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Salamanizer
Trad climber
The land of Fruits & Nuts!
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 25, 2013 - 02:21am PT
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Arrowhead points that is.
I've had a recent streak of good luck last week out in my own back yard finding two nice points just a few days apart (one near perfect) while I was taking a break from bouldering. Sitting right there in the earth between my feet they were. They make the 5th and 6th arrowheads I've found out there (Vacaville hills) in the past 5 or 6 years. Averaging one a year, not bad...
I've found several others over the years in other spots but I'm particularly fond of the ones I've collected in my own backyard. They typically carry a nice serration on most. I have some better examples of the serration on a few really nice point I've found some years back, but unfortunately not with me at the moment. You can kinda see the serrated edge on one side of the 3rd point form the left. The other side looks to have suffered an overshot when someone tried to re-touch (sharpen by pressure flaking) the edge.
The big one on top I always thought was a Clovis style spear point, but I now know it's actually whats known as a bi-face. This is what would have been flaked out at the source and carried away for trade to be made into a point by someone else when needed. I found it stuffed in a crack in one of the basalt boulders. Probably placed there near a camp along a hunting path just in case. Pretty cool to find while cleaning a foothold.
This next point was found kinda out in the grass along a creek bed. Stirred up by the cows clawing their way up the embankment. Pretty lucky it didn't get broken and luckier still to actually find it. It's absolutely flawless, still sharp even. It must have been dropped and lost. No way it was shot and survived being so long (about 3in) and thin. The most interesting thing about it is that it's slightly grey in colour and has light bands through it. Not Owens Valley obsidian for sure. I've been told it's not obsidian at all but actually Dacite which is similar, but has slightly different properties than true obsidian. Not sure where it could have come from but I believe the closest source of Dacite is in northern Oregon.
I love finding this stuff. Remnants of the true stewards of the earth.
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Jun 25, 2013 - 02:30am PT
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Wow. Cool stuff to find in your backyard. I could hike for days and still be stoked to find arrowheads like those.
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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Jun 25, 2013 - 08:08am PT
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Very cool, if they could only talk.
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Norwegian
Trad climber
dancin on the tip of god's middle finger
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Jun 25, 2013 - 08:30am PT
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sal you have weigh better footwork
and archeological skills than i.
i only find discarded and heavily crusted
white-man's toilet paper,
and an occasional used condom.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Jun 25, 2013 - 09:44am PT
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Beautiful......great finds!
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Jun 25, 2013 - 09:51am PT
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I found a nice point along Illilouette Creek last year. I tossed it into the bushes where it can't be seen. This way I will always know where it is.
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Footloose
Trad climber
Lake Tahoe
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Jun 25, 2013 - 10:29am PT
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A spear head, my contribution to this thread, found at Dinosaur Rock...
Immaculate condition. An X has it. :)
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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Jun 25, 2013 - 10:32am PT
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Great story Dingus.. Thanks for sharing.
I've never actually found one myself.
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micronut
Trad climber
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Jun 25, 2013 - 10:34am PT
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Wonderful story Dingus. Thank you for sharing that.
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Footloose
Trad climber
Lake Tahoe
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Jun 25, 2013 - 10:53am PT
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Ron, nice!
If you found them all, I am very impressed!
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covelocos
Trad climber
Nor Cal
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Jun 25, 2013 - 11:24am PT
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This was found by my son in the garden. Not a point, but probably a scraper of some kind.
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Charlie D.
Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
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Jun 25, 2013 - 12:04pm PT
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"He walked out into the clearing and one by one, and in random directions, he gently tossed them back from whence they came. It was like he was tossing ashes into the wind." Brutus walked back into camp, noticed me watching him. He nodded - "that way someone else will get to experience this,"
Beautiful, thanks DMT
BTW Ron that lower right one is a masters' work, incredible.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Jun 25, 2013 - 12:12pm PT
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Incredible story Dingus. A gift indeed. Thank you.
