Teach me how to find spear/arrow heads

[Spot Shooter]

OK fella's...

I'm not blind and I had lazik a year ago so I not handi-capped BUT I CAN'T FIND ME ONE FOR MY LIFE.

I really want to be able to find some .. this is killin' me. So I don't care if you PM me your secret method please let me know where to look, time, where, .... so I can put this issue to rest.

Timing is good for me since I have a 14 year old I want to teach.. but right now it'd be awful embarresing 'cause I've never found one to date. :curse:

Dern it all it's fustrat'in... The method my dad tolt me about was walk'n plow'd fields after a good rain. That's about all I know. Maybe I'm not look'n for the right color, shape, what ever first.. or maybe the wrong fields ? ?

HELP! It's so fustrate'n and I'm lost ::

Spot

 

[Flint50]

Hi Spot. I have found that it takes an "eye " to spot them. First, Its best to look in an area known to have old indian camps. Fields along creeks and rivers might produce. Your Dad is right, look in plowed fields especially after a rain. Unfortunatley the plow is a double-edged sword. It brings them to the surface, but also produces "heartbreakers" (part of a beautiful arrowhead broken by the plow). Dont expect to see a complete arrowhead just laying on the surface. Look for a small piece of one sticking out of the ground. I took a small gardeners spade, attached it to a 4 ft stick, so I didnt have to bend over each time I saw something. I would walk very slowly, anything I see that looks like obsidian, take your spade and unearth it. You will come up with a lot of zeros, but every once in a while....bingo. I once found a beautiful 3 1/2" spearpoint, only 1/4" of flute was exposed. Dont forget to look for gray granite implements as well. Axe heads, grinding stones etc are usualy granite. Good luck! PS. The cool thing is the last person to touch your "find" was probably the rascal that made it! PM me if you like. :m2c:

 

[musketman]

OK fella's...

I'm not blind and I had lazik a year ago so I not handi-capped BUT I CAN'T FIND ME ONE FOR MY LIFE.

I have been looking meself and I came up with zip...

Two sure fire ways...

1. Look down a lot...

2. Take off your shoes and stopm around bare foot...

Other than that, I got nothing...

The local farmers have boxes full of arrowheads, I guess you need a plow to find them now days...

 

[buckknife]

Yep them plowed fields work good after a good rain,but they get beat up pretty bad from the disc which comes after the plow,If you can find a old camp that the indians usd for years the field will give up treasures for many years.These camps are sumtimes located on river bottom bluffs.Had a good spot like that at one time and many arrow heads and axe were taken by us,the new owner has it in the 20 year set aside program,which is seeded with grass for that time peroid.
If you can find a fairly wide creek that is close to a river bottom with a lot of rocks in it,that is a good place to look.Best to look well after aa big rain when the water level drops way back down.
The indians around here used a rock called churt to make their arrow heads and it can be found in these creeks.The relics you find in the creeks are in much better shape than the ones in the fields.Have such a creek about 3 miles from my house,once or twice a year me an the kids will walk it for a spell.Sumtimes we find nuthin but a bunch of rocks but on occasion we get lucky.
Took a old pal with me once down ther,he showed me how to make a arrow head.He found a big chunk of chert rock an broke it on anuther rock.Found the right flake he desired and took out a deer antler tip about 5 inches long.He worked around the flake with it,napen it like a flint on one side and then the other.With in 15 minutes he hadmade a crude looken arrow head.He said sumtimes the arrow heads were placed in a fire on a bed of hot coals over night.What that did to them im not sure.This fellow had spent sumtime with some native americans out west,might have been sum lakota souix,not sure.He said he had made a flesh offering He explained that to me but i cant remember what it was about.Sounded like it might have smarted a little ::

 

One word. E-bay :crackup:

 

One word E-bay :crackup:

 

[buckknife]

Spot backin the mid 80s i talked to a old fella who owns a lot of land in the area.He was in his late 70s and has passed on now,anyway he told me his grandfather had told him where 2 indian camps were in the area.One was the river bluff where we had found all them relics.Seems there was a certin place that the indians would ambush turkey.I did find a very small arrow head there.
The other camp was located about one mile up creek from the bluff camp,there is a natural spring in this area.Never have found much in that field.One fella with me one day found what he called a thumb scrapper.To me it looked just like a flint used in flinter,cept it had a edge all the way around it.Maybe it was used for a flintlock,i belive Uncle Mility on anuther fourm in the past said that chert rock can also be used for flints.
Yep you can by arrow heads off ebay and who knows if they are real relics or recent made ones,it is hard to tell.When you find them your self it always to me brings up in my mind a life of a people that was here before us.They lived out there and it is sad that their way of life was stolden from them the way it was.When i was younger i would sell the relics i found but not anymore,they are a piece of real history hand made from those that were here before us.

