The concave humped bannerstone found by Carl Vergin near Bass Lake in Starke County, Indiana, in 1884.
The year was 1884, and Carl Vergin was working the family gravel pit near Bass Lake in Starke County, Indiana, when he found another Indian relic. While he had gathered a good many from the pit and the surrounding area (Bass Lake, being a large, natural lake, had attracted a good many Indians over the centuries), Vergin had never seen anything like this. The smooth, green slate stone was nearly as long as his hand and was highly polished. It had a deep concavity running its length parallel to the hole that ran through it for more than six inches. There was a ridge running the length of the concavity, between the flutes.
Vergin put it with the other Indian relics, examining it from time to time but assigning it no particular worth over the other relics. Much later, when his young nephew would come over, Carl would let the boy, Karl “Bud” Master of nearby Monterey, play with it and the other relics. The boy showed a fascination for the piece.
Perhaps because of Bud Master’s interest, or perhaps for other reasons, when Vergin was invited to show his relics at the county fair in the 1930s, he put the piece back and brought over the rest the night before the fair opened. During the night, the collection was stolen. It was never recovered.
When Vergin died, his nine year old nephew inherited the bannerstone. He stored it in a box in a bedroom closet for 60 years, keeping quiet about what he calls the “family heirloom.”
Then, several months ago, he brought it to an Indian relic show and was astounded by the attention it brought. There were offers to buy, of course, but Master declined them. Finally, after months of thought, he decided to part with the piece to provide some security for his wife, Rose when he passes.
When someone sent me a picture of the piece, I realized the Masters had probably the largest, finished concave humped bannerstone known of the variety that shows parallel flutes the length of its base. Byron Knoblock, in his seminal work, “Banner-Stones of the North American Indian,” shows an unfinished example that is five and one half inches in length. Knoblock writes of his example (p. 244, No. 5) “this is the largest type specimen observed by the author.” Knoblock states that more than 50 percent of the specimens then known (his book was published in 1939) showed incomplete drilling. “These objects are exceedingly rare,” he wrote.
David Lutz, in his book “The Archaic Bannerstone,” shows examples made of limestone from Spencer County, Indiana. The largest is five inches.
The day after receiving pictures of the banner, I drove the more than 800 miles from my home in North Carolina to Monterey to purchase the piece. I’d like to express my thanks to Bud and Rose Master for allowing me to add this exemplary piece to my bannerstone collection.
At top:The author’s entire North Carolina Paleo collection assembled over a 55-year span.
The earliest prehistoric human occupation in North Carolina dates to the Paleo-Indian period, which is thought to have begun around 10,000 BC. The temporal marker for that period is the fluted projectile point usually recovered as a surface find on exposed surfaces such as plowed fields, road cuts, construction sites and eroding streams or fields.
Archaeologists recognize two main cultures within the Paleo-Indian period in the North Carolina Piedmont region. They are Clovis & Hardaway-Dalton.
The Clovis Culture made beautiful distinctive fluted spear points (9500 – 8500 BC) that show remarkable similarities across the American continent. The purpose of the Clovis flute or channel most likely was to facilitate the hafting process. The edges on both sides near the base were dulled, so as to prevent them from cutting through the bindings that attached the point to the spear shaft. It should be noted that as of yet no Clovis points have been excavated from an undisturbed stratified site or found in context with datable material in N.C.
Hardaway-Dalton point:This late-Paleo Hardaway-Dalton point is made of porphyritic Rhyolite. It was recovered in the Cedar Square community near Randleman in northern Randolph County, North Carolina. Size: 3 inches. Collection of the author.
The Hardaway-Dalton Culture made differently styled spear points with shallow indentations on each side of the blade near the basally thinned base with ground (dulled) proximal blade edges (8500 – 8000 BC).
Another projectile point type that figures into the Paleo-Indian time frame in the N.C. Piedmont is the Alamance point. It is believed to be a variant or sub-type of the Hardaway-Dalton with both occurring in the same time frame.
Infrequently, Simpson type points of the late Paleo period are found in the lower N.C. Piedmont regions. However, this type is usually found in the Deep South such as Florida and South Georgia. Fluting for the Simpson point is absent or weak but basal areas are ground. The hafting area is constricted or “waisted”.
Spears tipped with these unique types of stone points were the main hunting tools in the Paleo-Indian time frame.
Below At right: An exceptionally well made fluted point found in the Blue Ridge mountains of Alleghany County, North Carolina in the New River drainage. Made of high-grade golden-tan flint. Size: Just under 4 inches. Collection of the author.
Above on the left: A late Paleo Alamance point found in Moore County, N.C. in the Cape Fear River drainage. It is highly patinated Silicified shale. Note the fluted or thinned base. Size: 1 1/2 inches. Collection of the author.
