Wayne in BC
New member
n/t
Find's Treasure Forums
Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!
You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.
Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.
Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.
Click here to register!
Need Support Help?
Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you
Changed email? Forgot to update your account with new email address? Need assistance with something else?, click here to go to Find's Support Form and fill out the form.
Arrowhead hunt today at a pasture near Leon Creek.............
- Thread starter Kelley (Texas)
- Start date
TexasCharley
New member
Archaeologists hate relic collectors, but about 90% of what the archaaeologists find never even gets cataloged. When I was at UT in the late '50s/ early'60s, the Anthropology department was in the old Law Building on 21st street across from Hilsberg's Cafe. There were cardboard boxes full of all sorts of artifacts stacked 3 & 4 high in the basement of that building. Some of that stuff had been there since the '30s. Nobody had any idea what was in it. If an anthropology major needed a few bucks for a date, you could give him $5 & fill a PA can with anything you wanted out of those boxes. $10 & you could fill your briefcase.
There was all sorts of stuff in the various buildings that nobody knew where it came from or how it got there. In the Barker Texas History Center there was a Springfield carbine with a Buffington rear sight, meaning it was made after 1880 & was not used in Indian fighting in Texas. It had never been accessioned & there was no paperwork with it. I offered to buy it for $80, which was the going price for a shooter-condition Springfield carbine at the time. You'd thought I got caught cutting the Mona Lisa out of the frame! Fifteen years later, when I went back to see an old friend, the carbine was gone & nobody knew when it left, where it went, or who had it.
There was all sorts of stuff in the various buildings that nobody knew where it came from or how it got there. In the Barker Texas History Center there was a Springfield carbine with a Buffington rear sight, meaning it was made after 1880 & was not used in Indian fighting in Texas. It had never been accessioned & there was no paperwork with it. I offered to buy it for $80, which was the going price for a shooter-condition Springfield carbine at the time. You'd thought I got caught cutting the Mona Lisa out of the frame! Fifteen years later, when I went back to see an old friend, the carbine was gone & nobody knew when it left, where it went, or who had it.
Kelley (Texas)
New member
have very little respect for them...I put some of them in the same league as grave robbers. Many years ago, I walked into a western themed store by the name of Cowboys & Indians...it was located on Blanco Road just across the street from Central Park Mall here in San Antonio. Hanging on the wall were three frames of South Texas arrowheads that were on consignment for an Archaeologist from UT.
Many collectors have more ethics than some of the Archaeologist teaching at our universities or employed in prestigious positions around the country. I have some rules that I strictly abide by and have always abided by. I will not hunt on any public property and only on private property with permission. I surface hunt and when I find a site that has in my opinion major historical importance, I contact one of the colleges...I do not disturb the site. The one exception is when I locate a burial site...I do not disturb the site and will not disclose the location to anyone unless the site is in danger of being developed. I do not buy Indian artifacts, and will only accept them as a gift from close friends or my kinfolks. I have a nice collection of artifacts that were found along creeks, in plowed fields, and cattle pastures...all found on private property. On the same token, I have never sold any artifacts that I have found, but I have given a few arrowheads to some dear friends.
As stated, I have little respect for many of the Archaeologists that I have come into contact with over the years, but there are a few that have earned my respect...especially a few associated with UTSA. Some of them remind me of a coyote complaining to the farmer that the raccoons are beating him to the chickens in the hen house. I might also make mention that I also have no respect for collectors that enter private property without permission, as well as collectors that will knowingly destroy a valuable historical site. Kelley (Texas)
Many collectors have more ethics than some of the Archaeologist teaching at our universities or employed in prestigious positions around the country. I have some rules that I strictly abide by and have always abided by. I will not hunt on any public property and only on private property with permission. I surface hunt and when I find a site that has in my opinion major historical importance, I contact one of the colleges...I do not disturb the site. The one exception is when I locate a burial site...I do not disturb the site and will not disclose the location to anyone unless the site is in danger of being developed. I do not buy Indian artifacts, and will only accept them as a gift from close friends or my kinfolks. I have a nice collection of artifacts that were found along creeks, in plowed fields, and cattle pastures...all found on private property. On the same token, I have never sold any artifacts that I have found, but I have given a few arrowheads to some dear friends.
As stated, I have little respect for many of the Archaeologists that I have come into contact with over the years, but there are a few that have earned my respect...especially a few associated with UTSA. Some of them remind me of a coyote complaining to the farmer that the raccoons are beating him to the chickens in the hen house. I might also make mention that I also have no respect for collectors that enter private property without permission, as well as collectors that will knowingly destroy a valuable historical site. Kelley (Texas)
My hat's off to you Fred!
