Cumberland County Arrowheads

[manumuskin]

I have a friend who is a master and finding arrowheads.We had not been out hunting in a long time.I had located some potential new sites using topos and aerials and a property site i use to make sure we were not Trespassing and I took Him with me as the ground man because He finds an average of ten arrowheads for every one i find. Some of These were found in a plowed field that we had been to a week before right after the big rain but the field was so muddy we sank to our knees in it and had to abandon the hunt.When i went back a week later someone had literally walked a grid five feet apart in the still soft field every square yeard of the field.The field is at least a third of a mile square.This upset me that someone had beat us to the field but excited me to know i picked a good spot.For someone to put that kind of effort in this field showed me it was prime Indian Real estate. I took my fiend out there the next day andHe located five arrowheads in the space of a couple horus,four of them either broken or chipped probably by the plow and one whole one.I on the toher hand found a mess of flakes and small pottery shards.I covered half the field in that time and he basically covered a couple hundred yards along the lower edge close to the crik. Never seen anyone move so slow in my life but it paid off.
We then went to a semi beach on another stream at low tide and he pulled an excellent thin point out of the eroded bank and then found a wide weird shaped point that would make a better knife then an arrowhead.He flipped it over and it had a potential fracture across the back which no doubt prevented the flaker from throwing flakes across the disfigurement and hence narrowing the blade so he made a knife out of it.I"ll attach pics.He has thousands He has found over the years.Wish I had an eye like that.All I can out find him at is snakes.

 

[manumuskin]

By the way He found one head in the track of the guy who beat us to the field,he has done this in my tracks as well.Their going to disc this field soon.Maybe we'll beat this fellow out there next time.Don't matter though.He'll just leave some for my Buddy in his tracks.

 

[Teegate]

Great finds Al. I have found one in my life in the dirt driveway of my moms neighbor when I was a kid. Still have it. If you find more let us know.

Guy

 

[bobpbx]

That is very cool Al.

 

[ecampbell]

We fond one tha the field behind Pasadena.

 

[46er]

I have found a couple around road construction sites, one place inparticular. Always wonder how far they have traveled to get there.

 

[old jersey girl]

are these local sourced material? or traded for by the makers? On my bucket list: attend one of the courses taught by the anthropologist who proved the efficacy of "pimitive" tools by flaking flint knlves and, with a bunch of graduate students, dissecting an elephant carcass.
A demonstration of how efficiently early hunters could butcher a mastodon.

 

[46er]

are these local sourced material? or traded for by the makers? On my bucket list: attend one of the courses taught by the anthropologist who proved the efficacy of "pimitive" tools by flaking flint knlves and, with a bunch of graduate students, dissecting an elephant carcass.
A demonstration of how efficiently early hunters could butcher a mastodon.

A good site for you at the link. Don't think you'll find much flint in the pines.

http://peopleofthestone.com/finding-flint-identifying-source-can-be-both-helpful-and-easy-do

 

[Wick]

Those are some great examples in those pics. I find it interesting that a field which probably has been plowed many times has so many arrowheads. Makes me wonder was it a camp, village or a natural field where they hunted all of the time

 

[manumuskin]

are these local sourced material? or traded for by the makers? On my bucket list: attend one of the courses taught by the anthropologist who proved the efficacy of "pimitive" tools by flaking flint knlves and, with a bunch of graduate students, dissecting an elephant carcass.
A demonstration of how efficiently early hunters could butcher a mastodon.

Most of the material is imported in.Tribes traded for good knappable material over considerable distances.I found some what appeared to be true flint.It had a weathered shell on it with black flint or possibly chert inside. I have founb points made from quartz that looked local but they appeared to be peked more then knapped.Quartz is quite hard to flake but will make a fine point by pecking and crumbling the edges.

 

[manumuskin]

Actually true flint is supposedly on ly found in America in the Alibates flint quarries of texas which I be;lieve is a national monument.Most flint referred to by arrowhead hunters is actually chert or jasper,sometimes even obsidian which will make a sharper edge then any steel will.

 

[old jersey girl]

Most of the material is imported in.Tribes traded for good knappable material over considerable distances.I found some what appeared to be true flint.It had a weathered shell on it with black flint or possibly chert inside. I have founb points made from quartz that looked local but they appeared to be peked more then knapped.Quartz is quite hard to flake but will make a fine point by pecking and crumbling the edges.

What is "peked?

 

[old jersey girl]

A good site for you at the link. Don't think you'll find much flint in the pines.

http://peopleofthestone.com/finding-flint-identifying-source-can-be-both-helpful-and-easy-do

Neat link. Thanks.

 

[manumuskin]

What is "peked?

That is a mistype. I meant peck.Peccked is when you smack on rock with another rock at an oblique angle to knock off small flakes or crumbs depending on the type of rock to shape it into what you want.Mostly pecking is used to shape things like war clubs or dull hatchets for use on burnt wood.pecking is usually done on very hard rocks and isn't usually used to make arrowheads but is sometimes on quartz.

