A Well Collected Projectile Point

One thing telling about watching an episode of the Antiques Road Show is that by nature some people seem to be born collectors and seldom if ever do they turn down an opportunity to acquire something rare and unusual. While this might seem like a somewhat recent phenomenon, it is likely that people have been collecting the strange and unusual as long as there have been such things to find. In an earlier posting entitled Selected Objects from the OHS Archaeological Collections it was reported that one of the fine spear points shown was found in Ross County by Captain Charles McGinnis some time in the late 1800’s. Some who read the post found the fact that it had been originally collected more than 100 years ago by a veteran of the Civil War nearly as interesting as the spear point itself. However, there are some objects in the OHS collections that were found and collected in even earlier times. A case in point (no pun intended) is the projectile point pictured on the right, object # A957/474. It was recovered during the 1971 field season at Seip Earthworks near Bainbridge in Ross County. It was found in a floor midden associated with a house structure north of the great mound among animal bone fragments, pottery shards, bits of mica and broken bladelets - just the kind of material that one would expect to find in a 2,000 year old Hopewell/Middle Woodland midden feature. The kicker is that A957/474 is actually a Beaver Lake point that, as a type, predates the Seip Earthworks and the entire Middle Woodland period by several thousands of years to the Late Paleo / Early Archaic period. This is roughly 9,500 to 10,000 years before present. Beaver Lake points were named in the literature in 1962 by David De Jarnette and others for Beaver Lake in Limestone County, Alabama but are found throughout the Tennessee and Cumberland River drainages as well as along the lower Ohio River and into the middle Mississippi valley. Stylistically they seem to cluster with Cumberland and Quad points both temporally and geographically. Several Beaver Lake points were found below the Dalton zone at the Olive Branch Dalton Site in Alexander County, Illinois where they were firmly dated to right at 10,000 years before present. Generally speaking Beaver Lake points are thin and well made lanceolate points with re-curved lateral edges that form an expanding base or stem. These margin areas typically show a certain amount of light grinding or smoothing. Also the base is often further thinned by the removal of one or more small flakes. A957/474 is an excellent example of the type. It is 64 mm in length x 22 mm in width and a mere 5 mm thick. It is lenticular in cross section and was produced through a combination of random percussion and pressure flaking. One basal corner or “ear” is missing in what appears to be an ancient break. It is made from a bi-color tan and light brown flint that has a slightly reddish caste to it, likely due to exposure to the heat of a fire. The exact type of flint used to make the point is not readily apparent. This is typical of many early point types with wide distribution patterns. Often times points made from a minor type of flint are found many miles from its source making it difficult to nearly impossible to visually identify.
It can be imagined that whoever happened across this already ancient point some 2,000 years ago was intrigued by its unusual form and simple aesthetics. They lived in a world of stone tools and yet it was not quite like anything they had seen before. They were likely proud of their find and felt privileged to be the only one to possess something so rare and unusual. Not at all unlike those who collect things today.

Spruce Hill Update

A few posts ago passed along information pertaining to the selling of Spruce Hill. Great news! The site has been saved. The following update is from Highlands Sanctuary.


Spruce Hill News!

Dearest Friends,There has been a fantastic turn of events! We are happy to report that we made an offer to purchase Spruce Hill earlier this week and our contract was accepted -- just one day before the auction! Removing Spruce Hill from the auction block was a massive relief. We are now securely in contract to purchase Spruce Hill at the selling price of $612,000, which is exactly what we anticipated. Though we still have significant funds to raise, ideally before our closing date on July 16, 2007, this is indeed celebratory news.

We have raised in cash over $215,000 in just five weeks, which is quite an accomplishment for such a short period of time. However, since this is about 1/3 of the funds we need, we are still actively fund-raising and will be doing so until we have the property paid in full. Please pass the word to others about the need to continue to focus on paying for Spruce Hill, and thereby help us keep the project alive in everyone's minds.

If you have previously made a pledge for Spruce Hill, please send it in as soon as possible, since we have budgeted your dollars as part of our down payment. Checks should be made out to Wilderness East and sent in care of the: Highlands Nature Sanctuary, Arc of Appalachia Preserve System, 7629 Cave Road, Bainbridge, OH 45612. If you have any questions on financial giving, please give Larry Henry a call at 937-365-1600.

Thank you everyone, for all you have done. It is an honor to have been a part of of the campaign to preserve Spruce Hill. Actually, so many people are celebrating the good news that Spruce Hill is now securely in contract, that it is uncanny how much it resembles the victory after a political campaign. ...Except for one big difference. In a political campaign, winning is oft short-lived, whereas saving Spruce Hill elicits a delicious feeling of eternity.

On behalf of the Henslow's sparrows, the dwarf larkspurs, the coyotes, the puttyroot orchids, the fields of blackberries flowers, the yellow-breasted chats, the scarlet tanagers, the strong young red oaks growing on the steep slopes that soar above scenic Paint Creek.....and the buried stories of our land's ancestors........we say, "thank you, all."

We will write you in a few weeks with more news, including dates of upcoming hikes and tours of Spruce Hill. Blessings to all who have helped us get this far, helping in such a wide diversity of ways. Special thanks to all of our donors, and to those who have generously pledged us no-interest one-year loans -- essentially bringing us a gift of time. Thanks to those who spent hours on the computer finding like-minded people across the country to spread the word about Spruce Hill's plight and the opportunity to save it. Also immense thanks to The Archeological Conservancy who has agreed to hold the interim mortgage and paypayments while we continue to raise funds. It takes a lot of partners to save a site of this much prominence!

We can't stop now! Onward. Your help and creative ideas continue to be deeply encouraged and welcomed.

Sincerely,
Nancy Stranahan & Larry HenryArc of Appalachia Preserve System, Headquarters: Highlands Nature Sanctuary7629 Cave Rd., Bainbridge, OH 45612, 937-365-1600, www.highlandssanctuary.org
Our webpage, www.highlandssanctuary.org/Hopewell/sprucehill.htm has basic information on Spruce Hill with links to a donation form, and deep information.

Never Ending Fieldwork Part Three: Flotation

During the earlier water screening process, one four liter sample (picture 1) was set aside from each of the 34 soil sample collected from the midden material recovered at Ft Meigs (http://ohio-archaeology.blogspot.com/2007/04/never-ending-field-work.html)

The reason for doing this was to use another collection strategy called flotation (pronounced flow-tay-shun). This method is fairly simple and is used to collect charred wood, seeds, nut shells and other material that could otherwise be lost during the dry screening and wet screening process. From this we can learn what plants people were eating and using for firewood. Even the time of year could be determined based on the types of seeds and nut shells were present.

The flotation method we used involved the use of water, notched 5 gallon bucket and fine screening material. The soil sample was put into the bucket along with water. The bucket is tipped and water agitates the soil just enough to allow water to escape through the notch (picture 2). When the water hits the cloth, small particles of charred material are collected (picture 3). This is called the "light fraction". This process continues until no charred material is seen floating on the top of the water in the bucket. The fabric holding the light fraction is gathered together, tied at the top and hung up to dry.

Then the bucket is emptied into a screen and the denser items like pottery, bone, flint and rock are washed and set out to dry (picture 4). This dense material is called the "heavy fraction".

After the light fraction is thoroughly dry it is placed in labeled archival quality plastic bags. The heavy fraction is sorted through just as the earlier water screened material and then bagged and put with the light fraction bags for curation http://ohio-archaeology.blogspot.com/2007/05/never-ending-field-work-part-2.html .