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John M
climber
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Jun 25, 2013 - 12:16pm PT
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"He walked out into the clearing and one by one, and in random directions, he gently tossed them back from whence they came. It was like he was tossing ashes into the wind." Brutus walked back into camp, noticed me watching him. He nodded - "that way someone else will get to experience this,"
My sentiments exactly. I have found some cool stuff in the backcountry, but always left it in place because I liked the idea of others finding it too. I also appreciate peoples collections, because its cool to study on that stuff and just look at them, but I really like leaving things in place.
though if I ever manage to find a big ass gold nugget, that will be going with me.. haha
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John M
climber
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Jun 25, 2013 - 12:24pm PT
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Brutus reminds me of my friend Linn Thomas, bringing a big ass iron skillet into the backcountry. Fond memories. We use to carry watermelons too. I carried a 10 pound one 15 miles into the backcountry once. Now that was so so good after a long hot hike. Pop it into the creek, set up camp, go catch some fish and have trout, hot cornbread, and fresh cold watermelon for dinner.
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Roughster
Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
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Jun 25, 2013 - 01:10pm PT
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Chad,
You and I are obviously stomping the same ground. Here is my most recent:
This thing has the most wicked edge still. It is an absolute razor.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Jun 25, 2013 - 02:15pm PT
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Long ago on a mountain ridge not so far away on a summit scramble I found a beautiful mid sized black obsidian arrowhead. Lying among the flowers and sand. Many miles from the nearest naturally occurring obsidian.
Admired it, wondered how it got to 11,000 feet. Did a wounded deer carry it there? Were deer frequent enough Way Up There above timberline for Indians to be hunting them? Had an Indian followed the deer up there? Perhaps a bear or marmot or bighorn sheep was the target? This was likely not on a trade route although there was a well known route a few miles away.
It must've been valuable to the Indian, why didn't he retrieve it?
Put it in my pocket and carried on for a few hundred yards.....stopped.....took it out.....admired it for another moment and then put it gently back on the ground just under the leaves of an alpine flower.
Another mystery I'll treasure longer than if I had the arrowhead in an envelope in the back of my socks drawer (although sometimes I wish I'd kept it).
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Jun 25, 2013 - 03:24pm PT
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Dingus! A worthy story and great photos to match.
I grew up hunting and keeping arrowheads in S. Idaho. I now like to love em & leave them.
However, our 5 acre Ranchette has a spring creek and is only a few miles from where a major Shoshoni village was located.
Heidi just keeps finding points while gardening. After being here 22 years, it looks like she averages about 1.5 points per year.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Jun 25, 2013 - 04:55pm PT
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Yeah Ron, farms are the place for points, since the soil gets turned over yearly.
These ceremonial points were found on Heidi's father's farm west of Boise in the 1970's. They were exposed during land leveling and are all broken.
They likely were part of an ancient burial and have been examined, written about, and displayed in a traveling exhibit of significant Idaho artifacts.
The farm sets on a high point with a good view of the Boise Valley, but they never found another arrowhead on it, since it never had water until the Bureau of Reclamation piped it in.
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hamik
Mountain climber
Pasadena, CA
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Jun 25, 2013 - 05:50pm PT
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I really enjoyed the Brutus story, Dingus.
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Salamanizer
Trad climber
The land of Fruits & Nuts!
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 25, 2013 - 09:59pm PT
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There is millions of points out there from a thousand years or more ago on up to recent ..
Actually, there are billions of points out there stretching back to about 20,000 years ago. It was long believed that people started migrating into the Americas no more than 13,000 years ago. Recent studies have indisputably pushed this date back to the 20,000 year mark with some evidence that the migrations may have even started as long ago as 30,000 years ago. Though most points you'll find are no more than 13,000 years old, as this was the start of mass migration. The Clovis points died out from 8 to 10,000 years ago along with the extinction of large mammals in the Americas. From that time until about 120 years ago the more common "bird points" were the norm. So you got at least 8,000 years of literal Indian refuse littering the ground making arrowheads neither rare or particularly valuable. Their real value comes from Anthropologists studying peoples collections and the areas they were found to help piece together the history of all of us. So pick em up and show them off. You might just find something rare or enlightening to someone trying to find another piece of the puzzle. If you toss them back, that's cool too. Just don't stick them in your sock drawer.
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Jun 26, 2013 - 12:03am PT
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I like Dingus's story. A box of points in the closet is lost to the world.
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Jun 26, 2013 - 12:24am PT
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Great experience to share DMT.
