You know that you're in an area with lots of Indian artifacts when you practically step on one getting out of the survey truck.
Closeup of artifact in place:
And in hand:
It's probably a preform, an unfinished projectile point, that fractured during manufacture. This appears to be the base, with tip broken off, fairly well thinned but with the edges needing work.
How neat! I love artifacts like that. You are holding in your hand an object that another human fashioned thousands of years ago. Amazing.
> How neat! I love artifacts like that. You are holding in your hand an object that another human fashioned thousands of years ago. Amazing.
Yes, just about 100 ft. away from the truck, I hiked past a wide, flat rock outcrop that had apparently been used as a workbench 4,000 to 6,000 years ago, judging by the scatter of flakes of worked chert and this artifact, the base of which was sticking out of the shallow soil around the outcrop (seen in the background).
> > How neat! I love artifacts like that. You are holding in your hand an object that another human fashioned thousands of years ago. Amazing.
>
> Yes, just about 100 ft. away from the truck, I hiked past a wide, flat rock outcrop that had apparently been used as a workbench 4,000 to 6,000 years ago, judging by the scatter of flakes of worked chert and this object, the base of which was exposed to view.
>
Aloha, Kent: Thanks for sharing. I never seen anything like this. How can you distinguish between regular rock and ancient tools? Never seen one before...so I can't really tell the difference...
Learning something new everyday!
> How can you distinguish between regular rock and ancient tools? Never seen one before...so I can't really tell the difference...
In this case, there are two clues. The first is that the material invariably used by the early peoples in making stone artifacts in Central Texas was a silicaceous rock called "chert". Chert naturally occurs as rounded nodules in limestone that weather out of the matrix and can be found as cobbles of different sizes. The ancients split the nodules into thinner pieces that in turn were worked by methods that produced a scalloped pattern in the chert, larger scallops for the percussion flaking operation of coarse shaping and finer scallops by pressure flaking using an deer antler tine to refine the shape. This was a technology that was also used in ancient Europe and across Asia, as far as I know. It probably reached the highest level of development in the pre-Columbian Americas where very intricate and refined objects were made.
What caught my eye was the color of chert and the scalloped pattern that indicated a manufactured artifact.
Thank you for the explanation Kent!
> > How can you distinguish between regular rock and ancient tools? Never seen one before...so I can't really tell the difference...
>
> In this case, there are two clues. The first is that the material invariably used by the early peoples in making stone artifacts in Central Texas was a silicaceous rock called "chert". Chert naturally occurs as rounded nodules in limestone that weather out of the matrix and can be found as cobbles of different sizes. The ancients split the nodules into thinner pieces that in turn were worked by methods that produced a scalloped pattern in the chert, larger scallops for the percussion flaking operation of coarse shaping and finer scallops by pressure flaking using an deer antler tine to refine the shape.
>
> What caught my eye was the color of chert and the scalloped pattern that indicated a manufactured artifact.
I had to look up "chert" on Wikipedia 🙂 Now I see how you identify them. Thank you.
Nice!
That looks like a pretty good one, Kent. Perhaps it's maker came under attack before he could finish it.
Nice!
> That looks like a pretty good one, Kent. Perhaps it's maker came under attack before he could finish it.
It isn't uncommon to find partially finished artifacts in a setting littered with the debris from the flaking process of manufacture of stone tools. Some just broke and were discarded before completion. Good quality chert was plentiful in the area, so there wasn't any reason not to just start from scratch.
Nice!
I have seen some similar looking "unfinished" pieces (slightly larger) that were used as hide scrapers.
Pablo
In what looks like 5 minutes, you found 2 artifacts. Seems to me you were on an archaeological mission rather than survey. And what's wrong with your watch? It is obviously broken. 15 o' clock? Can't find good watches anymore, only cheap Chinese knock offs...
> In what looks like 5 minutes, you found 2 artifacts. Seems to me you were on an archaeological mission rather than survey.
Well, when you're walking outside the city, particularly in that rocky terrain, you pretty much do have to look at the ground from time to time. :>
Nice!
> I have seen some similar looking "unfinished" pieces (slightly larger) that were used as hide scrapers.
At one time, that was a standard interpretation of the preforms, i.e. that they were "scrapers" or "choppers".
Out of curiosity, how would you distinguish a tool manufactured in the 4-6,000 year old range from one far more recent, say in the last 500 years?
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
"Well, when you're walking outside the city, particularly in that rocky terrain, you pretty much do have to look at the ground from time to time. :>"
Yup, like for 1.RATTLESNAKES, 2. ankle sprainers. and 3. Monuments 😉
:good: :good:
And kind of in that order too, at least in these parts. You FL guys have more snakes though, but we've got those rock slippery mountain slopes to contend with. Not fun. It's not like we're getting more agile either, as we advance in age, grace, and girth. The bonus here is between Turkey Day and April Fools, the snakes do tend to hibernate. Not so sure about TX. But the other stuff is always there.
Pick up arrow heads around here and you better hide them fast. I have a couple friends with quite the collection of them though. Very interesting to say the least.
for Yogi - knapping rocks
Here you go swami:
how to knap arrowheads
Enjoy.
You may be able to find some obsideon rocks in your area. Those become seriously dangerously sharp. I have heard some surgeons prefer scalpels with obsideon blades over the stainless steel blades.
> Out of curiosity, how would you distinguish a tool manufactured in the 4-6,000 year old range from one far more recent, say in the last 500 years?
There are several clues. The best is, of course, the style of the artifact. Different groups produced markedly different styles of points and were very conservative in the sense that the same styles of points were made for centuries with little variation in design. The dates at which those cultures were in an area have been estimated from carbon dating of material found in stratified deposits such as middens at camp sites used for millenia by a series of different peoples.
The other clue as to age is the patina or oxidation "rind" that forms on chert over time when exposed to the elements, eventually giving even very dark chert a whitish appearance.
So you're saying at one time, maybe a few thousand years ago...people actually lived in your part of Texas?!...not just rocks...and a few cacti...and a fence?:-X 😉
j/k...cool photos!
Fascinating stuff. Thanks for sharing.
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
> So you're saying at one time, maybe a few thousand years ago...people actually lived in your part of Texas?!...not just rocks...and a few cacti...and a fence?
Yes, Central Texas has always been a pretty happening place. At one time (probably ca. 1100 A.D.), the most densely populated area in North America was along the Rio Grande River in New Mexico. Agriculture just didn't seem to catch on in Texas where game animals were plentiful and the land delivered various other foodstuffs in season.