These First Carolinians were nomadic hunters & gatherers who moved regularly through vast territories on a seasonal basis in search of new resources. They lived in small family groups that archaeologists call bands. Subsistence comes from the hunting and gathering of wild foods. They carried or pulled all of their possessions from one location to another and therefore built no permanent dwellings. Protection from severe weather consisted of temporary shelters constructed from sticks and brush, forest thickets or the occasional rock shelter. Clothing and mats were likely from plant fibers and animal hides. Containers may have included bark and/or animal bags, gourds and woven nets from vines or grass.
The most important excavated N.C. site yielding Paleo-Indian components is the Hardaway Site (31-ST-4) on the west bank of the Yadkin River near the town of Badin in Stanly County, N.C. The Hardaway site investigations formed the basis of Paleo-Indian and Early Archaic sequences for the Carolina Piedmont as defined by Joffre L. Coe (1964).
The classic fluted Clovis point was not recovered from Hardaway; however, it is thought by archaeologists to be contemporary with the Hardaway phase, which represents the earliest occupation at the site and dates to at least 8000 BC (Ward 1983).
The Hardaway Corner-Notch projectile point evolved from the Hardaway-Dalton. It is smaller with “U” shaped corner-notches. Archaeologists consider this particular type to be the beginning of the Early Archaic period in N.C. dating to about 8000 BC.
Some archaeologists think the earliest Paleo-Indians lived mostly in the Piedmont because more fluted points have turned up there than elsewhere in the state. The Piedmont was probably a more climate hospitable region to live in as opposed to the colder mountains.
Paleo-Indian sites on the low-lying Coastal Plain may presently be invisible, having been inundated by rising sea levels or deeply buried in floodplain soils. Widely scattered Paleo-Indian artifacts of the Clovis-Hardaway-Dalton types have been found in the mountains and foothills of North Carolina but presently no significant undisturbed locations for this period exist there either. This may be due in part to these First Carolinians favoring hilltops or ridges for their camps. This allowed centuries of rain and weather to erode and wash away their sites.
Most of the Paleo-Indian type spear points seem to be produced from local lithic material leading archaeologists to conclude these ancient points were manufactured by resident Native Americans and not simply lost by seasonal hunting parties from outside (Purrington 1983). In the N.C. Piedmont this preferred raw material consisted of high-quality metavolcanic rocks found in the Slate Belt. Most stone tools found in the Piedmont that date to the Paleo-Indian period, as well as later periods, were made from this fine-grained, metamorphosed volcanic rock called rhyolite. Rhyolite outcrops are restricted to the area of the Slate Belt in and around the Uwharrie Mountains of Stanly & Montgomery Counties in south-central N.C.
It is not by accident that the site of the most important Paleo-Indian and Early Archaic search in N.C. – The Hardaway Site – also is located in the Uwharrie Mountains.
Simpson point:Simpson type Paleo point found in Chatham County, North Carolina in the Cape Fear River drainage. Short flutes or basal thinning on both sides. Rare type for N.C. in that this type is usually found in the deep-south region. However, this point is made from Rhyolite material indigenous to central N.C. where the point was recovered. Size: 3 1/2 inches. Collection of the author.
Rodney Peck, president of the Piedmont Archaeology Society of Virginia and the Carolinas, has undertaken the monumental task of recording fluted points found in North Carolina. This has been an ongoing task for many years and hundreds of fluted points have officially been recorded and are still being recorded in his survey.
Accompanying this article are several photographs illustrating examples of various Paleo-Indian projectile point types (Clovis, Hardaway-Dalton, Alamance & Simpson) typically recovered in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge foothills regions of North Carolina.
Quartz point: Very rare clear quartz crystal fluted point found by Blake Deal in the Brushy Mountain community of “Vashti” of northern Alexander County, North Carolina. Size: 2 inches. Collection of the author.
References
Joffre L. Coe 1964 Formative Cultures of the Carolina Piedmont
Research Laboratory of Archaeology, 2001 Intrigue of the Past University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Larry R. Clark 2002 Indians of Burke County & western North Carolina
Robert W. Keeler 1971- Archaeological Survey of Upper Catawba River Valley
H. Trawick Ward & R. P. Stephen Davis, Jr. 1999 Time Before History: The Archaeology of North Carolina
Robert Overstreet 2007 Overstreet’s Indian Arrowhead Guide # 10
Figure 1. The 3.75-inch long Eden found by Shane Skulvik in Logan County, Colorado. It is made of Flattop Chalcedony.
by Tom Westfall, Sterling, Colorado
Central States Archaeological Journal January 2011
The Eden point is Paleoindian in origin and dates to around 9500–7600 BP. The type site is the Finley site, located in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. Other Eden sites have been discovered on the High Plains, but they are few and far between.
Eden points are considered some of the most beautiful and highly valued projectile points on the High Plains. In their unresharpened form, they are usually long and quite narrow, often made from the finest lithic materials available. These points exhibit very fine flaking to a medial ridge and have a diamond-shaped cross section.
