It was a nice day here in southern Michigan and I was out looking for artifacts not far from where I live. I found this point, it's known as a High Lo and it is from the late Paleo period. Probably about 8-9000 years ago. As I was admiring it I couldn't help but wondering about the man that made it. What was his life like, was it good hunting there then like it is now? Looking around I wondered what the land was like then. I bet The Kalamazoo River across the street was a lot cleaner then! I wondered if it was lost on a hunt or perhaps it had taken game! He was a craftsman for sure. I've seen a lot of points and many are pretty crude. Not this one. It occurred to me that God knew this man and He knew I'd find this head. Perhaps I'll get to meet him some day. How cool would that be:)

The hunt was most probably better than we can possibly imagine and better yet there was no limit, and no hunting license required and no posted signs and no tags or drawings to have to hunt a particular area. Of course at 40 years of age you were an old person.

Very cool find. It's things like this that keep the little boy alive in all of us. I acquired a few arrowheads along the way as a habitual pack rat and collector of crap. You'll spot a similar period Clovis head and a few other old points in this photos

That is a beautiful points. I often ask myself the same questions as you,Steve. You wonder about the men that made and used them. Jawge

I feel much the same when I run into a few old boards nailed up a tree. Who hunted here, what did he see?

I find some when I am deer hunting and I pften wonder the same thing.

The last couple I found, I thought how amazing that they have been laying there for untold number of years, having never been touched until I picked them up.

Cool.

Wonder if anyone has attached an old point to a shaft and actually hunted with it?

Very nice find!

Steve, That is an amazing find! It is one thing making or obtaining a stone point, but finding one that is in its last resting place after it was used by a native bowhunter, so many years ago, is fantastic. Truly a moment in time captured by you. TLM

Very nice find Steve, and I promise you the Kzoo was more clean then as opposed to now!

Great find Steve!

Steve that is really cool. I have those same thoughts when I find a head... whose hand was it in last before I found it? How long ago? What was their life like? And on and on...

I need to go look for some more heads.

CD

Yes, would love to know the story.

That is awesome, I've never found one, maybe I should look down more often.

Many years ago I found a large head that I think was probably a spear head. I did not research it, but did imbed it in a section of elk antler and made a belt buckle out of it. The arrow or spear head it self is almost 2 1/2 inches long. newt

Great responses guys I'm glad there are others that find this stuff fascinating and look beyond just the finding of an artifact. Newt, the gentleman I get my info from says many large heads are actually knives or atlatl points. He also crafts some beautiful points and blades.

Opal

He has killed several bear and deer with Osage selfbows and his knapped points. He's a very interesting man. I hope to be able to knapp good enough to be able to accomplish that feat myself someday soon.

On Finding a Stone Arrowhead On the Banks of the Looking Glass

Walking the trail at the river’s side, eyes alert for poison ivy and broken glass, I see it—nearly exposed on the gravel shoal, a faultless silver-gray arrowhead— the size if my thumb, its clean sharp edges drawing my eye from the mossy water-worn stones.

Incredulous at this find I run my finger again and again over its finely chiseled flint shape— nearly as sharp as when it was made, six hundred— eight hundred— a thousand years ago— when my ancestors were hoeing leeks and potatoes under William the Conqueror.

Holding it in my palm I sense its first owner— feet bleeding with frostbite as he stalked this trail for winter venison, crouching at the sight of a big gray doe, then cursing his hunger as she jumps from the arrow’s path.

I stand thumbing the sharp stone— until the crash of the doe bounding through the thicket leaves my ears, until the scent of leeks and potatoes leaves my nostrils— and then move further down the river, carrying a millennium in my pocket.

Rod I bet that happened a lot. For us it's no big deal for them it could be life or death. Gives a whole new meaning to hunting doesn't it?

Steve, the wonder of it all, I only hope to find something like that someday, if not, Monkeyball has been so generous to send me one of his creations which I treasure...

Those are all beautiful arrow heads, we don't find those in Florida as there are no stones to make them out of and the land is so sandy and swampy, what was here you would have to dig three or four feet down to find anything......wing

We don't have much knappable stone in Mich. most of it came from Ohio and Illinois.

This is one of those times I wish I could post pics! Great thread.

A few from eastern mt. & western n.d.. Points and a couple thumb scrapers.

Steve I wondered the same thing after I found my first point. How it was made and all the ?'s that go along with finding that first point. I decided to take lessons, and continue to do so by the maker of all those points that you have posted. Mike is an incredible flint knapper and artist. He is also very generous with his time in teaching.