Thanks
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covelocos
Trad climber
Nor Cal
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Jun 26, 2013 - 11:13am PT
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My brother in Az. will pick up a few 'fake' points from a tourist shop and put 'em in his pocket. When he pulls up into a friend's driveway, he drops one on the ground near his truck. When his friend comes out to see him, he 'finds' it and starts looking for more. ALWAYS gets a rise!
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Norwegian
Trad climber
dancin on the tip of god's middle finger
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i walked away,
and sunk my system in cold drink.
5 minutes i remain emerged in spring water.
core temp teased 97.
i crawl out of the granite tub,
and reach down for my shoes.
this i find just adjacent,
a blessing of past spirits upon me.
so i walk up the hill to my white man castle,
and notice that the garbage is overflowing it's canister.
so i flip the lid and jump in,
stomp around a bit, the new blessing still in my hand,
my sandaled foot punches thru the overheated plastic garbage bag,
and my toes entertain hot and rancid todays.
that's ok because my hand is entertaining bold and simple yesterdays.
i jump out and i've tomato squeezed into my birkenstocks,
i look down and seriously
there is a wadded ten dollar bill caught in a spider's web,
that spans the refuse and the recycling can.
my foot is pasted with waste,
in my hand is a point that hopes towards sustenance.
im a tear in reality's fabric,
confusion passes thru me,
as does genius,
though according to fluid mechanics,
both speed up as they skim across my knows.
and the negative pressure that ensues of their's velocity
sucks from within me,
my stubborn ignorance.
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stunewberry
Trad climber
Spokane, WA
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I found a point at 11,500 in Armstrong Canyon. Don't ask what we were doing there. Any points up that high would have been from expeditions to hunt big horn sheep
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Salamanizer
Trad climber
The land of Fruits & Nuts!
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 6, 2013 - 01:23am PT
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Yeah, well there are alot of things that are illegal. Like smoking pot or speeding. Many of these laws are in place to protect idiots from themselves. Like someone who darts through traffic in rush hour, or raids and removes artifacts from a significant archaeological site. Removing a lone arrowhead from the dirt is no more damaging to society than driving 75 mph down a deserted highway at midnight.
Besides, all mine were found on private property!!!
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Bill Mc Kirgan
Trad climber
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
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I used to go relicin' while I was in college in Edwardsville, Illinois. Down by the soccer practice fields I found many colorful flakes and occasional arrowheads / points. Many of them were not perfect, but I was addicted and even had permission from the farmer.
Here's the best little point. A real arrowhead.
The very first one I found was in a field near Kampsville, Illinois. My friend tipped me off to it as he was trying to teach me how to develop the eye. He said he spied a notch and I should look closely. I finally saw it and pulled this baby out of the ground.
I admire HighTraverse for putting the one he found back. I'm no longer hunting the relics but do admire them and enjoy seeing the pictures and stories each of you has shared.
I put my very favorite ones in a dream catcher.
This last one was a gift from my friend who taught me how to see notches and pottery shards. He found it in Stark County, Illinois.
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sangoma
Trad climber
south africa
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Down this side we don't find arrow heads but I find a lot of hand axes
These are thousands of years old , from the early stone age
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Salamanizer
Trad climber
The land of Fruits & Nuts!
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 8, 2013 - 06:16pm PT
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Nice Sangoma, is that all from South Africa?
I'd imagine those hand axes are probably in the tens of thousands of years old. Iron Age stuff too... you're not going to find any of that around here in California.
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209er
Social climber
Oakdale
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So there we were, K and I, heading south over Cirque pass in 2010 on our way to Split Mountain after bailing out on Mt. Sill because we saw a cloud or two in the sky. There upon a ledge near the pass itself was this fine relic of days ago. When we showed the photo to an expert later on we were told it some sort of a bifacial spear point from obsidian from the Mammoth Lakes area. We left this exactly where we found it. Maybe that will happen the next time, too.
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sangoma
Trad climber
south africa
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Salamanizer, all from southern Africa ,except one blade from the UK that looks the same as the blades I find here
Interesting that stone tools the world over follow the same design, although one finds a variation of the hand axe ,that I call the "chisel nose" only in this area ???
The only arrow heads that are found here are Bushman or iron age bantu on the western side of SA and up north as there was no culture of bow and arrow in most of SA
Chris
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Dickbob
climber
Westminster Colorado
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Nov 16, 2013 - 04:59pm PT
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My wife just found this one laying in the middle of the trail, south side of Standley Lake.
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