This past year has witnessed the recovery of several nice Eden points. The first point (Figure 1) is a 3.75-inch-long Eden made of Flattop Chalcedony. This point was found by Shane Skulvik in Logan County, Colorado. There is a bit more “base” on this particular point, and several have suggested that it may be a particularly well-made Scottsbluff point similar to several found at the Finley site where both Scottsbluff and Eden points were discovered together.
Figure 2. The 2.25-inch long Eden found by Grayson Westfall in Logan County, Colorado. It is made from Knife River Flint.
My son, Grayson, found a Knife River Flint Eden point (Figure 2) in Logan County, Colorado. Knife River Flint, a lithic fairly scarce in Colorado, seems to have been favored by the aboriginal peoples for making these points. This example shows a lot of reworking and is 2.25 inches in length in its present condition. This point was found on a gravel bar on our farm along with a Scottsbluff point, two Alberta points, and a Cody ultra-thin knife.
Figure 3. The 4.25-inch long Eden found by Steve Juranek in Sedgwick County, Colorado. It is made from Knife River Flint.
Another Knife River Flint Eden point (Figure 3) was found in July 2010 by Steve Juranek in Sedgwick County, Colorado. It is 4.25 inches in length.
Generally speaking, the base/stem of an Eden point has been “ground in” and may be barely discernible. There is some speculation that very narrow Eden points have been reworked from wider points, though Job Taylor disputes this assumption. Based on his observations and examinations, Eden points appear to have only been resharpened on their tips.
Having examined a fair number of Eden points myself, I would agree with Taylor’s assertion. Furthermore, I believe that the diamond-shaped cross section made for a sturdy point that did not experience significant breakage when impacting bone or other hard substances. Most impact fractures on Eden points which I have seen have allowed for relatively easy “re-tipping.” In some cases, the tips were broken, but by removing just a few small flakes on either side of the fracture, the knapper created a serviceable point again.
Figure 4. A grouping of Eden points in the author’s collection. Materials include Niobrara Jasper (far left and far right), agatized wood, Knife River Flint, and agatized wood. The large point at the bottom is made of translucent agatized wood. The largest point is 3.5 inches long, and the smallest is 1.75 inches. Some examples (left side) may be described as “Eden-flaked” Scottsbluff points.
It is my suspicion that Scottsbluff, Alberta, Eden, and Firstview points were used somewhat interchangeably by ancient peoples. Differences may reflect personal preference, or further research may lead to a clearer understanding of how each style was most effectively used.
by Bob Reeves Knoxville, Tennessee Central States Archaeological Societies, October 2010 Journal
Drilled greenstone Southern spatulate found along the French Broad River in Jefferson County, Tennessee. Shown in front, reverse, and profile views, the artifact features a tapered drilled hole and refined shaping typical of rare Mississippian ceremonial pieces associated with the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex.
Way back in November of 1966, I was surface hunting along the banks of the French Broad River in Jefferson County, Tennessee when I found what I then called a ceremonial celt. It was a tremendous find, the best artifact I had ever found at the time, and still is one of my best. It is made of greenstone and is 7” long, 3 1/2” at the widest point, 1 1/8” wide across the slightly rounded poll end, and 5/8” thick. It has an 11/16” diameter hole which tapers to 5/16” where it penetrates, and is 2 7/16” across the face at the center of the hole, and the top of the hole is 3” down from the top of the poll. It is complete and with only one very small modern ding on the poll, but the prehistoric craftsman did not quite finish polishing out all the peck marks, a few of which still remain. Regardless, this is truly a rare artifact and the slight imperfections are easily overlooked.
It was not until many years later that I learned that it is one of a group of artifacts referred to as a Drilled Greenstone Southern Spatulate and is thought to be associated with the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC, also known as the Southern Cult) dating from 1200 AD on into the early contact phase of the late Mississippian period in the southeastern United States. This particular artifact is impressive for two reasons. The first is that this type artifact is rare under any circumstances, and the second is that the area from which it was found has never produced many Mississippian artifacts.
I found this in a pile of dirt next to a hole that had been dug to make a duck blind. I did look around for more artifacts, but found none. Since this is not the normal Archaic or Woodland artifact found in this area, I should have dug around some to see if it had come from a later Mississippian burial or other feature, but did not realize what I had at the time. Near where this spatulate was found, about two hundred yards from the river’s edge, a mound once stood. The bottom land around the mound had been cultivated for about one hundred years and the mound had been slowly reduced to just a low rise above the surrounding level flood plain. Then in the mid 1940’s, the Tennessee Valley Authority built the Douglas Dam and flooded the site. During low levels of the lake back in the fifties and on until the late sixties, the mound could still be seen as the highest point in the silted flood plain, maybe eighteen inches higher than the surrounding area, but by the early seventies, all vestiges of it was gone and was soon forgotten. Few people today are even aware that it once existed.
