We are on the same page...so important to honor people esp those who have earned it! A most kind, generous and knowledgeable man. So much more about Bob most will never know. He is already, deeply missed. Thanks for your thoughts!
You would be surprised how many archaeologists would say these are geofacts. Many have the inability to identify anything beyond a projectile point or grooved axe
I'm smiling...and MANY of them have never seriously field walked.let alone add 10,30, 50 collective years of serious field collecting and evaluating all materials from ea. site...MUCH personal experience can be a very good teacher. ( as can sites like this).
Its comical how many "experts" can't get over themselves. I have listened to experts seemingly think an artifact found in a California desert will have the same characteristics as ones found in say a river in the Adirondack Mountains. Its very frustrating. There are much more of these things to be found than people think. I was told that the 70 stones we found on a property on the mouth a river that all have animal or human depictions in them were all created naturally 🤦🏻♂️. Along with a couple museum quality grinding bowls , along with the grinding stones that went with them.
Many years ago I met a lithic teknologis from Ohio named Mat Scott. Had the good fortune to help him put on a knap in for kids. I sat down and notched all afternoon on the arrowheads that the kids had made. Of course I have no idea if it's the same fellow .but your video brought up the memory. Thanks.
it's nice to see someone else that agrees with the cup stone as a billet dresser theory. it makes perfect sense, i never bought the old acorn holder idea, especially when prehistoric man was living on chestnuts. Most collectors I've talked to, hold tight to their idea of a nutting stone, and don't want to hear it.
Exactly! Much of what we explore w/ our thoughts is indeed, theory. Keeping an open mind is essential. Our past prehistoric people were experts in their environment. What makes sense to us is not necessarily what was carried-out by them. And this should change as more and more evidence comes forward.And open mind, most important...We are the "outsiders", the "on-lookers'. They were the professionals in their time and space. Thank you for sharing. Stay w/ us!
We just found your channel and are going through your videos. Your knowledge fills a void of information that we haven't been able to find! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your kindness. Our hopes and desires are to pass along the opinions and knowledge we have learned from over 60 years in books but especially in the field. It is time to give back and help all those around us, smiles. We are committed to work hard, believing, its greater to give than it is to receive, Again thanks and please stay w/ us.
Nothing replaces going out and getting you hands dirty. I believe amateurs who have years of experience finding artifacts have more knowledge about them than most degreed archeologists.
Thank you...my passion is quite real. As a writer, I have often written prose and poetry about these ancient people , their cultures and their artifacts. Thank for following us. Stay aboard, smiles.
I found one with a thumb indent for ease of holding. The thumb indent even has stippling for better grip. The artifact shows signs of pigmentation stains from red and black paint.
Found a beautiful hand axe in a stream in Northern New Brunswick in 2019, now I have a serious collection of stone tools mostly from that area. I have a fascination with my ancestors' history and am inspired by your channel. I would love to show you some of my pieces one day and maybe try to figure out what the hell some of these tools are!
I'm smiling. First of all, congrats w/ those finds. It would certainly be a pleasure to try to help...I am most pleased that you made the connection w/ prehistoric artifacts...Well done ! Thank you for following us. Its a great adventure!
Seems they were used to transfer embers into a kinder bundle. Some could show signs of being attached to a stick to be able to extract hot coals from existing fires as well.
dalehartz Interesting...we are always looking for signs of heat applied to these rocks. I've watched people start fires very quickly, consistently using stick and tender, amazing! Seems we 21st century people tend to down-size the outdoor skills and genius of generations of prehistoric knowledge passed along thru generations of "forever",lol. Thanks a mil for your imput, much appreciated.Stay w/ us. On your pieces seriously look for evidence of heat/ oxidation.
Cave dwelling humans, and close-to-humans, certainly needed a mobile light source to traverse tunnels and caves. Some of these caverns are nothing but thick blackness. This is how they lit the way , carrying lightweight kindling and keeping some embers from each stopping point. I don't know when or who realized that fire is also needed to bring oxygen into deep spaces, weather they knew it was a gas keeping them alive or a fire deep in a cave makes you able to breathe again lol. So many fascinating things to think about.
Salutations!! Killer episode! Nice subject material.... many of us found these things when we were young and considered them artifacts, until someone told all we found was a stupid rock. (I kept them all anyways) Cheers and Blessings! Have a Happy New Year!
