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Arrowheads

Anybody ever find any old Indian arrowheads here in Mass? I never have (here or anywhere). Would really like to find one.

Walk freshly plowed farm fields that are adjacent to rivers. Especially after a rain. Trouble is people have been searching the better spots for many years. Always focus on rivers and streams. That is where the camps were. And no I've never found one. Even though the areas around the base of tekoa mountain where I roamed as a kid are supposed to be prime spots to search. Good luck. Tekoa

Thank you. Maybe I'll find some this summer while I'm making my fortune panning for gold.

last year I discovered that there was a 'huge' paleo indian site near the confluence of the deerfield and connecticut rivers that was excavated by archeologists several years ago. they believe they've dated artifacts back to 10,000 BP. the theory is that it was a huge camp for intercepting ancient caribou along the river channel as the ice was receding.

I've been dying to get out there and 'poke around' along the river edges to see what can be found.

I posted a link with info on the period and some sites in new england.

here's a link to a youtube vid of the archeologist discussing it.

I've not... But Tekoa nailed it to me. The past few years, going for walks in Quabbin I've looked hard. I know of and have seen (actually, Bowtech Girl who used to be on here, and may lurk, her gramp in particular) some amazing collections of arrow heads found in the res by walking the water line - especially in low water years.

I looked as a younger person as well, but I've never found one. Sort of feels like a ton of them have been found... at least the easy to find ones.

Hicksticks link is awesome. I'd heard of that, but never really looked into it...

If you ever go to "Howe's Caverns" in NY State (fun day trip if you have kids), there is a "native american museum" like half a mile down the road - what an amazing collection of heads from different time frames and tribes they have! Worth a visit!

Another interesting Paleo Indian link (Vail site in Maine). http://asaa-persimmonpress.com/number_20_vail_habitation_and_kill_site_palaeo-american_behavior_band_size.html

I will say that I've read some things that paint the head of the ASAA (who is also the guy in my video link) in a not so positive light. taking credit for others finds, etc. one guy was insistent that they were focusing on too small a dig area at one site, and after badgering the head arch, finally got an agreement that he could dig another adjacent area, on his own time, and anything he found he could keep. he of course made a major find, and when then head arch found out and came flying into the site, hopped out of his vehicle and confiscated the find and kicked the digger off the site.

this is all from memory...so I could be off...

I know of many found along the Ware River in Palmer area.....Subdivision I put in back in the 80's, I had a group of Dirt People from Umass come in and they found a ton of them.....

just found this

That's super cool Hickstick!

I spent hours looking for arrowheads on my grandparents farm in PA when I was younger. As has been pointed out, this property had plowed fields with Penns' Creek winding through.

Tekoa, I have a camp on Aziscohos lake where the Vail site is located. That dig happened prior to us owning it but apparently they drained the lake for the dig etc. Very interesting.

Surfishermen up and down the Eastern coast find them after storms on the beach. I am a canal rat so I don’t find any.

I lived in central Texas for a long time when I was a kid, it seems like we were finding arrowheads on a weekly basis. My uncle Donald was super into all that stuff so we gave them to him, he still lives down there. He makes traditional native American clothing out rawhide, really intricate beeding, pretty cool. I keep meaning to have him make me a quiver. Those were the best days, when you could wander around in the fields and hills searching for whatever, jumping in the local swimming hole, that some one actually bothered to put a diving board in. Good stuff!

By shear luck I found this quartz arrowhead in Southern CT in 2012. It was right after hurricane Sandy went thru. I was hunting at the time and when walking to my stand in the dark, I saw this white rock on the crest of the walking trail. I walked past it and went to my stand. While on stand something kept me thinking about that white rock. As I was leaving I was planning on walking out a different trail but decided to check that rock out and sure glad I did. I will tell you that the quartz arrowhead it is still very sharp. I had a couple people look at it and offer me some significant cash for it but I will not part with it.

Wardens worry, Lucky guy having a camp on Aziscohos. That area is one of my stomping grounds when I head North. Love hunting in the College Grant accessing from Parmachenee rd. Many trips to Bosebuck under my belt. Tekoa

I found this spear point while striper fishing in a river near my cottage on Cape Cod. It was just laying on top of the sandy river bottom in about 6 inches of tidal water. It was the first time out in May of 2016 and had likely been uncovered by winter currents. It is too big to be an arrow point and looks as though it is a spear point that broke off the tip of a thrown spear. It is fun to think about who last owned that spear point. As soon as I brought it home, my second grade teaching wife added it to her impressive outdoor collection that she shares with her classes which includes a freakishly big whitetail shed, moose shed, and native American fire starter stone that I found in a river in Northern California while salmon fishing back in the '80s. She had a naturalist visit her class who got a serious case of "artifact envy" when her collection eclipsed his.

Wow these are some great examples. I am really not a history kind of guy, but I like “micro-history,” or something. The idea that hundreds of years ago some guy dropped something (like an arrowhead) right in the spot where I was standing—that would be pretty neat. From time to time I come across various stuff in the woods—like an old bucket or hunk of metal—and I like to imagine how it might have gotten there.

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