During my research of this type artifact, I happened to come across an old archaeological site survey which sheds some light on my find. In February of 1972, Dr. Major C. R. McCollough, research assistant professor for the Department of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, conducted an archaeological survey of the area for the Tennessee Valley Authority who had proposed building a steam plant on the higher elevations above the site where the mound stood. Dr. McCollough noted mainly Woodland sites in the adjacent area of the proposed steam plant site, but there was one brief mention of some Mississippian cultural material. In his report he wrote “A ‘substructure’ (presumably Mississippian) mound (site 17Je9) and a stray find of a raptorial bird pendant were reported in the downstream end of the site.” He also mentioned “Cherokee types [of pottery shards] from the lower end of the site from an earlier site survey found by local collectors.”
That may explain this artifact being where I found it, but even with this explanation, I am left with several questions. I have talked to several local collectors who have hunted this area for years and few of them have any Mississippian artifacts other than a few pottery shards and a handful of small triangular points that might even be late Woodland types. Could that mound have actually been a Woodland structure and was misidentified? Why so few Mississippian culture artifacts from this area if the mound was indeed of Mississippian origin? Is it possible that the few artifacts that have been found were all left behind by one group of Mississippian Indians passing through the area? Possibly all of the artifacts were from one grave or cache that had been plowed out and scattered during the many years of cultivation prior to the lake being formed.
I’ll never know the answer to these questions, but the mysteries surrounding such finds is so intriguing that it will keep me hunting and collecting Indian artifacts as long as I am able to walk the fields and riverbanks.
by Mike Wayland San Jose, Illinois Central States Archaeological Journal July 2010
Figure 1: The Quadriconcave Gorget of banded slate. It is drilled from both sides and measures 3 3/16 inches long by 2 1/8 inches wide.
We all have a collecting story. I’d like to share several of mine.
I have collected artifacts since grade school. As of this writing, that was more than seventy years ago. It all started on a nighttime fishing outing with my father. We went fishing for catfish on the East Fork of the Lamoine River. We would fish a bend in the river and were always lucky. I carried a miner’s carbide lamp to light the way as we returned home around 10 PM. As we were walking, I spotted a small white object in the dark soil and picked it up – my first arrowhead!
The point was in a washout. The next morning I returned to the same spot and searched for more. In all, I found 16 notched bird points. I was hooked. I later took them all to school, only to have them stolen. But that didn’t stop me and throughout my life I have searched, collected, traded and acquired all sorts of artifacts. Many of these were from my friends and neighbors.
Figure 2: The Trapezoidal Pendant of slate showing two shades of color. It is 3¾ inches in length and 1 ¾ inches wide. Figure 3: The Bi-concave gorget of banded slate with the holes drilled from one side. It is 3 7/8 inches long and 2 ¾ inches wide. It’s holes are almost one inch apart.
As a younger man I loved to play baseball. It was always hot and humid in Illinois during the summer, especially where I lived in the town of Sheldon Grove. So I went to the local corner store to buy a coke. They were only a nickel then. I noticed while paying that in the cabinet at the register was a neat black stone artifact. It had thirty-five cents written on it. I had to have it right there and then. Ilearned later that it was a small adz. In 1978, I was walking the Zeke Schmidt farm. Looking down I noticed a dark form in the dirt. Bending over, I picked up an undamaged adz, and a fine one at that! Then ten years later, on the Crabtree Farm in the same county I found another fine adz, a large one made of a speckled granite.
In 1979 Douglas Wayland and Fred Aveny were hunting fields in McDonough County, Illinois. As the two of them walked across a field, Douglas picked up a fine Quadriconcave gorget. This Adena period artifact was made from a beautiful banded slate with a lighter colored area that meanders like a river on the bottom. This area is sided by a translucent brown colored material. Fred coaxed the gorget from Douglas, and I acquired it from him shortly after.
One day, Frey Aveny invited Marion Dixon,whose brother Don Dixon was the owner of Dickson Mounds, to come hunt the same site where earlier the Quadriconcave gorget had been found. It had been nearly a year since they found the gorget. Shortly after entering the field, Marion found a beautiful Bi-concave gorget. I begged him over and over to let me have it, and he finally relented. I now had two artifacts from the same site!
Ed Black farmed the land adjacent to the Mc-Donough Site, near present day Tennessee, Illinois. His neighbors often talked about his encounter with a timber rattlesnake in his farmhouse yard. One lucky day in 1980 he found a very fine and undamaged Trapezoidal Pendant. Since my father and Ed were High School friends, he allowed me to have it soon after he found it.
Bottom Image Group (Adzes) Upper Left: Adz from the Walt Crabtree Farm, Tazewell County, Illinois. Found in 1988. Reverse round, obverse flat, slightly longer than 6 ½ inches. Upper Right: Similar adz from Zeke Schmidt farm, Tazewell County, Illinois. Found in 1978. Reverse side round, obverse flat. 4 ¼ inches long. Lower Right: Adz from Sheldon Grove, Illinois, Schuyler County, Illinois. Acquired 1951. 3 5/8 inches long, by 2 ¼ inches wide. Reverse side round, obverse side slightly cupped. Photo Credit: Mike Karr
Every time I look at an artifact in my collection, the memory of how I acquired it comes to mind. I’m sure that’s true of every collector.
