TIL a trick for spotting worked flint in plowed fields that actually worked for me.

I was walking a field in southern Indiana last fall, looking for artifacts. The ground was covered in a million similar looking stones. The problem was sorting the natural pieces from the ones people made. I tried focusing only on color for a while, but that got me nowhere. Then I remembered an old guy at a dig in Kentucky told me to look for the 'shine' on a fresh break. I started checking each piece for a specific, waxy looking surface where it had been chipped, not just a random crack. Found three decent scrapers in about an hour after that. It seems so simple, but it really cuts through the visual noise. Anyone have a different method for a quick field scan?

4 comments

4 Comments

nancyn691mo ago

Tried that shine trick once and found a nice point.

emma_flores1mo ago

Looking for shine just wastes time. You'll miss the good pieces that are weathered or stained.

elliot_gibson272d ago

You said "you'll miss the good pieces that are weathered or stained" and that's exactly what happened to me last spring. I was out in a dried up creek bed with a buddy who kept yelling for me to check out his shiny finds while I was picking up these dull, crusty looking rocks. Turned out three of them were actually nice chert points that had been sitting in water for so long they had this weird patina that made them look like trash. The whole idea that you need a reflection to find something is just a shortcut that makes you lazy. I'd rather take my time and look at the ground like a normal person.

avery_ross1mo ago

Yeah, that's a good point from emma_flores about weathered pieces. I've walked right past some good ones too.