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Post by arghvark on Feb 18, 2018 11:49:35 GMT -5
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Post by fernwood on Feb 18, 2018 11:57:21 GMT -5
A very nice surprise. Is that one or two? One of the photos look like a partially completed point. Others look like one that was partially complete and broke, or broke while in use.
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Surprise
Feb 18, 2018 12:09:20 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by arghvark on Feb 18, 2018 12:09:20 GMT -5
A very nice surprise. Is that one or two? One of the photos look like a partially completed point. Others look like one that was partially complete and broke, or broke while in use. All of the photos are the same piece, from different angles. My guess (based on decades of collecting points in Oregon) is an aborted point that was tossed and has since seen lots of time, weather and abuse. There seem (to me) to be breaks that were not part of the work. This find was particularly surprising to me because while it's been documented that there were humans in this area upwards of 10,000 years ago and many artifacts have been found within 20-100 miles of where it was found, I've never heard of any being found specifially where I found this one.
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lookatthat
Cave Dweller
Whatever there is to be found.
Member since May 2017
Posts: 1,360
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Post by lookatthat on Feb 18, 2018 13:09:01 GMT -5
Joy!
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Post by fernwood on Feb 18, 2018 13:09:02 GMT -5
I would say a lot longer than 10,000 years for people to be in that area. There is an excellent thread somewhere here about human migration. Think it is under the articles section. Written/compiled by an expert. From my experience and research, points were often made on the spot, especially in time of need. That could explain why it was there. Might be some others in the area. Can see why you picked it up, as the material is beautiful. Did you know it was a point at the time, or did you clean it off and then make the discovery?
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Post by rmf on Feb 18, 2018 15:14:00 GMT -5
arghvark The western coast has several site that have been dated to around 14000 yrs ago and there is one site in California that the experts think may go back 130,000 years. That would be the oldest in the US if it can be verified. Also the native americans carried good knapping material quite a ways from time to time. I know of obsidian being carried over 500 miles to be traded. Your guy/gal probably was going to cab that piece but dropped it before he got home to his grinder.
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Surprise
Feb 18, 2018 20:27:09 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by arghvark on Feb 18, 2018 20:27:09 GMT -5
I would say a lot longer than 10,000 years for people to be in that area. There is an excellent thread somewhere here about human migration. Think it is under the articles section. Written/compiled by an expert. From my experience and research, points were often made on the spot, especially in time of need. That could explain why it was there. Might be some others in the area. Can see why you picked it up, as the material is beautiful. Did you know it was a point at the time, or did you clean it off and then make the discovery? Indeed, just over the last couple of months I've been reading about recent (last 15 years or so) digs at several sites on the west coast in the 12-15,000 year range. But I'm about 300 straight-line miles from the coast, and that's some mighty rough terrain. I just said 10k due to the Spirit Cave mummy, which was discovered about 15 miles from where I live now. Don't know much else about the ancient history of the area, other than the many petroglyph sites, the nearest of which (about 10 miles down the road) is about 8000 years old. I didn't know it was a point, but realized it as soon as I rubbed off the dirt to look at it. That red jaspery-agatey is pretty common here. Usually mixed with other stuff-sometimes run through with lovely clear or white agate. Hard to find large chunks though, except just solid jasper.
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Surprise
Feb 18, 2018 20:35:09 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by arghvark on Feb 18, 2018 20:35:09 GMT -5
arghvark The western coast has several site that have been dated to around 14000 yrs ago and there is one site in California that the experts think may go back 130,000 years. That would be the oldest in the US if it can be verified. Also the native americans carried good knapping material quite a ways from time to time. I know of obsidian being carried over 500 miles to be traded. Your guy/gal probably was going to cab that piece but dropped it before he got home to his grinder. Yes! Especially obsidian, which was highly prized because although brittle, is easy to work and takes an incredibly fine edge. The place where I found many, many points growing up in sw Oregon yielded mostly recent (last few hundred years) obsidian points, but some jasper and even clear agate points, and a few clearly much much older flint points. As far as I know there are no flint deposits within perhaps a couple hundred miles of there.
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Post by arghvark on Feb 18, 2018 20:47:29 GMT -5
From my experience and research, points were often made on the spot, especially in time of need. That could explain why it was there. I'm no expert, but I've read that as well. On the other hand, one small area that I searched for years yielded incredibly large numbers of waste flakes. A camp site? Or perhaps just an agreeable place to work of an evening. Southwest facing small hill overlooking a large meadow. Many flakes had worked themselves down the hill over time, but the area of most intense concentration was no more than 60'x60'.
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