I’ll be willing to bet that most of you have never heard of this word or have a clue what it means, manuport. From Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia we find that: In archaeology and anthropology, a manuport is a natural object which has been moved from its original context by human agency but otherwise remains unmodified. The word derives from the Latin words manus, meaning “hand,” and portare, meaning “to carry.” Examples include seashells found inland or water-rolled pebbles away from any river.
On most sites that we hunt for Indian relics, there are probably many stones brought in by the Indians and used for some purpose that did not require them to be modified in any way. Heavy stones to hold down a shelter’s sides, stones to line a cooking pit, stones for hammering, and so on. The problem with manuports is that they cannot be differentiated from any other naturally occurring stones in the area. Occasionally a stone of an unusual material, or one not common to the area you are hunting, may be encountered and these could possibly be manuports. Yet there are certain unmodified stones that can be identified as manuports due to their arrangement and association with other artifacts. Here in the east, slabs for stone box graves would be one, and I have read that years ago in the western states, circles of stones could still be found on camp sites indicating where tepees had been erected. We also find clusters of fire-broken rock indicating fire pits, which are stones that have been modified from their original shape after being brought to the site, but not intentionally by man, even though he made the fire that caused them to break.
There are other items that I have found on sites that I am quite sure are true manuports. Over the years of hunting relics, I have found several dozen quartz crystals on Indian sites far from any area where these crystals naturally occur. I am certain that the Indians discovered them while out and about, and intentionally brought them back to the camp because they thought they were special or just pretty. I have also found unworked lumps of hematite on sites where this material does not naturally occur. On almost every site where I have found these unworked lumps, I have found others that have been ground on one or more sides to make red ocher.
One last type of manuport that I have found on sites is nodules of flint, usually Knox flint. These were picked up in the gravel beds in nearby streams and brought back to be knapped into projectile points and tools at a later time.
Up along the Tennessee–Kentucky border there are places where fossil crinoid stems can be found. These are usually in masses embedded in rock and look like a fossilized pizza, but by searching around these outcrops, individual sections that look a lot like stone beads can be found. I have found these small round bead-looking fossils on Indian sites miles from these outcrops and suspect that the Indians may have utilized them as beads or other adornment articles.
So the next time you are out at one of your favorite sites and not finding much, look around at all the stones lying about. Try to picture which ones may have been carried there by some ancient Indian to be utilized just as they are. You might be surprised at all the manuports you never noticed before!
The summer of 2010 was a good one in terms of artifact collecting. The South Platte River flooded, and as the waters receded, many quality artifacts were found. One of the most interesting was found by my friend and hunting partner, Steve Juranek. We were canoeing a stretch of the river in Logan County, Colorado, in early July. Steve and my son, Grayson, were in one canoe, and my wife, Myra and I, were in the other.
Above: The 5¼-inch-long Neosho knife mentioned in the article, pictured near full size. It is made of Niobrara jasper, named after the Niobrara River, which flows from Wyoming through Nebraska and into the Missouri River. This quartz-based material is often opaque, unusually colorful, and was a highly valued trade stone during late prehistoric and protohistoric times. Collection of the author.
The river split and each canoe went down a different channel. Just above the eventual confluence, my wife and I found a great gravel bar, and within minutes had three very nice points secured. When Steve and Grayson finally caught up with us, we called them to come and see our finds “in situ,” as we had placed sticks in the gravel while we awaited their arrival.
Grayson hollered out across the river saying, “Steve found an incredible knife.” Moments later, we were staring in awe at Steve’s find. It is in the shape of an eastern “Turkey-tail” knife, but those aren’t found in Colorado. This piece is 5¼ inches in length and is made of chocolate Niobrara jasper. The reverse side of the knife is yellow in color. Niobrara is a very tabular stone, and it appears that the knapper took great care to create a two-toned knife. Although not exactly a “first-stage” knife, this particular piece was not resharpened many times and retains a robust profile.
After some discussion, it was determined that this was probably a Neosho knife. Dr. Robert Bell first named this knife form for the very late prehistoric Neosho focus of the Fulton aspect in northeast Oklahoma, hence the resulting nomenclature. In Kansas they are called “SEKan Knives” (Central Kansas knives), and are also very late prehistoric to protohistoric. The protohistoric Wichita, Osage, and Kiowa-Apache (Wheeler complex) also made knives like these, or at least traded for them.
Jim Cox, a well-known collector in Oklahoma, found a cache of these in western Oklahoma years ago. This cache was written up in the Plains Anthropologist a few years back as the “Yellow Creek Cache.” It was surmised to have been left by a group of Wichita bison hunters on horseback in the early 1700s.
This knife was gifted to my wife and me as a Christmas present this past Christmas, and is my all-time favorite artifact.
January 2014 Central States Archaeological Journal
Bottle bannerstone made from yellow/red quartzite found by Jay Herrera in a farm field near the St. Francis River in Marked Tree in Poinsett County, Arkansas.