A lot of the rock shown in the frames are from various islands and countries around the world including mookaite from Australia, Jafar jasper, polychrome chrome, fiber optic materials and some obsidian.

Anyone interested can check out Art if Ishi when you get a chance.

That must be so cool to find things like that. I'm in Minnesota and even though I've spend countless hours scouring the ground for agates I've never found anything like that.

Great finds!

That point looks like you could haft it right now as is, wow!

That's an awesome find. Normally we find shards or ones that didn't make the grade. Around here, like much of the Nation, villages were normal and the division of labor withing those little towns. With the amount that has been found here in the river valleys of the Allegheny Mountains, you can almost picture the native industry in action with bow makers, arrow fashioners, arrowsmiths, etc. I've found bowls, mortar and pestle, nutting stones, etc. If they just could talk to us. 8^)

I found this head just west of Rockford Michigan on a hill behind my old house. It is about 1/4 mile from the Rogue River.

Envious !

I've been tromping around the Eastern woods for 30 years and still no finds. At least nothing like that, a lot of old iron stuff and pots and pans and ceramics from settlers. Always looking though !

I have had the fever for as long as I can remember. I found this one at 10,000 Feet, just off the Pacific Crest Trail, between the land of the Miwok and Paiute. I researched the native folk of the area and learned from two separate books that the high country was largely inhabited. After reading that, I just let the spear point talk to me. Nothing better, I tell you. I even think about putting it back. I already received its benefit.

Many more will be found. What have you left to be found?

Modern Civilization has buried much!...Parking Lots and Shopping Malls and subdivisions, etc. Then farming country, Government restrictions such as CRP and No-Till farming has halted many areas of finding artifacts ..... The Best Places now, are creeks and river banks and water run off ditches leading to those areas. * Always keep in mind that native people needed a water source....that may help some of you to find some relics! I am fortunate to live between 2 rivers with several creeks and prime hunting and farming and fishing. Paleo and those that followed lived and thrived in the area I live now. .... "Rocks" are a sacred spirit to those of us that hunted them! Most of the small towns around our area were built on old Indian Village Sites .... and we hunt and fish and farm the same grounds! Just as they did but in a very different time ..... 10,000 years ago and sooner, man lived a very very very hard life compared to now!

Good stuff Steve. Really nice point you found

This has turned into a very nice thread. Thank you all for contributing. You guys have found some nice heads as well.Arron, this head could be hafted and used, it is as sharp as the day it was made with no sign of being touched up. Makes me wonder even more about how it was lost. Huck,I've been reading on a gentleman's site that he looks at it as though we are rescuing a point from destruction either from nature or man. I tend to agree. Remember God knew you would find that point! That's your link to the person that made it. Every time you look at it you will remember the day you found it and wonder:)

Here is the link to Mike's page that Jon was referring to.

http://www.artofishi.com/home.html

I work as, along with other duties, a cultural resources manager now and went to a tribal relations training last year in Utah. A gal was there who had a huge spear point (black obsidian, close to 8 inches long) that was found in a large basin in Utah, and had it tested for DNA. They found DNA from an ancient pachyderm type of creature (Mastadon or Mammoth), and it makes me wonder if all points found could be tested for blood DNA and what would be found, if anything. I found a perfect knife point, red/ochre in color, about three inches long, unbroken, and sharp along the Snake River while fishing for steelhead one time. I will see if I can find it in my junk and post a pic. Testing these would bring to life some of the thoughts and theories we have on these artifacts when we find them. Pretty cool stuff.

Back in 1980, the company that I was working for was expanding their building, parking lot and adding an access road. the parking lot had been tamped down, but not paved. One of the new hires stepped out of his car in the new lot and at his feet was an arrowhead in perfect shape. This was about a hundred yards from the Canisteo River, part of the Old War Route that run from Canada to Chesapeake Bay. The Delaware tribe pretty much controlled this part of NY in the 1600s, along with renegade Indians from other tribes and some white deserters. bvd

Great find, Steve, and this has turned into a great thread. I've done well hunting indian artifacts on the western slope of Colorado for years and the good feeling of a new find never decreases. I'm not a religious fellow...but can feel the old spirits in those points. I am 71 years old now, and often think about returning those old points back out where they were found. I think they are magic.

Bomack, if you return to nature it will be lost, broken and never appreciated. Others like you will appreciate it and the magic will still be there. If I was the original creator I would want someone to treasure my connection and work...

