Sunday, August 4, 2013

Collecting American Indian Artifacts Is A Hobby

By Cathy Mercer


American Indian artifacts are relatively easy to find. If someone likes exploring, they can find them in river beds and when land is overturned by farming or construction. They lie wherever Native Americans lived long ago. There are arrowheads and stone tools, which are the items found most often. Some are beautiful, others are plain.

These is often an interesting story connected to each artifact they discover. It is fascinating to look back into prehistoric times and the cultural habits of those who lived at that time. Everyone, from the archaeologist to the youngest explorer is interested in learning about those people through the artifacts they used.

It is possible to date an artifact by the material it is made of. The shape of a stone object is another clue. Finally, one can assume the tribe that used an artifact lived in the geographic area where the arrowhead or ax was discovered. However, this is not always the case since the tribes did travel and sometimes trade goods with another tribe.

An arrowhead can be stemmed or notched. The various tribes developed individualized methods of making tools. There are books filled with pictures of the arrowheads and other tools from each specific age. It is advisable to purchase one written by someone educated in the field.

The item most commonly found is an arrowhead. Sizes and type of rock used to manufacture them indicate the time and tribe. The Indians also made pottery. However, it is almost never found unbroken. Shards of a container or bowl will allow an expert to ascertain its history. Much skill went into the making of these items.

Another artifact is the ax. This and other early tools are made of slate, quartz, flint and other stone. There are axes from all time periods. The earliest confirmed ax makers were those who lived from the Paleolithic through the Mississippian period. These axes were mostly used as weapons.

Another artifact, the atlatl, was also used as a weapon. It propelled darts and spears with incredible force. When hunting, it was hurled at the targeted prey by whipping it forward, similar to the way a tennis player makes an overhand shot. There was a handle at one end and a hook at the other. Hunters threaded the hook into a hole on a spear before throwing. This weapon was used by every tribe until it was replaced by the bow and arrow.

The most beautiful artifacts were highly polished and used by tribal leaders. Others were utilitarian, most likely used by most of the men. Whenever a new item is found and identified by someone knowledgeable in the field, it increases the body of facts already known about people who lived ages ago.

There are amazing American Indian artifacts that date back to the Ice Age. Many of them are animal figurines. Mammoths, wooley rhinoceros and Ice Age camels were carved. Rocks were found in sets that matched in color and size. There were stones shaped to nest on top of each other. They are suspected of being toys made for children to play with. These are fascinating finds from a river in Illinois.




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