Fascinating. I am the curator of a small local museum with at least 2,000 Indian artifacts found throughout the years. I am trying to learn more about these tools and weapons. We had an archaeologist look things over quickly but nothing was explained as he went through the many points we have. He was specifically looking for Clovis points identified as such years ago but seemed to become "lost". Love to learn.
Thanks for this information and thanks for following. Have you considered someone coming to your facility and giving a presentation to the community? Stay with us!
@@fieldarchaeology101 we had an amateur collector come and give a presentation 3 years ago. He was very knowledgeable. Somehow he could even discern when a point was "re-worked" which is still a mystery to me. No, you will not lose me. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and for these lessons!
Your all wrong. They were ancient sea creatures. All shaped like a dough balls. Any of N believe in God. Creation. ??? Let the forbidden tree be. You slaughtered the indigenous peoples almost entirely. Only fact that's real.
Interesting video. Ive found many pitted and dimpled stones throughout North East Georgia. Hammerstones and nuttingstones and as always geofacts and out of context material. Are you aware that theres a sub culture of amateur archeologists and rock collectors that specialize in explaining geofacts as legitimate native American artwork? They see faces and animal effigies in random everyday stream and field rocks. Its quite bizarre.
@@RondelayAOK that's true. Try explaining that rational to them and see how far it goes. I think the majority of "face in every stone people" are either low I.Q. types or suffer from mental illness.
Thanks for joining us! Is it possible for you to return to that site and hunt...see what you've learned over the years...BIG smiles! Also, are you up-to-date on micro tools? And what about uniface tools; blades and sm knives?
@Field Archaeology 101 I had a habit of filling my pockets with flakes and hammerstones,lol I'm sure some of the flakes are micro tools. Old farm field is a subdivision now :(
@@richardklapka5147About that "subdivision"...so sad and that's the fate of MANY of our sites. We need to collect while we still can. Too many homes now sitting on many of my sites...homes and farm bulidings. And now, huge political pressure from N Americans to claim all of our discoveries.This is HUGE and it is an Imminent threat.
I have several concretions, I personally think they were grease cups used for storing a small bit of fat or pitch to be used in the heat treating process of wood shafts. That's why you find them near a fire pit. IMO... I have found a stone bowl hunting the surface of a plowed field. Now you have met someone who has found one. I also have one made of a seashell, the size of a quarter or smaller I found in a surface hunt.
Thank you for this information. I too have discovered prehistoric anvils in the "field". Multiple use is common for many artifacts esp flint...some even being called "Swiss Army Knives" because of their multiple different edge re- shapenings. A few of my hard stone anvils have peck/pounding scars all around their circumfrence...butI have far more w/o those perimeter pound marks. In Ohio we have many skilled flint knappers...I watched Roy Miller use a hard stone anvil to make a fluted point...hugely interesting! The multiple, small impact areas are certainly diagnostic of an anvil. Thanks so much for following us. Again, great info, thanks.
Found in fire pit makes me think of processing something. Perhaps tree sap glue. I have one small found in NE Texas I thought was a maybe. Now I know it was used.
Arent the stones with holes sometimes called firestones? Where they held the stone on top of the stick they were twisting to create friction. They held a stone ontop of the stick so it didnt eat into the palm of theor hand... i heard or read somewhere they were called fire stones
Surprised that so many people don't know what these were used for. Ever try to start a fire with a bow drill? Almost universal primitive way to make a fire...You need a cupped stone to press down on the stick.. If you have a good one, you can use it for years.
..Wow my friend, time flew by. I am from Baja California Sur Mexico. I dedicate myself to hunting everything that the natives who lived here left us. I have my collection of arrowheads and also some artifacts that I haven't really been able to figure out what they were for. I always went out looking for fun but I never imagined the world of information that there is on this subject and I don't know a lot about all this. Here there is no documentary material that tells you about arrowheads or other artifacts. I learned several things from your rocks with concavities, thanks for sharing this.
I appreciate your frustrations. When I seriously began my journey w/ Ohio artifacts (aside from academics), only a moderate amount of info was available. Then "all at once", it blossomed. Be patient but be very curious...Universities usually have publications from their archaeology departments you can buy. Check out those univ's in your area. Follow the RU-vids. Some are more helpful than others and do exactly what you are doing, encourage the producers whose material "clicks" to keep on filming. 😃 Thank you very much for following along!
