Sunday, August 4, 2013

American Indian Artifacts Tell A Historic Story

American Indian Artifacts Tell A Historic Story



By Cathy Mercer





American Indian artifacts are relatively easy to find. If someone likes exploring, they can find them in river beds and when land is overturned by farming or construction. They lie wherever Native Americans lived long ago. There are arrowheads and stone tools, which are the items found most often. Some are beautiful, others are plain.



Explorers and collectors want to know more about the ancient people who used these artifacts. They are able to glance back in time and think about the culture of those who lived before our times. The average person cannot accurately identify these findings. It is possible to find books about them. Researchers have written many tomes on this topic.



The type of stone used to make them helps to identify the period. The shape is another identifiable fact. Arrowheads are rather easy to identify compared to other artifacts. Tribes tended to have their own unique way of making them. The place where one finds them is another indication of which tribe they were made by.



Upon close inspection, you will see that an arrowhead is notched or stemmed. This is another clue as to origin of maker. The many books written by archaeologists will help further identify the time period. A book written by a confirmed expert will provide the most accurate facts on the subject.



The most common item to retrieve is the Indian arrowhead. The type of stone it is made of and the size will indicate the time period it was made it. Pottery is seldom found intact. Shards of a bowl or container for water can be identified. But, it will take an expert to ascertain the history of a shard.



The ancient axes were made of materials such as slate, flint, quartz and many other kinds of stone. Axes were used in all periods of time. The first confirmed makers of axes lived during the Paleolithic age. They continued to make them through the Mississippian era and beyond. All axes were made to serve as weapons.



Another artifact, the atlatl, was also used as a weapon. It propelled darts and spears with incredible force. When hunting, it was hurled at the targeted prey by whipping it forward, similar to the way a tennis player makes an overhand shot. There was a handle at one end and a hook at the other. Hunters threaded the hook into a hole on a spear before throwing. This weapon was used by every tribe until it was replaced by the bow and arrow.



Each of the early Indian artifacts was made to serve a purpose. Some were plain. Others were made beautiful by polishing them. The polished ones were owned by tribal leaders and highly prized. There is a huge amount of information available about these ancient artifacts and the tribe members who used them.



Some especially interesting American Indian artifacts are from the Ice age. There are rocks that are thought to be sets because they are the same color and type of rock. These rocks are shaped to be stacked possibly to serve as a toy for children. These animal figures of the wooley rhinoceros, mammoth and Ice Age camels were found in a river in Illinois. These are all of animals which were alive during the Ice Age.









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American Indian Artifacts Tell A Historic Story American Indian Artifacts Tell A Historic Story



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American Indian Artifacts Tell A Historic Story



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