Old Stone Axes

[Rauville]

It's hard to appreciate the effort that went into these tools. At just one of the Knife River quarries, over the course of 10,000+ years, the overburden that had to be removed to reveal the flint amounted to over 4 million cubic meters!

[mart]

Red flint is our most common stone here !!  When we  did our surface hunting at the camp site along the Sulphur River in several places we would find many flint chips in a single place !!  Then farther down we would find another area !!  We also found many pieces of flint that were only rough shapes of points or scrapers !!  Others were finished and quite nice if intact !!  This field had been plowed and farmed for cattle feed and after the harvest we could walk for miles and surface hunt !!  They raised the road over the river and even along the roadside you could find artifacts !!  Once south of town after a subdivision had built a road I found a perfect black obsidian bird point !!  About the size of my fingernail and not broken !!  Evidently a trade point since there is no obsidian here !!  Also found a nice and finely worked thumbnail scraper !!  Not sure how that tiny thing was used !!

[SophieMarie]

You are welcome Mart!
Where else would I hear, " You couldn`t cut a hot biscuit with what liveauctioneers has on that pic !! "?
In answer to your question, yes, having fun and learning some too....

[cogar]

SophieMarie, for your learning experience, here are a couple artifacts that I have,

Of course, one is either a flint spear point or knife and the other is a stone head for a war-club.

Both are about 7 ½ inches long and I know nothing about the stone war-club other than it was most probably found somewhere in West Virginia.

I found the flint knife in upstate New York and was told that “It looks like a Big Genesee Point” and it’s made of Onondaga chert …….. and is dated “between 4900 BP (6,900 years ago) and 3800 BP (5,800)” according to one person …… and dated at 8,000 years ago by a 2nd person.

[mart]

I have seen them in a bigger pic !!  They are nice !!

[SophieMarie]

SophieMarie, for your learning experience, here are a couple artifacts that I have,

Of course, one is either a flint spear point or knife and the other is a stone head for a war-club.

Both are about 7 ½ inches long and I know nothing about the stone war-club other than it was most probably found somewhere in West Virginia.

I found the flint knife in upstate New York and was told that “It looks like a Big Genesee Point” and it’s made of Onondaga chert …….. and is dated “between 4900 BP (6,900 years ago) and 3800 BP (5,800)” according to one person …… and dated at 8,000 years ago by a 2nd person.


Cogar, thanks for sharing.  They are truly amazing.  I had not seen a flint spear point or knife or even a war-club prior to reading these posts.  When I was a child, we use to search for arrow heads at my Grandmother's house in the woods (NJ).  I have a small collection and will have to dig them out one of these days.  Do you actively search for artifacts?

[cogar]

Sophie Mari asked:

Do you actively search for artifacts?

HA, ... I don't actively do much of anything anymore. My RA has pretty much done me in. 

I found the flint spear point by luck or accident, whichever. It was buried under about 12" of topsoil and I uncovered it with my bulldozer.

[SophieMarie]

A bulldozer is a great way to dig up artifacts...less strenuous ha!

[mart]

About half a mile behind my parents farm a man was clearing land with a small dozer along a stream and uncovered half an Indian`s bones !!  We assumed he had died while hunting and the top half is what remained after the animals left !!  It  was not deep so we know it wasn`t a normal burial since the Caddo were mound builders !!

[SophieMarie]

Mart, are you certain those bones belonged to an Indian???

[mart]

Well,, UT Texas came and investigated it so I am going with what they said !!

[SophieMarie]

Whoa...glad to hear!

[jondar]

Guys, I think I'm two men.  I've been meeting the other one coming around the corner several times a day. I finally got some more shots taken and will post them.  I know nothing about the stone tools of that period.  Have found some beautiful arrow (spear?) points on the same site.  I framed three of the best looking ones and gave them to our daughter and if she will attach a picture and send it in an e-mail to me I will add them to my posting and maybe someone will recognize them for what tribe they may have been produced by.  Thank all of you for the help so far.! 

[jondar]

Apparently my posting didn't go thru so will try again.  Here are two other views of the stone tools and my collection of Civil War artifacts.

[mart]

Those second pics of the possible scraper show that it is not a tool !!  Even though there is one edge that may have some flaking it would not be any kind of a finished tool !!  The thickness would make it uncomfortable to be held in the hand and the edge shows that it was probably just a broken piece of stone !!  Or they could have started something and it just decided it was not a good idea !!   Tools must be held comfortably in the hand !!  Try holding this one and I think you will see what I mean !!