 

[noahmercy]

I know this may sound silly to some, Spot, but I honestly believe some people have a gift for finding them. My Great Great Grandfather found over 400,000 :shocking: points, axe-heads, and other relics in southern Illinois and eastern Missouri. (He is also the fella' who figured out that Cahokia was a huge settlement and laid all the groundwork for which many "lettered" individuals took credit. :curse He used to go for walks and just kick up artifacts or stop and dig a little and come up with them. Everyone who knew him said there was something special about him when it came to finding Indian stuff. He was even made an honorary Cherokee Chief and given a beautiful headdress (wish I knew where that was now. ). I, unfortunately, did not inherit his gift. Of course, out here, it's illegal to remove any artifacts found on public land :nono:, so it's a moot point for me.

 

[silverfox]

Spot Shooter: I'll try again. First alot of the above are correct. Second you need to look in known locations where artifacts have been found. Don't look for the christmas tree shape rock, that only happens about 1 in 100 you usually will only see a small chip above the ground. Go after a rain or runoff has happened and removed surface dirt. A good place is the sides of hills or gulleys. Look for chipped rocks. Dirt does't stick to chipped rock well so after a rain arrowheads shine more than plain rocks. Old creek beds or the shoreline of lakes when the water is low also can be good spots to look. Think what is and arrowhead, it's a rock that's chipped all over this is what to look for. Good luck and I hope some of this helps.
Fox :thumbsup:

 

[76monza]

Spot Shooter,
I've been huntin' Indian relics since I was very, very young something my father and uncle always were always up to and they instilled the interest in all of us cousins. Hunting arrowheads isn't difficult, its just a matter of observing the terrain and looking for conditions that would be favorable for camping. A buddy of mine and I came to the conclusion after walking dozens of fields that the best results we came upon were close proximity to a continual water source, within about 100 yards more or less. Indians probably didn't want to walk to far get water. Slight grade to the soil, that drains easily. they didn't like to camp in spongy swamps any more than we do. Look for mounds or rises in the fields for signs. One that may or may not hold true in other parts, but seems to here in Kansas is a generally south facing slope or exposure. There may be other conditions that may not fit this criteria but those listed will generally pan out for you.
The problem with hunting arrowheads are many and getting worse. First securing permission to hunt on the lands. This isn't always a simple task since a lot of the promising lands are owned by out of area owners. And like hunting land owners also tend to reserve their lands for themselves. Second not too many farmers plow like they used to, they've gone to no-till planting and it's real difficult to spot those little buggers with all the chaff and manure in the ground. So you gotta look close, turn anything that looks unnatural, straight sharp edges even curves, unusual color. Check any washes or runnoffs coming off a field. Found some really nice spear tips that way. good clue that you are on the right track is to look for flaking in the areas,burnt rocks and bone in some instances. Pottery shards can sometimes be found along with the flaking, don't overlook them. Unusual rocks that aren't indigenous to the area. Indian trade was far more advanced than we give them credit for.
If you hunt state owned lands, where some of the best sites are, well you're not supposed to. Kansas has over 14,000 registered and marked sites and they investigate only 3 to 5 a year, so I've been told by those in the archeology field. Personally I don't think they'll miss a couple of points in a field that they'll never get to.
Spot Shooter if you have any questions about sites and collecting, PM me.

smokeydays

 

[jaybeach]

I agree with all the tips you've seen so far. You might also want to try to "think like an indian". Where would I make my camp? Where would be a good place to wait for game to come within range of my bow? (etc). Saddles of ridges and valleys between hills would be a good choice, but the difficulty with these now, is that any heads will probably be buried under several inches of leaves, mulch, etc. This is why surfaces that get turned over occasionally (or washed with water) make it easier for finding them.
One interesting thing I came across in the U.P. of Michigan - my inlaws lived on a point where a river emptied into a bay of Lake Michigan. The kids were always finding broken arrowheads out in the yard near the river. They were never finding good ones, always broken ones. An old timer in the area who was up on his Michigan history said it had probably been an "arrowhead factory", where a certain tribe (or family) had been making arrowheads to use for trading with other tribes, etc. What the kids were finding were all the rejects - heads that broke wrong in the process of being made.
Your 14 year old will appreciate your effort and the time you spend with him/her even if you never find one. You might want to include learning to identify trees, plants, wildlife, etc, along with hunting for arrowheads, so it won't seem like a fruitless outing if you don't find any. :m2c:

 

[Claude Mathis]

You guys have offered some good tips. You might want to send these to Buckskinner Magazine for their "Council Fire" section. There's a form you can fill out at here: http://www.buckskinnermagazine.com/html/council_fire.html

 

[Huntinfool]

There's been a load of good info rather than repeat any of it I just add one good tip.