@@SLBLADE BEST of luck...keep at it and never never give up. I think you will enjoy learning from others. I am sure there are archaeologial groups in your area. Always listen more and say less. LOL Thanks again !
It’s possible that the “concavities ” you’re finding in fire pits are the top bearing blocks for a bow drill. They could be held with a piece of leather or some other type of potholder to keep from burning your hand. A second, longer than normal bow string would double the usefulness of the hunting bow making it a fire starter. When you’re hunting and traveling light it’s advantageous to be able to make a fire quickly. Food for thought.
A concave or convex surface on a hardened material other then 5 MOH is virtually impossible to knapp. With Chalcedony or Quartzatite; (9 MOH) is un-knappable, & im curious to understant how these Ancient Tools were made? Love the experience, & insights!
Many solid ideas have surfaced across the last few years,Here's a delimma...were this used to free-up nuts...would you want to chew if they had sand mixed w/ them? Even if they washed the nut-meat,surely tooth health care was a concern. Thanks for sharing , much appreciated.Many archaeologists feel tooth abseses were serious contributors to early death.
Wow. Very fascinating… I’m a rock hound from The other side of the lake and I find all kinds of stuff on the the lakes. Mainly fossils. Now I’m going to look for these artifacts 😊
Great, and best of luck. Lake Erie washes out LOTS of artifacts...I find some when looking for sea glass in the Bay Village area. Marble Head shorelines also produce as well. Thanks for following us. Welcome board!
@@fieldarchaeology101 same as in Lake Ontario, I find all sorts of things!!! However I probably stumbled over these old artifacts and didn’t ever realize what I’ve been seeing. I’ve on many occasions seen stones resemble some of what you showed in this video 😉
I've been surface hunting and collecting for close to 20 years now in south central Ohio (Scioto county) and have never adhered to the "nutting stone" theory. It makes as much sense as saying "snapped base point". You just simply don't need a pit to crack open nuts. Their time would have been valuable, so wasting time making a pit that you don't need is senseless. I have discussed this with other collectors and believe they were used for keeping an antler billet primed also. Certainly makes more sense than a nutter. Kudos to you for your video.
Thanks...totally agree...much of these out-dated names were given many, many years ago, mostly from unread (archaeology) people! Or those w/ limited years of walking, perhaps even no years of walking.
100% of the cup stones I find are on serious camp sites...flint chips often accompany them. Some show oxidation from a heat source...A Flint knapper's tool ( bone or antler) fits nicely into the very smooth concavity...twisting inside this cup removes burrs from the tool' end. Thanks for your thoughts, much appreciated !Ask some fellow flint knappers what their thoughts might be.
Thanks for this! I lean strongly toward measuring devices...certainly special holding containers. They could have held a very high concentration of a "liquid" substance, ie. snake or spider venom, crushed poisonous mushrooms...wide possibilities. Most fascinating. Thanks!
Cardboardcasket...In Ohio, those "cup stones" usually are created from sandstone. Bed rock often has natural concavities...geofacts, smiles. Welcome back to the Buckeye state and all it's unpredictable artifacts, lol !Thank you for following us, much appreciated!
I’m reminded of a location east of Branson called Hercules Glade where at the top of one of the “balds” were some coffee table sized rocks with a rather large indentations and some with striations along the perimeter of the concavities, I guess I assumed they were for grinding acorns or the like. I’ve read about the location but never saw any mention of early American artifacts. Have you seen such permanent concavities in your travels?
I've got 9,000 lb of Stone age artifacts and located where there's tens of thousands of recoverable tons of artifacts that are not over the top of the burial mounds that are covered in crystal artifacts from the Giants. No I have found two locations one in center highest location New Jersey and center landmass highest location Long Island it's amazing The burials that are everywhere in plain sight and many of them have been robbed and the tops dug out especially when they built the Vietnam War memorial at the highest point of Long Island 1971-72 and bulldozed and robbed the tops of the pyramids
Interesting....They are what I call, a" geofact " (crafted by nature)...But once the Prehistoric People modify it, the concavity becomes an artifact.You may want to hang on to those esp. if you find them on prehistoric sites.The modifications may be very slight and a good hand lens will be necessary,...Thank s for following us!
