Nicodemus I was wondering if you could help?

[Perkins]

This is for the Pro's, "Nicodemus can you Please explain"
In 1999 I joined a Deer club in Dublin on the Oconee River. I went to meet with the President at his house and when I went in, he had about 15-20 Boxes of Arrow Heads and all kinds of arrow heads on his walls.. in the show boxes. up untill then, I had only found a few here and there but I was amazed at all the stuff he had found. He asked me if I wanted to go find some and I quikly said yes. I was thinking there aint no way he would ever tell me an exact spot but he did. he said wait untill a hard rain and go down by this creek and start looking.....long story short we found a bunch of great stuff there. skining tools,long spears,pottery all kinds of amazing things.most people would be in ah at the stuff we found. and we used to go all the time. it seemed to never end. now my question is... this place was the lowest part of the property and about 500 yards long by about 100 yards wide and right on a creek that fed in to the Oconee River. What happened??? was there a battle? or did they just all die all of the sudden? It just seems odd to me that you could find all this pretty and amazing stuff in one little area? Why wouldn't they have taken it somewhere? there was chips of flint everywhere you walked also. I will try to post some pics of all that we found. it was unreal. but we got out of the club, and I bet now that place is grown up, but you know there has to be some awesome stuff down there covered up in pine straw. I guess I forgot to mention it was cut land that they had came in and planted small pines on. so when they "trenched" it they dug all this stuff up. Just wanted an experts opinion.Thanks you,
Eric

 

[Smokey]

I'm no pro like Nic but I will give my 2 cents. From what I have learned, indian villages were ussualy in flat areas along creeks and rivers. Finding pottery is a good sign that you are looking in or near a village. These villages lasted for many, many years, meaning that lots of indians made lots and dropped lots of arrowheads.

 

[Handgunner]

I'm no pro like Nic but I will give my 2 cents. From what I have learned, indian villages were ussualy in flat areas along creeks and rivers. Finding pottery is a good sign that you are looking in or near a village. These villages lasted for many, many years, meaning that lots of indians made lots and dropped lots of arrowheads.

That's what I was thinking. It's a camp site.

 

[pnome]

That site sounds like it has considerable archaeological value. Have you had any archaeologists out there to check it out? Bet they could shed some light on it for you.

 

[Handgunner]

That site sounds like it has considerable archaeological value. Have you had any archaeologists out there to check it out? Bet they could shed some light on it for you.

They could also probably shut it down for him as well.

 

[dawg2]

They could also probably shut it down for him as well.

Especially if they find a grave. Monolithic axes and really fine, intricate artifacts, and high density finds can indicate a burial ground. They are often found near water as that has a connection to the "underworld" in their religion.

 

[pnome]

What do you mean by "shut it down"?

 

[hevishot]

They could also probably shut it down for him as well.

exactley!!! Worse thing you could do.

 

[dawg2]

What do you mean by "shut it down"?

They will take over the site and close it for archeological study only.

 

[pnome]

They will take over the site and close it for archeological study only.

Ahh. Ok.

Eric,

I suggest then that you take a more methodical approch to the site. Grid it off and start cataloging from which grid square things you find come from. You'll be able to get the big picture that way and start laying out a map of the site.

 

[FX Jenkins]

Ahh. Ok.

Eric,

I suggest then that you take a more methodical approch to the site. Grid it off and start cataloging from which grid square things you find come from. You'll be able to get the big picture that way and start laying out a map of the site.

and catologue your finds with pictures...artifacts have a way of walking off if you know what I mean...

 

[Perkins]

Thanks guy's I appreciate the feedback. I don't hunt there anymore but often wonder just how much stuff is still there covered up by pinestraw.That place was unreal but like I said I just could never understand what happened to these people. Why did they just leave all this stuff?? I wondered about maybe a battle or maybe a diesese wiped them out?? who knows, but it was alway's on my mind. again thanks guy's.EP

 

[MIG]

If I were a betting man I'd guess that what you found was likely deposited over hundreds if not thousands of years instead of "all at once"; the point types and pottery can shed some light on the time frame involved. The folks who used your site were human, no different than us - in other words they lost, misplaced, broke, and discarded things. North America has been inhabited for at least the last 10,000 or so years - that's an awful long time for stuff to accumulate.

 

[Danuwoa]

Where a creek runs into a larger creek or river was the most desirable place for a camp or village.These most desirable sites were occupied for thousands of years by the earliest (Paleo Indians) through Archaic, Woodland and finally Mississippian cultures.The things you found were lost, dropped and simply cached and left.Woodland and Mississippian villages were usually larger than Paleo or Archaic villages because by then, they planted corn, beans, squash and pumpkins, which insured a reliable food supply.When a person died in a Woodland or Mississippian village, they were simply buried under the floor of the house in a pit. So every village site of note will have burials. As far as artifacts go, there will be much, much, more 18"-24" under the ground.It would be a good idea to at the least, catalogue everything found on the surface in plastic bags and tag it as from that site, the date and location. It is a wonderful hobby if done responsibly.

 

[Kawaliga]

I agree, when collecting, keep everything from a particular site together. You can get more of an idea about how the people on that site lived and related to that general area.

 

[choctawlb]

Sounds like you found a village site that was occupied for a long time period. Especially if the things you are finding are from different periods (woodland, archaic, ect.)
Ken

 

[Nicodemus]

Your questions have purty much been answered, but I`ll add this. A good campsite would have been utilized over time by different groups, who recognized it for what it was. On into the later Woodland, and Missisippian time periods, some of these campsites would have been made into established village sites. High ground, good water close by, plenty of raw materials in the vicinity. All these things would have been taken into consideration.

It`s a shame that we, as a people, don`t have enough sense to follow their lead.

 

[Perkins]

Nic

Thanks, for getting back with me. Yea I had a lot of people explain it to me. I am going to try to get back down there. that place was un real. I will try to post some pics here soon of what we found there.EP