Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Speaking of corn fields

I thought I'd try looking around some corn fields for arrowheads and asked a farmer for permission. He said I could walk around the outside of the field only because they already planted their corn, and that was over a week ago.

No arrowheads, but I did pick up some odd rocks. These two are my favorite, because of the colors and textures:


But, I have no idea if they are anything other than 'just rocks'. Here is a better photo of the one that looks like a potato.

And these, I think, are "raw material":

4 comments:

pwax said...

The third rock, on the right is more than "raw material". Those little concave facets around the edge are from flakes removed. It looks like a complete unbroken item, perhaps a scraper.

You might enjoy George Carter's "Earlier Than You Think" - a controversial book about the antiquity of man in America, it also includes a discussion of what rocks look like that have been broken by man. The last picture shows good examples.

With your "I thought I'd try looking around some cornfield" you may be at the threshold of a major source of fun.

theseventhgeneration said...

Thanks for the reco on the book. I need some help figuring out what I'm looking at!

pwax said...

Going out on a limb, I wonder if that rock material in the final picture is "Onandanga Chert" (sp?). Finding those items is a good indication that arrowheads will turn up in the same place. Good luck.

theseventhgeneration said...

Thanks! Another piece of chert I found is "encased" in igneous rock with about an inch of chert sticking out of one end only. That chert is a gray color, while the chert you think might be Onondaga Chert is more of a clay or tan color. I'm looking forward to going back and hunting around some more!