Too few folks today have respect for the things that are important such as an understanding of where we came from. (history)
It is human nature to be oblivious to anything that is not directly affecting us and that is too bad!!
How many people can get excited by an old piece of rock just be cause it was carefully fashioned by an ancient craftsman to feed his tribe!!
After all it didn't put food in their fridge!
It's a shame, but fortunately there are a few people with their heads on straight who cherish the craftsmanship and the history and save them for those of us who have an interest.
Your collection is important for all of us!
Thank you Fred,
CJ
Too few folks today have respect for the things that are important such as an understanding of where we came from. (history)
It is human nature to be oblivious to anything that is not directly affecting us and that is too bad!!
How many people can get excited by an old piece of rock just be cause it was carefully fashioned by an ancient craftsman to feed his tribe!!
After all it didn't put food in their fridge!
It's a shame, but fortunately there are a few people with their heads on straight who cherish the craftsmanship and the history and save them for those of us who have an interest.
Your collection is important for all of us!
Thank you Fred,
CJ
TexasCharley
New member
Here in Seguin, just south of the Austin Street bridge over the Guadalupe, they've found one of the most important sites in Texas. This has stuff going back 8,000 to 9,000 years and on up to the 18th, possibly early 19th century. It was discovered by accident. The property owner dug up some riverbank soil to put on his flowerbeds--he & his wife are in the process of restoring the Victorian house on the site--& after a rain the dirt he dug up gave up a whole handful of dart points. He alerted Bob Everette, our local archaeolgical conservator, who called in UTSA. The site's now being systematically excavated & mapped.
1 thing a lot of collectors don't do that should be done is grid the site, put markers at the corners, photograph the area, number the grid squares, & then photo each artifact in situ & record which square it was found in & at what depth. The notes & photos will tell even an archaeologist what he wants to know about the site, while the collector keeps his finds.
.
1 thing a lot of collectors don't do that should be done is grid the site, put markers at the corners, photograph the area, number the grid squares, & then photo each artifact in situ & record which square it was found in & at what depth. The notes & photos will tell even an archaeologist what he wants to know about the site, while the collector keeps his finds.
.
Kelley (Texas)
New member
many of us do not dig sites looking for arrowheads. When out in the field, whether working on a fence, riding back in the brush looking for a missing cow, or even fishing at a stock tank, I often scan the ground ahead of me looking for arrowheads that have been exposed due to erosion of the land. If I encounter a site that I suspect is of historical importance, I will let the land owner know and suggest that the local college be notified. The only exception is what I stated yesterday, if it is a Indian burial site, I will immediately exit the area and will not disclose that site to anyone...those folks should be left to rest in peace. If the burial site is in danger of being destroyed due to development in the area, I will notified the local college and anyone else that I think will protect that site.
Over the years, I have come across single grave sites long distances from the beaten paths, best to respect those graves...I suspect that they were graves of cowboys or maybe a pioneer passing through the area. Some of those grave sites were spooky, made the hair stand up on the back of my neck...can't explain why. Kelley (Texas)
Over the years, I have come across single grave sites long distances from the beaten paths, best to respect those graves...I suspect that they were graves of cowboys or maybe a pioneer passing through the area. Some of those grave sites were spooky, made the hair stand up on the back of my neck...can't explain why. Kelley (Texas)
TexasCharley
New member
I found what I suspect was the grave-marker of a cowboy in San Saba County one time. Apparently the person who carved the marker could neither read nor write. It was a flat stone. Carved on it were what I believe to be a brand but it wasn't one I recognized & a cloud with a lightning bolt coming out of it.
Apparently the guy buried there--the ground was sunken some, like it will with a grave--worked for that brand & was killed by lighting. It was 30+ years ago when I saw it & I doubt I could find it again.
Apparently the guy buried there--the ground was sunken some, like it will with a grave--worked for that brand & was killed by lighting. It was 30+ years ago when I saw it & I doubt I could find it again.
OK I'm new to detecting ,only a year under my belt . Was out today and found what i thought at first to be junk iron,
but i put it in my pouch to look at at the end of the day.
After looking through my finds and coming to it iwas going to consider it junk and well it may be however it has the shape of an arrow head .
I'm posting my first pics on this site , taking all ideas and any tips to help figure it out. thanks
but i put it in my pouch to look at at the end of the day.
After looking through my finds and coming to it iwas going to consider it junk and well it may be however it has the shape of an arrow head .
I'm posting my first pics on this site , taking all ideas and any tips to help figure it out. thanks