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[Beagle]

Are you free to take photos?

Yes. And I'll take all I can. There are restrictions on what I can do with them though. I can't publish anything for instance. So I'll doublecheck but I'm sure I can post some things here in the forum.

Yep, that would be pretty neat.

[Charlie Hatchett]

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[Cognito]

That striped one that Cogs sent was something, eh Charlie?

Yes sir.
Beautiful material...very unique.
I've certainly found nothing like it.

That particular artifact is more impressive when viewed in person. I really had the feeling that the maker chose the material for its beauty and then made a paleo point out of it.

[Minimalist]

There's a cathedral in Siena, Italy made out of layers of striped marble.

That's impressive as all hell, too.

[Cognito]

The following is a continuation of some unusual artifacts that I recovered recently from 20 meters above the ancient Lake Manix shoreline. All pictures are courtesy of Charlie Hatchett:

Artifact #5:

This is a scraper with a concave area just over the white, discolored material in the stone (chalcedony includsion?), perfect for grabbing with the thumb for better working control:


Artifact #6:

This appears to be an attempt at a small (about 1-1/2 inch) bifacial paleo point, fashioned from carnelian and showing smooth wear from age:


Artifact #7:

This is a small scraper with a thumb notch concave indentation allowing for a better than average grip.


Artifact #8:

Another scraper, but this time an end scraper possibly used to deflesh a bone or scrape the bark from a branch.


Artifact #9:

This is a small paleo point (about an inch in length) that was either used a microblade scraper or end point on a shaft. Notice the notched concave indentation at the base for potential hafting.


Artifact #10:

This item is a shaft scraper that would have been used to smooth the finish on a narrow, straight piece of wood, etc. A small break on the scraping half-circle probably resulted in it being discarded.


Artifact #11:

It is difficult to see on this unifacial blade, but it was pressure flaked multiple times along the cutting edge at the top. Pressure flaked tools are rare in the Lake Manix area.

[Charlie Hatchett]

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[Cognito]

Charlie Hatchett has been nice enough to photograph some of the surface artifacts I collected recently just up from the shoreline of Lake Manix, five miles east of the Calico Early Man Site. The site manager, Fred Budinger, has stated that surface lithics in this area date prior to 16,000bce when Lake Manix suddenly drained due to water over-topping its outlet with the resulting incision creating Afton Canyon. In other words, these are likely pre-Clovis artifacts. In this area they are referred to a Paleo-Indian artifacts.

Artifact #12:

This item is a scraper/knife that may not look like much at first glance, but it is highly unusual due to obvious wear from use. Pictured is the lower side of the scraper which has been worn to a smooth, glasslike surface from continuous use. The material is petrified palm root (Mohs hardness 7.0), harder than steel. It took someone a very long time to smooth the bottom of that artifact.


Artifact #13:

This is a small scraper with a thumb hold flaked onto the top for a better grip. The material is an obsidian import. The nearest obsidian material being just over 20 miles away.


Artifact #14:

This appears to be a broken pendant that was carved from jasper. The groove along the edge was carved into the stone on both sides.


Artifact #15:

This is an interesting piece and I'm really not sure what it represents. The rock is volcanic and was split down the middle post-use. The circular area is worn smooth from friction with a small cavity at the bottom. Anyone seen anything like this? A portable fire starter?


Artifact #16:

The material here is in question ... possibly a petrified animal bone. However, this is a cuboid hammerstone. Charlie apparently has seen a few of these in Texas also. It is about 8 inches long and shows characteristc pock marks from striking.


I would like to thank those brave enough to suffer through my explanations. Charlie and I believe that the more we post on the Internet, the more readily people will understand that Clovis was not first in the Americas. The artifacts I am retrieving are given a minimum age of 18-20,000bp while some of them could be far older. I only collect what is on the surface since I am not allowed to dig ... yet.

[Minimalist]

Charlie and I were marvelling over Exhibit #14.

It implies a degree of "leisure time" to be able to work on a decorative item which is not "subsistence related."

[Cognito]

Charlie and I were marvelling over Exhibit #14. It implies a degree of "leisure time" to be able to work on a decorative item which is not "subsistence related."

Interesting, isn't it? Due to a lack of evidence those archaeologists who paint a picture of the Pleistocene could be totally wrong and there is no way to prove it ... yet. Not driving a BMW doesn't make you primitive. These people were clever and intelligent.

[Minimalist]

Exactly.

We are always given the line that cave painting was ritual-related to hunting and such but it is certainly hard to see how a piece of personal jewelry could be anything other than personal adornment. Even stringing sea shells into a necklace implies that there was no more pressing task to be done while sitting around the fire (hopefully) out of predator range.

[Bruce]

#15 looks like a map. Have you tried matching some coastlines to the
small circle? Looks like there might be some depictions of boats too.

[Cognito]

#15 looks like a map. Have you tried matching some coastlines to the small circle? Looks like there might be some depictions of boats too.

Bruce, I really never looked at it that way. Charlie Hatchett currently has the artifact and maybe he could take a closer look at it. These people lived on the shoreline of an 88 sqare mile lake with a few islands in the middle of it. If it was me, I would set up camp on an island for my overnight stays and only wander around the mainland during the day in groups since the predators included dier wolves, sabre-tooth cats, and other nasty critters. There was plenty of wood and materials to build rafts at the time.

[Charlie Hatchett]

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[Charlie Hatchett]

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[Charlie Hatchett]

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