Village Sites Question

[alpinestar1982]

I am still new to artifact hunting and being from southern Michigan where there is still snow on the ground, I have been researching the past few months. I have found an old map from the mid 1800's that shows all different kinds of native american villiages, buriel sites, mounds, agricultural fields, etc....... It has 2 village sites within a mile of each other close to a stream. My question is, are villages different from campsites? I'm sure they are, but it seems that most villages usually turn into modern day towns. These 2 sites are within 2 miles of a city that also was shown on the map as a village site. The 2 village sites are today located in large plowed fields. I have not stopped to talk to the landowner yet, but will be soon. If it hasn't been heavily hunted yet, I am assuming that you could expect to find all types of artifacts correct? Thank you for your time.

 

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[The Grim Reaper]

The village sites I hunt in southern Ohio were all occupied for hundreds of years with most of them being dated from 950 to 1650 AD. That means there is a lot of debris and artifacts left after 700 years of occupation, so yes a village is a lot different than a camp. Look for evidence of Mussel Shell, Pottery, Flint, and Bone and concentrate on those areas.


I'm not sure what you might find on villages in your area, but here are two trays from a village I hunt.

 

[Gold Maven]

just about any flat ground above the flood plain along a water course or near a spring has potential. Get permission, walk the fields, and your finds will tell the story.

Good Luck, post some pics.

 

[GatorBoy]

You are sure to find artifacts in the field you just described. You will find it helps to look after a rain...and also the info that GrimReaper and GoldMaven just gave you is spot on.
P.S... Steve! I'm beginning to entertain buying a bone fish hook I have been hoping for years to find one... nice trays there!

 

[alpinestar1982]

Thanks everybody for the helpful info and I would love to find some stuff like you show in your case Grim Reaper. Hopefully I can get access to the fields......

 

[alpinestar1982]

I was able to stop and talk to the farmer that owns the property I believe the villages were on and he gave me permission to search the fields. There is still snow on the ground today so I can't get out for another couple weeks, but I can't wait. He said the neighbor guy has found artifacts on his property so this property looks promising. He has one 80 acre field and one 75 acre field for me to walk. Its hard to tell for sure if the villages are on his property because the old map doesn't have many roads on it to narrow the area down today, but I feel confident either way that there should be some good stuff there.

 

[GatorBoy]

Absolutely! I'm excited for you...bring a hip pouch or something to carry your finds in.. I'm sure you will find a good number of artifacts there. Bring a stick to flip over every stone that looks like it could be anything. After doing that for a while.. and finding some worked pieces you'll get a good eye for what to look for.

 

[rock]

With that many acres you will stay busy. This is what I did and it really helped me in locating the camp sites in the fields that I hunt. First thing is look for the highest grounds if there is hills. Second is walk the outer parts of the field till you see flint chips or artifacts. Mark those spots if you can even if it is with a stick in the ground so nobody will notice it but you. Then after you locate the camps you can start hunting. Some parts of the fields yield no flint at all where I hunt. Notice the colors of the chips and artifacts and then use those colors to find more like them. It can take a few months like it has for me but now I can go to any part of the field and find something. Today I went and explored different parts and found a decent amount and had fun. HH to you and dont forget to post what you find! rock

 

[alpinestar1982]

I have already scoped out a large patch of high ground in one of the fields that looks like a good spot. It is a very flat field except for an area in the middle where it gradually rises to about 6 foot high for about an acre or so and then slopes back down to the creek at the back. Its just one of those spots that sticks out like a sore thumb in the middle of the field and looks like a perfect spot for at least a camp, but may be big enough to have a village. Hopefully its the location of one of the villages that is on the map. Now I just need the weather to warm up so the snow will melt!! Trying not to get my hopes up too high and keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[rock]

Here every where there is water there is artifacts. Not the best quality at times but usually you can find something. If nobody has ever looked they should be laying on the top everywhere. After you pick them all up even the broken ones then it will be tougher to find some. I even pick up the flakes if they are big. I havent found any real killers but it is fun to look and hope. I have found so many broken pieces I have filled a mason jar full and now am putting them in a 5 gallon bucket. I find more bases of points than tips. I keep them all in hopes that maybe someday I might find the other half but there is so many now unless I find a big piece I dont worry about it. Ask the farmer if it is ok to carry the bigger rocks out and put them on the edge. Most farmers dont want the big rocks in their fields anyway. I use them for markers of my spots. I am sure you will do fine by what I have read.