dr. David Moore, archaeologist from the Berry site also known as Joara and also Warren Wilson College and Dr. Allan May from the Schiele Museum. Dr. Moore gave the info on my finds in the pic. These are things I've found last year so ya'll have already seen them and helped me ID them. The only one we missed was the green round piece which he says is a gaming stone but he wasn't sure of the material. Starting on the top row 1) Burke Phase pottery 2) Soapstone bowl shard 2,000 to 6,000 years old 3) Pottery shard older than the others. Second row 1) & 2) both are Mississipian points or scrapers/tools from flakes number 1) is chert from East TN, 3) the game stone 4) Mississipian pottery shards. Third row 1) pottery from around 1600 and because it has 7 lines he said it is rare to find because most have 3 or 4 lines, 2) Burke phase pottery shard 3) and 4) projectile points from the Archaic time period.
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Again this year he's real interested to see if my area has been documented but I think he will too busy again to come and look. I told him I wasn't interested in a dig situation just wanted to know about what I find. Thanks for the look and helping me identify these finds in the past.
 

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Thas cool Peaches nice to see them. On the game stone here they call that material "Hillbilly Green Stone" just like the game piece I found a couple of weeks ago. Its Green Stone but a bit softer than the normal I was told. Mississippian Period points most are very crude and made from sharp flakes most dont even know that they are points when they find them. Some of their points and knifes like Hamilton and Guntersville are nice but most arent. Glad you had them look and thanks for telling us. Good news
 

Thas cool Peaches nice to see them. On the game stone here they call that material "Hillbilly Green Stone" just like the game piece I found a couple of weeks ago. Its Green Stone but a bit softer than the normal I was told. Mississippian Period points most are very crude and made from sharp flakes most dont even know that they are points when they find them. Some of their points and knifes like Hamilton and Guntersville are nice but most arent. Glad you had them look and thanks for telling us. Good news

At first he thought it might be soapstone and asked to lick it so I let him and he said no it wasn't soapstone after. He did say to not try to scratch it. Hillbilly Green Stone is a fitting name for it and I hope I find more of them.
 

There was a man with a big box of pottery shards donating it all to the Joara Foundation. They were all found near the dig. He said the person he got them from was going to throw them away! I'm thinking no way! Dr. Moore told him he will use them to teach with.
 

There was a man with a big box of pottery shards donating it all to the Joara Foundation. They were all found near the dig. He said the person he got them from was going to throw them away! I'm thinking no way! Dr. Moore told him he will use them to teach with.

Yeah I donated all of mine I had after giving most away to the members on Tnet. I still have 1 frame of each kind of print I have found but always am looking to find more that I dont already have. I find probably 75% cord marked if it has decoration at all on the pieces. Woodland period.
 

That is cool that you have some archeologist to interact with. I hope he doesn't come look at your sites because that might cause a stink. Thanks for sharing the info on what you found.
 

That is cool that you have some archeologist to interact with. I hope he doesn't come look at your sites because that might cause a stink. Thanks for sharing the info on what you found.

I think he is just a little curious about it's location due to the one across town basically put us on the map. He told me once that they weren't looking to test it because it gets expensive but he would like to find out if it's already been documented. From what I've read of the Pardo expedition they found that there was one main chiefdom and then lesser chiefs with smaller communities and I think my area was one of the smaller ones because they believe the Joara site was the main one. There has never been a dig done in my side of the county because there's not a huge amount of artifacts found and reported. The site across town has burial mounds and some were dug into when farmers out there moved the dirt around but who knows, there's probably burial mounds out my way too. You're right about it might cause a stink because it's not just my property that has the artifacts.
 

Nice to have confirmation and info. Especially since there was a lot of trade.
On a side note, I see lots of pottery shard on a gravel road about 1/4 mile away from me.
Always the same dark coloration and thickness. I never picked any up tho I hunt Indian rocks.
I live right on the Natchez Trace.
 

Nice to have confirmation and info. Especially since there was a lot of trade.
On a side note, I see lots of pottery shard on a gravel road about 1/4 mile away from me.
Always the same dark coloration and thickness. I never picked any up tho I hunt Indian rocks.
I live right on the Natchez Trace.

I've never found any pottery until 3 yrs ago and wish I could find more but it's not easy in my area. It might be on the other side of the county though. I've heard of a rock not far from me but more up the mountain that has Indian markings on it, is that what you mean by Indian rocks. It sounds interesting.
 

Hunting Indian Rock is the way we say we are looking for arrowheads, etc. here in Ms.
Just the local lingo.
Where we're at there are Indian Mounds too. And as you said in your post, the farmers of earlier years dug around in them.
My hubby said his Dad used to work that ground with his mules, and his Dad told him he used to pick up buckets of arrowheads, and throw them in the woods..(!!)
:BangHead: We've still found a lot over the years. Happy Hunting!
 

Hunting Indian Rock is the way we say we are looking for arrowheads, etc. here in Ms.
Just the local lingo.
Where we're at there are Indian Mounds too. And as you said in your post, the farmers of earlier years dug around in them.
My hubby said his Dad used to work that ground with his mules, and his Dad told him he used to pick up buckets of arrowheads, and throw them in the woods..(!!)
:BangHead: We've still found a lot over the years. Happy Hunting!

They said here they use to have to pile them up on the sides of the fields so they could plant. Ive looked on the sides but dont see much now. Every once in a while I will find a hammer stone thrown to the side. Most dont know what they are but I do.
 

They said here they use to have to pile them up on the sides of the fields so they could plant. Ive looked on the sides but dont see much now. Every once in a while I will find a hammer stone thrown to the side. Most dont know what they are but I do.

Exactly. Most all our area has been "hunted out" now. Hubby has some grinding rocks, ( in my avitar), and even a stone ax as well as arrowheads, but he's been on this property all his 58 years. We still find some, mostly broken/chipped from today's farmers. Although, I found 3 game stones on his/our property about 15 yrs ago, and it looks like there was a small camp at that part of our property. (lots of chips). It's so overgrown now we just don't mess with it.
 

Always like Archaeology day at the Society for Georgia Archaeology (Augusta Chapter. We usually go up and Set up and show some recent finds and if any are Paleo have them recorded in Paleo database. Sounds like you had an interesting day.
 

be careful once its a "documented historical spot" collecting anything will be forbidden normally ...you show them where you got your "goods" at that could end all collecting there period in the long haul for everyone..
 

be careful once its a "documented historical spot" collecting anything will be forbidden normally ...you show them where you got your "goods" at that could end all collecting there period in the long haul for everyone..

I agree all he has to do is say mound and its all over.
 

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