 

[manumuskin]

The smallest point on left was found along a gas pipe line.The broken point on right was found in a creek and the Middle point was found today in the Honey Hole which is a part of the same creek the right point was found in.The gas line was very nearby as well.I found all three but the middle one today was extra special because my Buddy who finds ten times more then i ever do was standing right next to it and he missed it and I looked at the point in six inches of water and i looked at him and he was looking to the right so I bent down and picked it up and held it under his chin and when he turned around his eyes lit up and said Where'd ya git that? and I said at yer feet Goober!
He has found three in the Honey Hole and probably eight or nine in the creek altogether plus along the pipe line he found a trade pipe stem today and the blade edge of a granite tomahawk along with a nice fat pottery shard.The location of the Honey Hole is now so secretive We have both purposely forgotten where it is till we decide to go back.We were discussing why there were so many here.The one I found today was literally within 50 ft in either direction of tow he has found.I feel that the hole is a crossing between a known Indian encampment and another place we both strongly suspect was one and this was the crossing to get back and forth.Their about a quarter mile apart. I have engaged in beach Hunting and field Hunting but this creek stuff is new to me and i like it,especially in summer.

 

[Wick]

That one in the middle is sweet! What kind of stone do you think it is crafted from? Someone in an earlier post had commented that many of the arrowhead materials were from exported from other tribes.

 

[manumuskin]

That one in the middle is sweet! What kind of stone do you think it is crafted from? Someone in an earlier post had commented that many of the arrowhead materials were from exported from other tribes.

It is definitely not of a local material.The only suitable local material would be quartz and my firend has found some nice quartz points here as well and i found a nice pink quartz bird point out here about 30 years ago.This point looks to be some typ of flint.True flint is only found in the USA at Alibates flint quarry in north texas so this is probably some type of chert which is flint like but not true chert.We also find points made from jasper as well and i have obsidian points I bought that were found out west.Also nice points can be made from bottle bottoms (glass) I can do this half ass but hope to practice and get better at it.Glass is much easier to knap then rock

 

[Wick]

what is the difference between knap and peck when shaping a material

 

[manumuskin]

pECKING ACTUALLY WORKS BETTER ON QUARTZ.PECKING IS WHEN YOU STRIKE A ROCK OBLIQUELY AND TRY TO KNOCK OFF CHIPS TO SHAPE A ROCK.YOU CAN MAKE GROOVES IN GRANITE AND SHAPE HAMMERSTONES AND SUCH BY PECKING AND KEEPING THE ROCK WET WHERE YOUR PECKING HELPS TO CRUSH INDIVIDUALlY GRAINS AND SLOWLY OH SO SLOWLY SHAPE THE ROCK.YOU CAN MAKE SERVICABLE ARROWHEADS THIS WAY BY FRACTURING QUARTZ BUT KNAPPING IS BETTER.kNAPPING IS PRESSURE FLAKING. I didn't see the caps.I type with two fingers while looking at the keyboard..Pressure flaking is done after shaping the point with a hammerstone (crushing) then roughing up to make a platform which is a flat space on the edge of the blank.Then taking a flaker such as an antler or a nail and pressing in and down to throw a flake from the edge toward the center of the piece.After throwing a row of flakes flip the piece over and thro flakes across the opposite face by using the peaks between the last row of flakes for platforms.Then spin point around and do other edge and repeat till you have two satisfactory edges,then crumble (crush) some knotches in or flake them in if possible.be careful,this is where points are often broken or just make a triangular point without notches.you don't really need them if you wrap with sinew and hunt when it's dry out.

 

[46er]

They are having a workshop at KAWW, but you will have to hurry

Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument

Join Katahdin Woods & Waters National MonumentFor a Flintknapping Workshop with Chris Sockalexis

Please visit www.nps.gov/KAWW for more information.

Date: July 12, 2018
Time: 10:00—12:30
Where: Meet at Sandbank Campsite
20 person Maximum, Ages 12 & up


Chris Sockalexis (Penobscot) is the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Penobscot Nation. The focus of his educational background is Maine Archaeology and he is currently conducting research at the University of Maine Climate Change Institute pertaining to Cultural Identity and Maritime Adaptation in the Gulf of Maine. Chris is an avid paddler who loves being out in the Maine woods and waterways that his ancestors have utilized and traveled since time immemorial.

The Art of Making Stone Tools

Flintknapping is the process for producing stone tools that were necessary for the survival of Maine’s first people. Chris will present 12,000 years of stone tool manufacture and will demonstrate techniques used in making the various tool forms utilizing localized source materials found within the Penobscot River Watershed. This program will offer a hands-on experience in producing stone tools.

Please dress appropriately for the weather. Bring water and a snack. Carry In/Carry Out
For more information contact Susanne_norris@nps.gov

For more information on these or future programs please email KAWW_Superintendent@nps.gov .