In the early 1970's when I was 12-13 years old I was fortunate to live on a gigantic cattle ranch in Arizona called the O RO, about 50 miles out of Prescott. Near Ranch HQ, there were "Indian ruins" as we called them - places where one could find the remains of the walls of their pit houses as well as pieces of broken pottery and an occasional stone point scattered around. I recall finding one small black obsidian "bird point," as my uncle called it, that was perfect, as well as what appeared to be a primitive knife. I didn't spend much time looking and didn't dig deep - I don't think anyone else did either. The O RO remains a pretty private place, I think; makes me wonder if those ruins are much as they were when I was a boy. I think I still have a few pieces of pottery and maybe a point or two packed away somewhere, although I recall giving the bird point to a friend in High School.

The collection of artifacts (legal on private property) presents a dilemma: leaving them in the middle of nowhere means they likely won't be admired and learned from. On the other hand, preservation in place shows respect for the people who left them there. I guess there's a balance somewhere. I didn't consider such things when I was 12.

This one was found in the Ishi Wilderness. I have found some other very, very interesting things there that I have kept quiet about. Sorry about the resolution as I photographed this one through a display.

Here is a point (probably atlatl) that is buried in bone. By his was given to me by a dear friend. I would appreciate any info that one could confidently contribute. It appears very real, as their is a smooth part of bone on the shade side of the point that could not be faked.

Huck Fin - I think the most powerful thing you could do would be to pu tit back!

I find myself caught in this conundrum all the time and I have to admit I do not rise to the occasion very often. It's a very werstern mind that wants own, to possess everything; to make it our own. In fact the native american's couldn't even understand our concept of "owning land". But honestly, the artifacts are so much more powerful in the environment they are from then on our wall. The ones I have kept collect dust and see little of my attention, despite how much I truely admire them. Them ment so much more when I picked them up out of the dirt and dusted them off. If only I were strong enough to leave them where they belong, (which is not squireled away in some museum draw either!).

My brother in-law has a vertebrae with a flint head imbedded in it, he has some amazing stuff, eyes like an eagle!

Huck, that stone in bone is awesome!!

ProAlpine if your going to put them back, the most powerful thing you could do is haft them up and shoot them back!Put them back in the hunt or just watch the beautiful flight of the arrow. Use them for what they were intended. I agree with Rutnomore,I would want them used or at least appreciated had I been the one that made them.

Huck, there is a historic site out in Alberta called 'Head smashed in ' buffalo jump, that is where the Blackfoot used to stampede the Bison over the cliffs. In the interpretation center there,there is a beautiful little head embedded in a shoulder bone similar to the one you pictured. Sandy

Here in Ontario we have a neighbour who has a collection of about 2 doz heads. The story behind them is that they came from her family farm and were unearthed when the fields were ploughed. Evidently at one time that field was a pond that had been drained for farming. Long ago the natives used to hunt waterfowl there, hence the abundance of lost heads. Sandy.

Tha is for all he input guys. Great thread with respected opinions.

Great point Steve!!!

Found another link today:)

wingstrut,

You may want to follow Ryan Gill around, twistedlimbs on here,and maybe snag one of his misses.

Beautiful weather in SW Michigan, 64 today. Got out for a couple of hours and found some more links:)

Ironically this small point was in an old deer track.

Steve, great finds! My brother and I have found spent flakes and pottery shards along the Kalamazoo.

Bill, I have that same book - "People of the Three Fires".

Here's a point I found on my hunting land in Newaygo County in early November. And yes I did keep it.

SVH

Thanks Steve,nice find yourself. It is a thrill and it never gets old:)

It is good to see the book " people of the three fires" pictured. I am Potawatomi. The Potawatomi name means "keepers of the fire". The Potawatomi people were relocated from the great lakes region into present day Kansas and then OKlahoma. My family still owns the land allotted to my ancestors. i have collected many arrowheads. They are a fascinating piece of history and can help us remember how important those that came before us were. Their lives were difficult but very important in our history.

I have found them in my great uncle's field in North Carolina - and he had a ton of them. Hard to imagine a more direct link to the past both physically, as well as activity-wise. We know what these things were used for, and to carry on doing the same thing that our ancestors did is a very cool thing.

Wingstrung. There are actually lots of artifacts around, but many of the sites are out in the ocean as the peoples primarily lived in the coast and the shore was further out many years ago. There is actually quite a bit of knapping rock around too but it takes a lot of looking to find your sources. Good sources of rock are hard to find, but they are around. Ocala area has a decent amount. We have some good chert and agatized coral. these ones are all Florida rock.

Beautiful Heads. Heres part of what Iv'e found over 55 years, along with some of my Dads and Grand Dads.Mostly Southern an Southeastern Utah..

Very nice. My cousins and I found many arrow points in SE Wisconsin as kids each spring after the snow receded and/or the farmers plowed the fields.

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