Went digging this morning

[Pancake]

Got a call this morning that work was canceled for the day so I went out digging in the field here in Mass. Found this one!

 

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[GatorBoy]

Congrats! Way to make something Of the day off! Looks like some serious patina on that one.

 

[Pancake]

Yep, I'd say this one's been in the ground for some time. I found it about 2 feet down surrounded by clam shells. It's a shame the tip is broken but I'm still happy.

 

[GatorBoy]

For sure!!

 

[Tnmountains]

Very nice find. Nothing like a day off to hunt a little treasure .So there is a shell miden under you? That means a trash pit and some occupation. Good spot.

 

[GatorBoy]

Gotta love a good trash pit! Ancient dumpster diving.... I love it!

 

[NC field hunter]

"one man gathers what another man spills" Jerry Garcia

 

[Pancake]

Very nice find. Nothing like a day off to hunt a little treasure .So there is a shell miden under you? That means a trash pit and some occupation. Good spot.

Yep, it was definitely a trash pit. Tons of shells and chips. I used to come across these fairly often when I was a kid and always found good stuff in and around them. This is the second shell dump that I've found in the past couple weeks.

 

[GatorBoy]

I don't know if its true everywhere. but in my area there is a tendency to have a shell pile.. then close by a separate trash pile which usually consists of lots of broken pottery, broken bone,Flint cobble and flake and some points mixed in. more of a kitchen midden.

 

[Pancake]

I've only recently started digging again but from the 2 shell pits I've found and from what I remember as a kid everything would sort of be mixed together. Where I was digging this morning had tons of shells, a couple bones and a bunch of flint cobble and flakes, as well as the point I found. I'll be digging in the same area over the weekend if the weather is nice. It's right near a fresh water stream as well as a salt water pond, kind of a great spot.

My dad told me that in 59' a team from Harvard came down and spent a summer excavating a site right near where I'm digging. He said they actually published a book about it but his copy is long gone. I'm going to check the library tomorrow. It would certainly be cool to find this book as I'm sure I could learn a lot from it.

 

[GatorBoy]

Good stuff. I would definitely be checking out that water when the weather is warmer. I don't know if you do any sifting but it would be a good bet there's some good stuff just below the loose material under that water.

 

[Pancake]

I'll definitely be checking the water in the spring. I've walked the beach at the salt water pond at low tide a few times with no results but I used to find them there and I know plenty of people that still do. There's so many scallop shells right now that it's hard to see much of anything and screening will be a big help.

 

[GatorBoy]

Good luck

 

[Pancake]

Went digging in the same spot again this morning and found, along with a million chips and shells, another point. Crude but very cool.

I'm new here and I hope that my posting these pics is ok? I know these aren't exactly banner finds but they're all nice to me, even the rougher ones.

 

[GatorBoy]

Sweet! Awesome..post away! That's the best part of this site if you ask me. being able to show the fruits of your labor to people who understand what that feelings all about. You've got a good spot there. This is probably just the beginning. Congrats.

 

[Charl]

Your first point is a Fox Creek Stemmed, which is Early-Middle Woodland here in southern New England, roughly 2000 years. Second point has damage on one stem-edge, but it looks like a Greene point, which is also a Middle Woodland style, slightly younger then Fox Creek on average. Both points appear to be made of regional felsite.

A New England typology guide:

http://webhost.bridgew.edu/c1hoffman/an410a.htm

Fox Creek Stemmed:

http://webhost.bridgew.edu/c1hoffman/foxcrst.htm

 

[Pancake]

Thanks Charl. That site has some great info. I was able to I.D. several points that I have found recently. I also confirmed that 3 that I found are actually arrowheads. I knew they were worked but they seemed small and crude. They're Either Squibnocket Stemmed or Small Stemmed.

Of course the one I found this morning isn't on there

 

[Pancake]

Here are the three I was able to identify as Squibnocket Stemmed. I should add that I found them about a mile from an area known as Squibnocket and right near a body of water called Squibnocket pond.

 

[Charl]

So you're on Martha's Vineyard. Late N.Y.State archaeologist Wm Ritchie wrote "The Archaeology of Martha's Vineyard" and first described Squibnocket points from his excavations on the island. Out of print, but you might find a copy on eBay. I have a friend on the Vineyard that does quite well walking the shorelines of ponds and sea. Here's the website of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society. They sell my friend's, the late Jeff Boudreau's, 2008 typology guide. Pricey, but the best New England guide to date.......

http://www.massarchaeology.org/

 

[Pancake]

Thanks again. That book looks great. I'm going to order it right away and it looks like the out of print one is available on Amazon for $20. Will order it as well.