A few weeks ago, after a day of work, my wife and I sat down to watch a movie I had taped when the telephone rang. A voice I didn’t recognize asked me if I was the fellow who had the Terry Mashburn bottle. He was referring to a 3 1/2 inch green bottle bannerstone I had purchased in 1990 that had been found by a fellow of that name. The caller introduced himself and said that he and Terry had been relic-hunting buddies for many years, and he wondered if I still had Terry’s bottle and if I still collected bottle bannerstones.
I think my heart skipped when I figured out where this conversation might be going.
I said yes to both questions, and the fellow, Mike Morse, went on to tell me that he had with him a fellow who had found another bottle, this one a yellow quartz example, and he wondered if I might be interested in it as the young man wanted to sell it and Morse did not buy relics.
The finder, Jay Herrera, got on the line and told me he had found the yellow bottle while looking for arrowheads in a farm field near the St. Francis River in Marked Tree in Poinsett County, Arkansas, two Wednesdays previous.
I told him I was interested and asked him to put Morse back on the line. I asked if he could send pictures over the internet and he said his wife would send some. He called back shortly and I ran upstairs to see the images. There were two images of a yellow bottle with a red streak across the middle. The piece had a slight crack running from the lip down one side for about an inch. It was very highly developed, probably the most highly developed bottle I had ever seen. It appeared to be genuine. It was obviously one of the photos that the piece was made of translucent quartz. The piece had the little nuances that the fakers haven’t yet copied, thank God.
I immediately called back, but the young man had already headed home with his find. I then asked Morse, a man I had never met, a personal question. Did he have a checking account? He said he did and I told him that while I knew this whole thing was a little crazy, I wondered if he might get up with Herrera and write him a check for the thousands of dollars he wanted for the banner. I told him I would take the banner with no strings attached, that I was relying on his judgment. Besides, I had seen the pictures and while they were certainly not fool-proof, the piece looked genuine.
Without hesitation he said he would pay the young man for me. I arranged to have my own check sent to Morse by overnight express and he then called Herrera and said he had his money and to bring the bottle back.
We exchanged calls the next day, and I mentioned that while I did not know the finder of the bottle or the fellow who was buying it for me, that I felt good about the whole thing and he said he did too, although his wife had wondered about buying the piece for someone they had never met. He said there was a fellowship among relic people that he had learned to trust over the years. The people he knows who collect relics are people of integrity, he said. And I agreed.
So I now own a beautiful, five thousand-year-old yellow quartz bottle purchased from a man I did not know, the deal facilitated by a couple whom I had not met, in a deal that spanned thousands of dollars, a thousand or more miles and only a few days. Quite remarkable, this age of technology. I went back and watched the rest of my movie.
The Macoupin County Axe – Exceptional Prehistoric Stone Axe from Illinois
The Illinois State Archaeological Society is proud to submit this superior axe for the cover of this Central States Archaeological Journal. Having been born and raised in Macoupin County, Illinois, I am honored to pay tribute to this work of art by writing this article.
Depending on which type of axe one favors and who is doing the judging, it is fair to say that this axe is either the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd finest Native American axe ever found in the continental United States. It is certainly, to the best of my knowledge, the best axe ever found in the state of Illinois. This top-quality, three-quarter-grooved axe was made from fine-grained granite. It has a prominent ridge just below the groove, which is indicative of prehistoric resharpening. It is 10 inches long and weighs 9 1/2 pounds. The photographs on the cover attest to its symmetry and fine lines. The surface of the axe has excellent overall polish. Axes of this type date from the Middle Archaic to the Early Woodland Culture.
We do not know who originally found the axe, but we are fortunate to have the modern history of its ownership. This outstanding artifact has been well documented. It was first reported to have been in the collection of Edward Payne. Later it was in the collection of Richard Meyer. B.W. Stephens acquired the axe for his second collection in 1958. Mr. Meyer exchanged it, along with two other axes, for three bannerstones. After Stephens’ death, Gene Johns sold the Stephens’ collection and arranged for interested collectors to view the collection prior to the sale. Bob Jenkins was the next owner of record. The record shows that with only forty-five minutes to make his selection before the next collector was due to arrive, Mr. Jenkins bought the axe. Since Mr. Jenkins preferred pocket axes, it was not one of his favorite pieces. The current owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, arrived at Mr. Jenkins’ home shortly after he arrived home with this axe and obtained it from him at that time.
We are pleased to share this wonderful artifact and its modern history with the members of the Central States Archaeological Societies. Illinois is proud to have it represent our state on the cover of the Central States Archaeological Journal July 1998
October 2015 Central States Archaeological Journal
The finds from Day One laid out in 1996. The long blade in the center measures 8 inches in length.
Keith Bailey holding a large prehistoric flint blade immediately after uncovering it from the Turkey Tail blade cache discovered in a freshly plowed field near the Salt River in Spencer County Kentucky in 1996.