When confronted with a large plowed field in good river bottom known to hold artifacts. Always start in the area of highest elevation it might just be a little ridge running the length of the field or a small area of terrain.

There are two reasons for searching high knobs and ridges one the Natives made good use of elevated ground and most important in a plowed field the natural migration of soil. Rains will move soil off of the top and wash into the low areas making finding of artifacts easier on ridge areas.

Of course it's possible to find them anywhere it's more likely to you'll find them on high spots than low lying areas.

YMH&OS, :redthumb:
Chuck

 

[76monza]

Huntinfool,
Be sure to check any terracing thats been done in the fields, some of my best points have come from that soil thats been deep turned. Sometimes its difficult to try to locate where exactly the points originated from because of terracing though.
Two of the best points that I found actually had washed down out of an unturned pasture into the drainage area below a pond. The sad thing is this pasture has no future of being broken and turned. Its a shame to, knowing the quality of the work buried out there.

smokeydays

 

[Spot Shooter]

Wow!,

Man these are some great tips.

Smokey days.. Thanks very much. At least I have some renew'd hope that this spring / summer I can find some.

I hadn't ever thought about the camping site deal.. hmm... Kinda makes me feel stupid, but sometimes it's the folks you hang around with that change your life the most.

Thanks again, I'll pass it on to the boy as we trek out this year, and with any luck I'll be posting some pictures.

I really need to re-read this section again a few times, and I may be PM'n a few of you... Great stuff!

Thanks again,
Spot

 

[sse]

Hey Spot, how ya doin?

I've been thinking about your question and it reminds me of a type of hunting we can do here on the shores of the Great Lakes, and many inland lakes.

The "state stone" of Michigan is the Petoskey stone. They find 'em, polish 'em up, make things out of 'em, you name it. I've never been a rock hound, but on the few occasions that I've found myself standing on shore near a bed of rocks, I just made up my mind to find one (Petoskey stone), look around a minute, and there it is. I found it strange at the time. Still don't know why. Might as well try it, you never know.

Regards, sse

 

[KyFlintlock]

I had a sycamore come up volunteer under the edge of my deck. I dug it up and moved it out into the yard. As I threw the 3rd spade of dirt in the bucket from the hole I heard a "thunk", which turned out to be an arrowhead. My neighbor was leaning over his fence watching the whole thing and went running for his shovel!

I had a nice collection that I found as a kid, running the creeks and plowed fields in Ky. I took the collection to school to share for "extra credit" and the next day, it was gone. Live and learn.... Now, I only have a handful left...

Hopefully someday, I'll get off my lazy butt and take my boys back to see if we can find them a few. Thanks for reminding me. :RO:

Good luck and keep us posted!!

 

[aragorn]

I found my first arrowhead when I was 14 and was so obsessed that I studied archaeology at university and became a professional. Lots of great advice already here, so just a few more thoughts:

Get to know the material you

 

[76monza]

Strider,

When I was around ten my dad took all five of us boys out Hunting arroweads South Anderson county, Kansas. I was bored out of my mind, wasn't finding a thing! Until he made me walk with him down a row. Twenty feet down that row I picked up three perfect points all within 5 feet of each other. Nothing could have ruined my day after that, and boy was I hooked. It wasn't until about 7 years ago that my buddy and I were talkin about that while walking a field that he said "you know your dad probably had already found them and was waiting for you to see them." That's when I realized that he probably had done just that. So I tried that one on my daughter when we were out hunting one day, just one small bird point I had found. I resisted the temptation to pick it up, and called my daughter over to me. Took her five long minutes to "find" it, but she did. The look was priceless. and she got the bug too. Those points hang in a frame in the family room today.

Smokedays

 

[Birdwatcher]

Thousands of hours I've spent in the field and found nary an arrowhead (prob'ly cause I'm usually looking up :, although I did find a metate (grinding stone) once.

If I did find one though I expect I'd just admire it for a bit and put it back where it lay, doesn't seem right to me to move 'em somehow.

JMHO,
Birdwatcher