Metal Detecting discussions and finds

Darwin is cool, I love that place but wouldn’t want to live there!

Wow what a sky in the background of your photos, hang on there’s more coming your way!

 

I couldn't agree more!
Tomorrow is looking like a reduced chance for rain.

 

Doing some online research and reading today, this is interesting. A lot of good information in it about California desert mines. Check out page 32 about Darwin: https://www.publiclandsforthepeople...esert-Fever-History-of-Mining-in-the-CDCA.pdf

 

@Hobbs
@OnHartung'sRoad

It looked unusual before I picked it up, partially buried, unusual shape and color so I picked it up. Obviously a point but unusually thin (1.5-2.5mm), smooth and quite flat on one side. Brushed the dirt off and stuck in my pocket and started to think about the how & why of this point. I had two thoughts; a) it had been launched and had hit a hard object at the proper velocity an angle b) a flake. I didn't hang on to (a) very long as I thought (a) as possible but not very plausible. The odds of (a) seemed to be much too long. Side 2 in this image.

Post C19 closures, I'll take it to the Anthropology Dept at UW. George Frison has retired but still works.

Thanks for input from both of you. John

2.7 X 5 cm

 

Bird point

 

It's kinda difficult to tell without scale, but my first thought was a thumb scraper.

 

Yeah, possibly a reworked broken point... They did recycling back then too.

 

Hey wait a minute, aren’t you supposed to be out in Darwin or something, how did it go?

 

Darwin was yesterday. Today I am doing chores around the house. Tomorrow the search for gold continues...

 

My wife is a archaeologist... she said it has too few flake scars on both sides to be a projectile point and the notch on the one side is too out of focus to tell for sure, but she thinks it’s not for a point as it wasnt worked much either (too sharp). She said it also looks like a reworked flake or broken tool.

She also gave me the eye and said she hopes it was from private land... (yeah, you will probably get that from Frison too.) She means well and cares about the land like the rest of us.

 

Thanks your wife for her take on the point, much appreciated. I've found several points on granite gravel roads, I take them because they are already lost province and will most likely be destroyed from vehicle passage. George has been happy to have them dated and where the material quarried. I'm pretty sure that he has a grad student do the leg work. I keep records of where they were found because George always asks if I'd consider donating the points to the university. I answer 'eventually'. The majority are left in place, buried.

 

A good amateur archaeologist always records provenience. Good job! It’s great you are sharing them too, the actual type source of materials are pretty well known, so it establishes possible trade route insights and all that. To be honest, based on your other posts, I knew you were a conscientious and knowledgeable collector.

 

Thank you for the compliment. I have never purposefully gone anywhere to find points, but they seem to find me. I notice things and somethings just shout at me their differences from the surroundings.

I really have only about 7 points in 'my' collection. One is a Goshen point dated at appx 11,000 yr ago. It's almost perfect with the exception of a small piece ocone edge that is missing. The person that provided the information said 'possibility due to a road maintainer'. It was found on a road. One other is a Pine Bluff point. I only found the mid-section and was told it was common for impact fractures and another with the tip broken off. Also have a couple in the 7-8000 year range.

An odd find was a small ziplock bag containing a bunch of pottery shards. Found on the ground beside a trash barrel at an Interstate rest area. It's been quite awhile since that 'find'. Stilled puzzled over it.

 

If anyone here wants to get a clean VLF Minelab Gold Monster for $400- here’s your chance. Wish I saw this before I bought mine. Anyways, just be careful and if it’s legit, its a great buy!

https://goldcountry.craigslist.org/ele/d/standard-gold-monster-1000/7110389614.html

 

Someone got cursed by pot hunting and tried to shake it off something? Wierd indeed.

 

WOW you guys find some good stuff. I got out the other day and found a Crowbar about 6" down.

 

Hopefully it's something you can use!

 

A crowbar? And there’s probably something buried below it you don’t want to dig up...

 

this is prob me...lol

 

That is funny!