Artifact Finds In The Information Age
Posted on 14. Jul, 2009 by Shannon Graham in Flint Artifacts, Texas
We live in what’s been termed the ‘Information Age’ where we have the ability to exchange information freely and can gain instant access to knowledge that was previously difficult or impossible to find. It’s simply amazing really if you stop for a moment and consider the vast amount of data immediately available at our fingertips…literally.
For arrowhead collectors that translates into enjoying and digesting tremendous amounts of data that simply wasn’t available just a few years ago. Collector websites, forums, chat rooms, online image galleries and newsletters make the collecting world a much smaller place. Daily finds can be shared with thousands of fellow collectors within hours of being discovered. Compare that with artifact finds made just ten years ago that may have previously been seen by only a few people locally but can now be shared via the world-wide-web with thousands in the collecting community in every corner of the states and beyond.
Collectors can see how a type may vary in form from county to county . Hobbyists who grew up collecting in one area can keep in touch with fellow collectors’ and their finds if they happen to relocate across country. A novice can garner a host of opinions online as to how to find artifacts, how to type and display pieces, and can also meet fellow hobbyists in internet forums. Online communities occasionally take their activities ‘offline’ to meet at artifact shows and organized local hunts. The collecting community is benefitting and growing as a result of this open flow of communication.
As with all things online where a dollar can be made, deviant opportunists find their way into these communities. Artifacts are not unique in this respect. Civil war collectables, coins, fine art, you name it…all are targets of misguided individuals looking to make a buck. Seasoned collectors who have invested time online have seen these events unfold. Typically, it’s some previously unknown participant who joins the board and posts the find-of-a-lifetime, something we all dream of. A detailed story accompanies the artifact identifying how it was found and many times begins with ‘I don’t know anything about artifacts but I found this…’ Or, my (insert distant relative of choice here) found this while fishing. Before too long, a sob story follows outlining terrible events that necessitate the sale of this amazing find. Many variations of these stories exist but the pattern is usually 1) greenhorn enters the scene 2) an amazing artifact is displayed, 3) a very detailed story of the discovery is provided and 4) the point is offered for sale. Again, for any online veteran these can be easy to spot, or can they?
It’s often the rarity and condition of the artifact coupled with the far-fetched story that folks call foul on. However, let’s rewind and consider how some of the amazing authentic artifact discoveries over the past century might have been viewed if the original finder would have popped into a forum for the first time to share their find and tell their story. What results could they expect?
First example….a guy joins an online forum and posts a cache of 8″+ Clovis points he says he found while working in an apple orchard. That’s plausible, right? How many ‘at-a-boys’ should this forum poster expect in comparison with nay-sayer comments, some bordering on downright rude? After all, it is the Wenatchee Clovis Cache (a.k.a. the Richey-Roberts Clovis site) we’re talking about here. See them here.
Next example; how about a guy new to the forum, posts a picture of 56 Clovis artifact he just purchased from out west which contain several complete, large Clovis points crafted from obsidian, quartz crystal, and red chert? What type of response would this new owner get in an online forum? How would this ‘Fenn Clovis Cache’ be received online? Oh, and by the way…no details exist around the actual discovery.
Thirdly, an African-American cowboy and former slave joins and says he found what’s now known as a Folsom point, associated with bison bones at a kill site. How is he perceived and how seriously is he taken if he announces this in an internet forum? He is George McJunkin who is now known for this landmark discovery in 1908.
And again, as with any collectible that has value, some folks will try to pass reproductions as authentic relics. How would an Oklahoma resident in the 1920s and 30s be perceived if they revealed online that they had located a mound near their house and had excavated dozens of eccentric forms unlike anything seen before. Today, these pieces are believed to have been modernly knapped by Mack Tussinger himself and ‘planted’.
What if a cowboy out west started posting finds of Clovis points from his property? Clovis points that are made correctly in every sense of the word with use wear and patina? Would these be identified online via pictures as replicas? These would be the Clovis points made by Woody Blackwell and sold via a strawman to Forrest Fenn.
We are exposed to tremendous amounts of information each day via the internet, email, mobile devices, television, radio, and advertising. In artifact terms, we are fortunate to be able to see many finds online discovered thousands of miles away just hours after they are first touched. Are all discoveries reported online authentic ? No. Are rare finds are still being made? Yes.
“To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection.” – Henri Poincare
Take a look at the authentic finds below. What would be your reaction if you learned the following from an internet forum? Click on each links for more details.
• A 6″ Clovis, possibly one of the most skillfully ever discovered and part of a cache that included obsidian and quartz crystal Clovis point, was purchased from a family with the exact details of the find a mystery.
• A Cumberland point cache discovered in 1989 through 2000. One 4 5/16″ complete point and fragments of approximately nine others were found during surface collecting in a plowed field.
• A Cumberland point, one of the best examples of the type ever found, was discovered in 1963 eroding out of a yellow-brown clay bank approximately six feet below ground level.
• A Scottsbluff point found in in 1895 in a gold miners sluice box.
• A 5 1/2″ Agate basin crafted from Hixton Silicified Sandstone was found by a bulldozer operator in 1950 along with two others that were made of white Burlington chert.
• A pristine, undamaged 4 3/8″ Firstview discovered by a rancher.
• An extremely large Clovis point found on the surface of the ground by a man working on a ranch.
• A 9 1/8″ Clovis found by workers digging a ditch for an irrigation pipe line.
• A 5 3/8″ Clovis with a 4″ flute discovered lying on a beam above the front porch of an old house in 1978.
• A Windust point found under the cranium of the female burial by gravel quarry workers.
• A 2 1/4″ Midland found sometime in the 1930’s at the Clovis Gravel Pit in Curry County, New Mexico.
• An 8 1/4″ translucent red and purple Utah agate Clovis purchased as part of a cache with the original site unknown.
• A semi-translucent black, 3 3/8″ Obsidian Clovis with hafting abrasion scratches found by a couple in the 1950s.
• A 2 1/4″ Knife River Clovis found by a park ranger on a horse trail.
• A quartz crystal Clovis purchased from a family in Northern Utah as part of a Clovis cache. Exact location of the discovery is unknown.
• An engraved stone found in association with Clovis points, which turned out to be a significant Paleo find, discovered by a digger at a Texas pay dig site.
• A rare unfluted, late stage Folsom preform discovered on a lakebed during work on an aging dam.
• Eleven Cumberland points collected over a period of several years by surface collecting and excavating a small area of a cultivated field.
• A classic 2 1/4″ Folsom found on a southwestern Missouri farm in 1977.
• A 3 1/16″ black Scottsbluff discovered on a bison kill site sometime in the 1930’s or 40’s.
• A 4 3/4″ Cumberland rediscovered in an old safe in New Jersey that hadn’t been opened for sixty years.
• A 4 1/2″ Clovis made from sugar quartz, possibly Hixton found in 1868 by a collector in Union County, Illinois.
• Multiple Clovis points associated with a Mammoth kill site uncovered in 1962 by a heavy equipment operator during reservoir construction.
Great finds are still being made!
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