The Napping technique used by these people required an anvil to strike on, these stones were not simply for grinding napping tools. (3:45) This stone has the same kind of wear as an anvil stone. Large enough to place a flint blade on, to be struck with a billet for some presession flaking. That's the gouges and scratch marks you see on the stone left by the tool used. IMO. I've hunted for 47 yrs walking the fields and researching these stones, I have some real nice examples...
Great comment! I think anvil stones were widely used and overlooked by most field walkers. Many show evidence of heat. Once again, thank you and please stay with us.
Ever see your face in one of your artifacts? It takes a while to learn, but there are bird effigies, and the stones all over this country, which go unrecognized by most people. ❤
What I have learned in the past seven months is that academia is rife with vitriol and infighting that keeps actual human history away from citizens. I propose that we fire everybody and start over again, because obviously manifest destiny really messed up the study of North American peoples.
Interesting talk. At 12:43, you show some little rocks, overly polished. I have some from Concord, MA with concavities, polished on the inside of the cavity. I thought they were thimbles, as they fit nicely in a crack between fingers and palm.
Thanks Peter for this imput! Again, sooo much we don't know and these thoughts are necessary to get people outside of their box! In this Ohio area, these concretions are first and foremost, geofacts and some have been prehistorically, human altered...all NEED to be examined carefully. Some were gathered by the prehistorics and simply not used at the time and set aside. I am wondering if they used leather as well as your thimble idea. Its definitely possible. I lean toward the use of leather...thanks very much for joining the team !
@@fieldarchaeology101 Thanks to you also! I am a "cooky" guy but you might enjoy my efforts to understand tool technology in Nevada. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ds-oaTTd-D0.html
To me those small concretions that are found in fire pits seem to be the bearing block for a bow drill type fire starting method. They look like the part you would hold in your hand at the top of the bow drill. Just my two cents.
Great and informative, thanks. I found what I thought was another nutting stone (Ft. Ancient site) a couple of weeks ago until I got it home and cleaned up. It surprisingly was contoured to fit your left hand. The only conclusion i could come up with it was used with a bow and vertical shaft Firestarter setup. Which got me thinking about adzes then. Were they primarily used for making Firestarter shafts? Let there be fire, lol.
Interesting...I have found many of these across the years (100+) and only a handful show any oxidation from heat/fire. I'm pretty convinced these were used to clean up the end of a flint-knapping billet. The oxidation is along its side, not on top, and not near the "cup". Looks like they were resting near a fire pit. Often times these abrader stones were hand-held.
dalehartz Interesting...we are always looking for signs of heat applied to these rocks. I've watched people start fires very quickly, consistently using stick and tender, amazing! Seems we 21st century people tend to down-size the outdoor skills and genius of generations of prehistoric knowledge passed along thru generations of "forever",lol. Thanks a mil for your imput, much appreciated.Stay w/ us. On your pieces seriously look for evidence of heat/ oxidation.
Hey is there anyway i could contact you and send you a few pictures. I was at lake erie yesterday at my girlfriends cottage right on the water. We were walking on these big rock right on the shore and down inbetween the rocks i found a stone object that i can only describe as a cell phone with really weird markings on it. You would have to see it to put it into perspective because it just doesnt make any sense. Im from Connecticut and ive always collected stones and minerals etc. But ive never found anything like this. Im hoping i could speak to the right person to help identify this thing. Thanks! Love your channel man👍🏽
ONLYHAM Send to...turtleguy99@aol.com. It will find its way to me. Many wonderful artifacts are discovered annually along Erie's shores. Congrats! Stay w/ us!
Great video, I'm from Coshocton co. What part of the county are you digging and researching the anchient village site? I have surfaced hunted artifacts since I was a young kid and have a nice collection. I have been researching by reading history on quite a few villages here in Coshocton co. And Muskingum Co. Also researching a place called the Glenn. The indians had treaty feasts there in the 1700's. From what I've read it's a stone cutout on the side of a hillside somewhere south of gneadenhutten, Ohio. Have you ever heard of this place? I would like to locate it. The book that talks about it is Charles killbuck history of the border wars. Any info would be appreciated. Thank you and keep up the good work!
