Any arrowhead hunters here??

j williams

j williams

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Nov 14, 2005
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Found this in my parents field the other day. Its too big to be an arrowhead IMO, but it has been knapped. Anyone know what this could be? Or am I just crazy, and its just a rock. The lighter in the pic is a full size bic for comparison, not the mini bic.

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I have found many arrowheads around my parents land. Especially after plowing. I once found a stone hawk head that I gave to my wifes grampa. It had a big scar in it from the disc, but was complete. I always like finding stuff like this, im pretty into the indian artifacts and war artifacts. Found alot of lead balls at my mother in laws farm, using her metal detector. If I had my own it would go out with me alot im sure....I need to get one.
 
Lee, thats what I thought, but it seems too small for a spearhead doesnt it? Ive never found a spearhead so I dont know.....
 
To be honest, I dont really know. It seemed likely in my mind, though. I mean... how big does a spearhead really need to be? That seemed big enough to do the job. ;)
 
That is so cool. Growing up in Williston, North Dakota, arrowheads were often found on the surrounding prairie. Of course, as a kid lusting to find one, I never did. Our family had a friend, a real authentic cowboy type who was in his 80's during the 1970's. He had a mason jar full of arrowheads that he had found during his years of ranching. That always blew me away.
 
Based on the steep bevel on the right side in the second picture corresponding with the blade tapering to the left in the third picture, I think it could be an adze (like an axe with the head rotated 90 deg.). I can see it being tied onto a handle and being utilized to chop/scoop out a dugout canoe or something similar.
 
You might research and see what tribes were in your area and compare it with their work. This doesn't always work though, because tribes migrated and Ozark chert has been found as far away as Tulsa OK.
It is not an arrow head or spear point, but it is a hand tool of some sort. It could be a scraper used to clean hides with, or a small adze...
 
Definitely agree that this is a scraper! Found many like it growing up in SE Indiana and arrowhead hunting when I was a kid. My family was, shall we say, not well-to-do, so we had many outings consisting of arrowhead hunting, because that was an inexpensive thing to do as a family. Always loved doing that!

Ron
 
To me it looks like it has been fire-treated also... My grandfather spent hours hunting these things. He also would "touch-up" any that were chipped to bad !!!
 
Don't forget many people are learning knapping now, and it very well could be a scraper, or just some ones attempt at knapping. There are so many people "seeding" modern knapped stones it is confusing legitimate archeological finds.
 
Ron53 said:
Definitely agree that this is a scraper! Found many like it growing up in SE Indiana and arrowhead hunting when I was a kid. My family was, shall we say, not well-to-do, so we had many outings consisting of arrowhead hunting, because that was an inexpensive thing to do as a family. Always loved doing that!

Ron
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+1 for this I.D. Steep angle on one end. Possibly reworked from something else that broke or was discarded. There are some primary and secondary flakes driven off the narrow end. An adze would be somewhat bigger and would likely be made of a tougher stone like a rhyolite. Not a great pic, but you get an idea of how an adze might be hafted.
 

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Interesting stuff guys. It puzzles me. It does look like a scrapper due to the steep bevel.
 
BenchmadeBoy said:
+1 for this I.D. Steep angle on one end. Possibly reworked from something else that broke or was discarded. There are some primary and secondary flakes driven off the narrow end. An adze would be somewhat bigger and would likely be made of a tougher stone like a rhyolite. Not a great pic, but you get an idea of how an adze might be hafted.
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Maybe it wasn't an adze for a big project like a canoe. Maybe it was an adze for small things, like the little known dugout canoe cup-holders.:)

Seriously the point is a good one that an adze, under ideal circumstances, would be heftier and made of tougher material. Weight would generally be an asset in that type of tool, and the rounded corners of the beveled edge would be necessary for a scraper to avoid shredding a thinner skin.:thumbup:

My only basis of comparison is the copper "axe" carried by Otzi until the time of his demise ~5300 years ago. That was a small item too, smaller than I'd think would be useful, but I am not an expert. I'm just an interested observer, with a decidedly, albeit unintentional, modern slant to my thinking.:)
 
LittleHairyApe said:
Maybe it wasn't an adze for a big project like a canoe. Maybe it was an adze for small things, like the little known dugout canoe cup-holders.:)
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Hahahahaha:D I think Ive hear of this. They coldnt paddle with a slurpee between their legs in their loincloths. Made for frosty marbles!!!!
 
Scrapers aren't usually shaped very much, as they are quickly made for smaller projects that require a sharp edge but no point. Here are some examples picked up off our property -
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They are usually very general in shape and can look like just a random chunk of flint.

Here are a couple of artifacts which have been worked for a more specific purpose -
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This one is a relatively recent example of an arrowhead.

This one is likely a stone knife, or perhaps a blunted spear point -
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Andy
 
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