Day One: Monday April 29th
In late April 1996 a friend of mine invited me to go with him to the mountains of eastern Kentucky. It was an annual event for him to spend the weekend before the Kentucky Derby, camping at a rock shelter and digging for Indian artifacts. I was so excited to go that I could hardly sleep that night. I had never dug for artifacts before. Ever since I was a young boy, I had only walked and surface hunted plowed fields. We spent the weekend in a large rock shelter that could have easily held fifty people. It had been dug many times over the years. I did not know much about digging but I could tell that this site had been pretty much cleaned out. There was no other choice but to get at it, so we set up camp and started digging and sifting dirt. After three days of back-breaking work we were rewarded with a couple of small triangle points and a few broken points.
I returned home Sunday evening worn out and disappointed. I could have found more in a few hours walking one of my favorite fields. As I dozed off to sleep that night, little did I know that the next three days were going to be the fulfillment of every arrowhead hunter’s dreams.
I awoke early Monday morning to the crash of thunder and the flash of lightning. Violent thunderstorms had rolled through the area that night and they lasted into the early morning. I grabbed my pack and headed out the door determined to find a few nice points to make up for the lack of success of the weekend. I drove out to the Salt River and began surveying fields to decide which one would be the most promising. As I rounded the curve it came into view, a field I had always wanted to hunt but it had never been plowed before now. It was perfect, with a small tributary creek at one end, along with a high terrace that ran parallel to the river. Not only was it freshly plowed, but for that year’s tobacco crop it had been deep plowed.
Due to flash flooding of the creek, I had to park about a half mile from the field because crossing the creek was not an option. There was still a light rain falling as I started my hike to the field. About a quarter of the way there I came to a small stream that was now flowing out of its banks. It looked to be only a few feet deep and nothing was going to keep me from being the first one to hunt this field! So I started across the stream and quickly found myself chest deep in a cold rushing current. I began to second guess my decision knowing I would have to recross it on the way back, but my passion overrode my good sense. I kept myself going by repeating “no risk no reward” as I was almost swept away by the current. After reaching the other bank and a grueling walk I finally approached the field, muddy, soaking wet and cold.
As I began to slowly and methodically search it, I forgot about everything I had gone through to get here. Flint chips littered the ground and were glistening from the rain. But after about an hour of hunting all I had found was a few broken points. How could this be? I had such high hopes and the field conditions were perfect. After all the hard work and danger and now I had practically nothing to show for it. I guess that’s why it is called arrowhead hunting and not arrowhead finding.
At the time I was attending college and had four papers as well as four finals to take that week. So I decided to walk the high terrace before I gave up and went home. The further I got from the end of the field where the creek was, the less I saw flint chips, but I continued on. About halfway down the high terrace I saw something big and black lying ahead of me. At first I thought it was a piece of plastic the river had washed up. It was only until I got within a few feet of it that I realized it was a perfect nearly nine inch long Turkey Tail blade.
I bent down to pick it up and that’s when I noticed two more blades a couple of feet away, one being an eight inch blade broken in half! At that moment I knew there was a cache of blades buried somewhere under my feet. I got out my knife and began to probe the ground. After only a few minutes I heard the sound of steel striking flint. “CHING.” The knife was left stuck in the ground to mark the exact spot and I began to dig with my bare hands. The edge of the first blade came into view. As I continued to remove dirt the whole cache was exposed. The blades were lying edgeways, as the plow had lifted them up and turned the whole pocket sideways scattering three of the blades onto the surface.
I could not believe my eyes as I was looking at a cache of perfect paper-thin Turkey Tail blades made from a beautiful material. After digging them all out I remained on my knees for a few moments and gave thanks to the “Spirits of the Woods” for guiding me to this spot and made an offering of tobacco. With the spot marked I began searching the area for more.
My diligence paid off. A few yards away I found a stripped Motley point. Then I walked all the way to the end of the terrace but did not find anything else. Satisfied that everything was found I wrapped up the points, put them in my pack and headed across the field.
Near the other edge of the field I began to find flint chips scattered all over. I searched over and was rewarded with a perfect three-and-a-half inch serrated Kirk point.
That night I sat at my table writing my papers for school, but concentrating on my work was almost impossible. Especially with all of the points washed clean and laid out in front of me. Somehow I managed to complete my work which was not easy with thoughts of what had been my most successful day of arrowhead hunting swirling in my head along with thinking about what I might find tomorrow.
Day Two: Tuesday April 30th
Second Turkey Tail blade cache from the Bailey Site in Spencer County Kentucky discovered April 30, 1996, showing numerous large flint blades arranged on the floor after excavation.
With all the school work I didn’t get much sleep and morning came too early. But I was too excited to be tired, so I gathered my supplies and tools for the day which included a pack, a knife and a steel rod to use as a probe.
I finally arrived and parked at the same spot as the day before and was relieved to see that the flood waters had receded so there were no worries about drowning today. The sun was shining with not a cloud in the bright blue sky. The trees were starting to bud and the birds were singing — essentially a beautiful Kentucky spring day.
