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Indian Arrowheads--Anyone have a place to find them?

22,425 Views | 12 Replies | Last: 11 yr ago by MouthBQ98
artifact_collector101010
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Does anyone have a place to look for indian arrowheads?

I'm looking to take my girlfriend on her first artifact collecting trip since she's an Anth major.

I have some fun lead throwers with exotic calibers that I would let someone use in exchange. code_silverphoenix@yahoo.com
MouthBQ98
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AG
A better term is projectile points. I have a couple of books for identifying them in Texas and the SW. I have allegedly infrequently found them on the shoreline of Lake Somerville, and they allegedly are concentrated around Welch Creek park. Between people I have talked to out there over the years, thousands have been found around Somerville.

I've also found a couple in creek beds on gravel bars, using a sifter and shovel.

[This message has been edited by MouthBQ98 (edited 10/8/2012 5:40p).]
NW80
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AG
NO!
artifact_collector101010
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I appreciate the info. I need to go to Somerville sometime soon to look for petrified palm wood. I have a map showing where all the state parks are so I can avoid collecting on those.
agsuper1
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Bastrop by the Colorado river
BrazosDog02
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AG
Go ask a local Indian historical society. Kidding. I'm reminded of a story when my father, myself and a good friend joined the historical society. Can't remember the name but they saw some of our finds that put most museum pieces to absolute shame. We were deemed "pot hunters" and promptly barred.

We did our hunting and digging on private ranches and land where we had express permission to be there. When we couldn't get that, we focused on river beds with bars cutting through the potential sites or lands we couldn't get on. If you know a little about geology and the river bed, most stuff you want isnt on he ranchers land anymore, it's in the river or bank and you have access to those. If you want it really easy, talk to a local farmer and get permission to walk his field after it's been plowed and you get a nice rain....before they plant. There are easy visual clues from a distance or up close that people once lived there. Above all, get permission. I would never hunt on a state park, but I have found nice pieces on them during vacations and such. Of course I threw those back down **wink**.

Some of my best and rare points came from gravel bars on the Colorado and Brazos. If its got rocks deposited, then it's got points too. Plus you can find all manner of neat stuff like petrified prehistoric horse teeth and wood, etc. it's generally more fun.

That's about as good as its going to get. Specific locations that are good are incredibly closely guarded info. It's like asking a good fisherman for his honey hole, only worse. Lol.

[This message has been edited by Brazosdog02 (edited 10/8/2012 8:54p).]
SoTXAg09
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AG
quote:
Go ask a local Indian historical society. Kidding. I'm reminded of a story when my father, myself and a good friend joined the historical society. Can't remember the name but they saw some of our finds that put most museum pieces to absolute shame. We were deemed "pot hunters" and promptly barred.

We did our hunting and digging on private ranches and land where we had express permission to be there. When we couldn't get that, we focused on river beds with bars cutting through the potential sites or lands we couldn't get on. If you know a little about geology and the river bed, most stuff you want isnt on he ranchers land anymore, it's in the river or bank and you have access to those. If you want it really easy, talk to a local farmer and get permission to walk his field after it's been plowed and you get a nice rain....before they plant. There are easy visual clues from a distance or up close that people once lived there. Above all, get permission. I would never hunt on a state park, but I have found nice pieces on them during vacations and such. Of course I threw those back down **wink**.

Some of my best and rare points came from gravel bars on the Colorado and Brazos. If its got rocks deposited, then it's got points too. Plus you can find all manner of neat stuff like petrified prehistoric horse teeth and wood, etc. it's generally more fun.

That's about as good as its going to get. Specific locations that are good are incredibly closely guarded info. It's like asking a good fisherman for his honey hole, only worse. Lol.

[This message has been edited by Brazosdog02 (edited 10/8/2012 8:54p).]