Most interesting! Sorry I can not help (no info on that subject). My work is in prehistory and I am most hopeful you make those connections. I am working in the Eastern part of the county. The Program Manager/Collections Assistant at the Johnson- Humrichouse Museum in Roscoe Village use to work at Coschoton Co. LIbrary. She may be able to guide you to those who can help. Best of luck! Thank you for joining us. Hope you stay on board!
Thank you and congrats on your ax. I still remember each one I found across the yrs...special moments! Seems the last 10 yrs I have been finding pieces of intentionally broken axes ( pieces).Hope you can stay w/ us!
Is this a refashioned concretion? Sounds like you may have a prehistoric concavity...Much of this will also be defined by " context"... where you found it relative to other prehistoric evidence. Well done. Hope you stay w/ us !
Speaking on behalf of north central Ohio and east central Ohio, I feel pretty confident that the middle archaic culture tends to dominate, though it varies per region. That would be 1000 to 5000 BC. Great question!
Very interesting ! I'm in lake county, I have one that is a geo fact , pot, looks like some of those, also I have found 6 or 8 I call nutting Stones, that are different .they are pecked out kind of football shape, all found in the same place where I find most of my artifacts, loved the video and content !, Ever watched Paleoman 52 , he has a video on pitted hammer stones, he is a master flint napper , he would know !!!
Thank you for coming "a board", smiles! I have found many, many hammerstones and rarely do they have concavities on both sides...I think I may have 5 or 6...nice and detailed, while the other 500 plus are either flat or round on both surfaces. We will ck him out. Thanks for the info...Sounds like you have a most interesting site...do you have rock shelters near by?
No , no rock shelters , that I know of, I mostly hunt creeks and rivers, Paleoman calls them pitted hammer stone, he has a video on them, pretty cool, he was also at the Wenatchee site when they found those big Clovis, has a video of that also. Good luck hunting !
@@davelink1318 Thanks, Dave. All good stuff...and we know there is much varience between cultures and geographical locations...Certainly this keeps us on our toes! Much appreciated...and please stay w/ us.
Really enjoyed the education today - new hobby for me, so absorbing everything. Could you possibly do a show and tell of some of your paleo finds. Thanks.
Great question! Those we find in east central Ohio more than likely would not support much weight. I can not speak for other areas of Ohio. Stay with us.
user-ek2vs2gb71, Great comment! With these scenarios wear marks will be more than evident. My pieces do not display that type of wear. Thanks for sharing.
@@fieldarchaeology101 I would love to see that too. That may answer our questions. You have to figure their very lives depended on making fire efficiently in all kinds of weather. A project for some archaeology students, lol. I gather there are at least two types: A bow and shaft setup and a pump drill type with a narrower shaft. Pressure versus speed. I'm thinking an adze would be very useful in the process for making shafts as well as small kindling/shavings. The interesting part would be the types of baseplates the actual fire started on. Would it be a stick or plank (Pine?) with concavities? One you could hold down with your knee(s) as you used the drill? Pine needles and pine tar, what else... I'll have to do a video on the dozen or so stone artifacts I've found. NO effigies, lol. One was a spectacular highly polished greenstone adze found next to a washed out Adena firepit on a southern Ohio Appalachian plateau. Broke in half, bit end still thin and very sharp.
I would like to add..."more food for thought." ! I have found/ collected Ashtabula points ALL OVER Coshocton Co. Ohio in abundance, and lesser amts in surrounding counties.I now have several w/ their distal ends modified into small hammers,most definitely hammers.In effect they are hafted Ashtabula scrapers turned into small, thin hammers. This is HUGELY interesting! A close friend reminded me that several of these were uncovered w/ Iron Pyrites immed at their side. Thus this evidence points toward possible (flint/iron) fire starters across my yrs of walking only one other outside that culture, a late late woodland point. And finally a few yrs back, I observed a person collecting a lg red coal from a fire pit and carefully wrapping/ protecting it for a journey of several hrs. I was curious about the wood type and mosses used... Lets always keep in mind these ancestors were geniuses of the forest and fields (water,too). Brilliant learners w/ MUCH passed down from years and multiple generations. Thanks for joining us!