I made my way straight to the spot I had marked the day before and began to try my hand at probing with a steel rod. After about ten minutes I heard that now familiar sound of steel hitting flint and could also feel the vibration traveling up the rod and into my hands. I left the rod in place as a guide and started digging with my knife and bare hands.
When I got a little below the plow zone (about fifteen inches deep) I saw gray flint. I quickly opened up the narrow hole and cleared as much dirt away as I could. I saw three Turkey Tail points lying flat side by side. Their tips were pointing due east and their tails pointing west. I pulled them out and stabbed them into the ground. I began removing some more dirt and there was another layer of points. These were pointed tips north and tails south.
Arrowhead hunter Keith Bailey kneeling beside the excavation area where multiple prehistoric Turkey Tail blade caches were uncovered in Spencer County Kentucky in 1996.
Excavated area in the plowed field where the caches were discovered.
As I repeated the process I uncovered layer after layer alternating in axis until I reached the bottom. When I was satisfied that the hole was cleaned completely out I stood up and looked down. I counted seventeen blades sticking in the ground in a circle around the hole.
Obviously I had found another cache, only this time they were still buried and undisturbed in the original post hole that the toolmaker had buried them in so many centuries ago. It was a sight I will never forget as long as I live — that ring of blades in the dirt.
There are three broken blades and all were in one layer together in the middle of the cache. My best guess is they were ceremonially “killed” or broken by the maker.
When I returned home that evening I took both days finds over to my friend’s house to show him what he had missed by not going with me on Monday morning. The look on his face was priceless. He suggested that I take a shovel with me the next time I dig the area out. That was some good advice that would pay off on Wednesday.
Day Three: Wednesday May 1st
I set out this morning to give the field one more try and to make sure that I had not missed anything. Could lightning really strike three times in a row? I was about to find out.
Remembering my friend’s advice from the night before I headed back to my personal “Field of Dreams” with my usual tools plus a shovel.
I arrived at the site and laid it out in a grid and began methodically probing the area. The dirt was now dry so I could easily see all the little probe holes in the ground that I had searched. About half of the area was now thoroughly covered with little holes, but I kept working hoping that luck would be with me once again.
Now for the third time I heard that familiar and unmistakable sound of flint and steel. I dug down and found another cache of four Turkey Tail blades. I was three for three — what a great feeling. I continued probing until the entire area was covered but found no more.
It was time to change strategies. I got out my shovel and began to cut a trench through the center of the area. It was not long before my efforts paid off again. Everyone who hunts arrowheads has found a broken point, and from the color of the flint you can tell if it’s freshly broken or if it happened prehistorically.
Usually the other half is there somewhere but hardly ever is. But on this rare occasion I found the other half of the largest blade I found on Day One. That find really got the adrenaline flowing and the dirt began to fly.
Before long I was standing in an excavated area roughly twelve by twelve feet and two feet deep. I cleaned the hole out and probed it to make sure there were no more caches buried off to the side. While I did find two small Woodland period stem points, they were random finds and not associated with any of the caches.
The Kentucky Archaeological Site Survey form showing the Spencer County site number (15SP) and the naming of the Bailey Site after the finder. Ribbon awarded for “Find of the Year” at the 1996 Elizabethtown Show.
The author holding the largest blade from the cache at the Elizabethtown Show in May 2015.
Everyone dreams of finding a cache of blades and after many years of hunting that dream finally came true for me in the spring of 1996. But to find three of them, three days in a row, is almost unbelievable to me even to this day.
As a Kentuckian, which is the land of thoroughbred horse racing, the best analogy would be like owning a race horse that did the almost impossible feat of winning the Triple Crown — the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.
My advice for anyone is if you find a large blade or preform blank, you had better mark the spot and come back with a probe. And maybe you will get lucky like me and find your own Field of Dreams.
Five blades from the cache. The center blade (broken) measures 8 inches in length.
Epilogue
At the time I was working for the University of Louisville in the archaeology department. When I came to work that Thursday afternoon I told the staff archaeologist about my discovery. He suggested that I bring them all in and document them. We filled out the site survey form and filed a copy with the Office of Kentucky State Archaeology.
He told me it was customary to name the site and after careful deliberation I decided to name it after myself so it will always be known as the Bailey Site.
We also discussed how and why the caches were buried there and in such close proximity to each other. We decided it was one of two possibilities.
It was a burial site. However, no human remains were found which was possibly due to the site being in a floodplain where bones would deteriorate over time.
The area was the floor of the toolmaker’s hut. The blades were made somewhere nearby and buried for future use. If the hut washed away in a flood the maker may never have returned to retrieve them.
Both of us agreed the second explanation seemed the most plausible.
A couple of weeks later when the Elizabethtown Kentucky show was approaching I called to reserve a table so I could display them. I told the Chapter President the whole story and he made sure I had a table.
That year was the first time they ever awarded a ribbon for “Find of the Year” at the show.