You sound smart. No, really. That's pretty freaking cool.
Yuccadoo
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Southern facing side of hills near water sources (springs, creeks, river/river floodplain) in Brazos and surrounding counties likely have sites containing artifacts. In the Brazos valley, it is not uncommon to find sites along meander scars in the bottomland. I know probably 100+ sites in Brazos Co. with varying ages of deposits. The Hall of Fame site's parking lot was an amazing area of Paleo aged (and of course some more recent) points and was partially covered in asphalt. When the new Walmart goes in, I suspect many locals will be out looking around. The area where Traditions is located had dozens of sites that many old timers around here used to take their kids out looking for points. Where I live, some old timers told me they picked up points in buckets back in the 50's when the sandy soils were constantly turned over by pocket gophers. After a good rain, points from recent arrowheads to paleo projectile points have appeared on my land, as well as atl weights, knives of very fine chert evidencing world class flintknapping skills and a lot of areas of sustained and repeated campfires leaving heavily charred and fused sand and occasional animal teeth behind. Also choppers, rough tools, pieces of crude pottery, chert chips from the knapping process, & tools I can only speculate as to their use (and read about others well intentioned speculation). There is more myth than fact among a lot of people that are, as described above, pot hunters.

As mentioned above, many of the local sand and gravel quarries along the Brazos have extensive artifact contents. I spent some time working my way through college doing landscape work and recall the many pieces of arrowheads and spearpoints in loads of gravel and sand delivered to jobsites. Several off FM 60 west of town were located in artifact laden areas. Even public road and rail cuts out near Dansby power plant would reveal extensive artifact deposition. Lake Somerville is pepppered with sites, but I'm almost certain that it is illegal to mess with artifacts out there.

Mammoth kills have been discovered and extensively studied along the Brazos River. You might want to start by educating yourself to local work performed by guys like Harry Shafer and reading Suhm and Jelks work as well as books available through the Texas Monthly Press on the subject.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/02/010202074234.htm

I will say that significant damage to sites can occur from amateur digging and often compromise the ability to maximize the information available to scientific investigation, but without the exchange between archeologists and lots of amateurs, many sites may have never come to the attention of professionals. The two sides of this tug of war usually have pretty strong opinions about the morality of disturbing sites, and many laws apply in cxertain areas and with particular objects.


[This message has been edited by Yuccadoo (edited 10/8/2012 10:48p).]
TAMUallen
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AG
they are on the ground... sorry I couldnt help myself
artifact_collector101010
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Thank you for the info--I'm definitely looking to only surface hunt. I don't dig for arrowheads particularly for the reason of possibly destroying scientifically significant sites. It looks like I'm going to have to do some exploring
PrestigeWorldwide11
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AG
Arrowhead Stadium?
Doc Hayworth
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Just a little clarification, be careful walking along the rivers. In most cases, you are tresspassing. Especially along the Brazos or other Navigable streams, the boundary is along the gradient line of the river, not the outer banks, so walking along the river would be considered outside the area of state owned lands. Other areas along navigable streams have been deeded to the private owners where their patents were short on acreage and they own to the centerline of the bed, to where this is definitely no place to walk. The only right a person would have there would be to ride a boat.

Just a little FYI that may keep you from paying a hefty fine.
MouthBQ98
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AG
NW80, sorry man. The word's been out on Somerville for a long time. I found some guys out there about 10 years ago with a shovel and a huge sifter systematically searching the gravel and sand offshore of Welch creek park.

Yeah, somerville is a great spot to find fragments of petrified palmwood, too. I have some nice pieces, and my bro in law found an absolutely beautiful palmwood, blue in color. Very cool.

Any yes, technically, you're not supposed to pick up artifacts from property that isn't yours.
MouthBQ98
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AG
quote:
Other areas along navigable streams have been deeded to the private owners where their patents were short on acreage and they own to the centerline of the bed, to where this is definitely no place to walk.


If it is navigable, you still have right to passage, and portage, with the intent that you are moving by boat, so even when the bed is owned, you can get on it for those purposes, and Islands/sandbars in rivers are universally considered accessible from the water, regardless of who owns the riverbed. The various court cases that have established this are a mess of inconsistency since the law itself is a bit vague.
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