I dont think fire stones were such a necessity in permanent or semi permenant camps, there would have likely been multiple fires going all the time creating coal that would ember for days without actually being a fire
Great job!! That’s the 10,000 ft over view, now drill down into those tools and give more details on what science thinks they were used for. So glad you mentioned the antler billets!!!! But on those giant ones that have many holes what else were they used for??? So many questions!!!!!
" those giant ones"...found in or near rock shelters? Your question is still being debated/possible cupped mortars. The geological make up of the material will certainly add to the evidence of its use. Thanks Scott!
The jury is still out, smiles...however, current thought and contributing evidence is beginning to lean this direction…The pit was used to remove the damaged surface of their flint knapping baton by twisting it back and forth in the cup...removing all burrs, etc...thus, a "clean" new surface for smooth, uninterrupted percussion knapping. Thanks for joining us.
Yes i have a question. I found paint pot concreations with yellow paint in them & some other small tools painted yellow. Do you know what they used to make yellow paint because it is extremely durable & definitely long lasting.
Wow, good question. Depending on your location, often yellow ocher was used. I am not certain of its lasting effects. Important note: I am washing both my field finds AND excavated artifacts far more carefully as I am discovering red ocher on items from both meduims. Thanks much for following! Wish I could help more.
@@jak3589 Jak...very gentle finger action and luke warm water...slow and carefully! Thank you. This was a very important question! Most of the time I allow the material to soak a short while in luke warm H2O, then a gentle rinse...then gentle finger action...remembering many of these pieces are "razor blade" sharp! Thank you for asking this!
You have an archaeology group in your county that meets regularly ,1x per month...year round. Active quality group...They are one of the many Chapters for Archeological Society for Ohio (find on internet). May have to call main # as they recently lost their president...Let me know if you need further help, ok? !
All pitted stones...look for slight concavity in the mid of both top and bottom...very often, very slight. Good question, Thanks. These are actually, fairly common.
williamlake Thanks for sharing . I agree these were NOT used for nuts!. They knew what could and would damage their teeth...seriously!Generations of learning and passing along info.As far as the billet goes...I have watched knappers twist its damaged end into the concavity and twist, to re create a new surface.Looks pretty convincing....
you have a good desk in the best office, but we don't see enough your stones, don't worry about little cavities is just to have dark color like black paint.
Thank you for your thoughts...Great comment...certainly I will "show and explain" this day forward w/ your insights in mind. Thank you for following us.
Not certain what your artifact is....Closest I can think of....would be a concretion/ concavities of which I have many.. Can you explain these w/ some detail?
Thank you for joining us, smiles ! Looked at your post...and I am not sure....Wish I could be of some help. Do you have someone local who can hold, feel and seriously observe your piece? It is most interesting.
Working on it...trying out diff options right now. On July 19'th, newest video just recorded,...we used our NEW mic...BIG smiles and thanks to all for your patience.
Welp. Here's me kicking myself... I've seen so many of them that I figured they were just a natural occurrence, and it sure isn't a glaciated area here in SE Ohio.
Thanks for this...you made me smile. I sincerely hope we all grow wiser with time and circumstance. You gotta love hind sight. I believe this is actively going on right now. Walkers are discarding chips and flakes from their field walks, thinking "debitage". When many of these flakes/chips are actually micro tools, 1/4" - 1/2" in length.
@fieldarchaeology1015 worst part is, i carried one home from one of the fields i walk. It was on a shelf above thr kitchen sink and fell off, chipped the edge. After watching your video, i can now clearly see it's been worked along the edge, so it was a something before i broke it. Regarding flakes and such, since getting back into archaeology (we stopped plowing long ago), i make it a point to collect every flake i see, and you're totally right. When i wash them off and etc, I've found quite a few intentional tools that didn't look like anything.
@@jvleasure Look carefully 100% on both sides all the way around each piece/ flake...nearly every site has "micro tools" which at first glance appear to be simple flakes. Surprise! We have sites here in east central Ohio that yield 100's. Those artifacts under an inch...I call micro tools...most are flakes and carefully workshopped, small tools w/ tiny retouch. It saddens me that most are over-looked or worse yet, taken home and later tossed. They must remain w/ ALL site discoveries.To all I say, slow down and rediscover those jewels! I'm happy for your treasures, stay w/ us, thanks.
