الجمعة، 2 أغسطس 2013

Collecting American Indian Artifacts Is A Hobby

By Cathy Mercer


American Indian artifacts are discovered by people who like to explore. It is relatively easy. Wherever populations of Native Americans lived in times long past, a stone tool or arrowhead may be discovered. Some are quite beautiful. It is possible to determine the design of a tool and imagine what it was used for.

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.

These artifacts can be identified by the material they are made of, stone for one example. Another identifiable feature is the shape. An arrowhead is relatively easy to identify. Certain tribes used their own unique designs. Lastly, the geographic location where the object was found tells which tribe it most likely belonged to.

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.

According to archaeologists, the Indian arrowhead is the most commonly found item. Examining the size and kind of stone used to make it will give you clues about what time period it came from. Shards of pottery are found although it is rare to find a bowl that is not broken. Only an expert eye can analyze the historic factors about a shard.

Another artifact is the ax. This and other early tools are made of slate, quartz, flint and other stone. There are axes from all time periods. The earliest confirmed ax makers were those who lived from the Paleolithic through the Mississippian period. These axes were mostly used as weapons.

The atlatl was used as a weapon to shoot darts or spears. It was also a hunting tool. It has a hook at one end of the shaft and a handle at the other. The hook was inserted into a hole at the end of a spear. A hunter would whip the atlatl forward. Compare the movement to an overhand serve by a tennis player. Every tribe utilized some version of the atlatl. This powerful weapon was eventually 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.

An arresting group of American Indian artifacts are dated back to the Ice age. There are rocks that appear to be sets in the same color. They have been shaped to stack one on top of the other much like a toy for a child. They were discovered in a river in Illinois. The collection includes animal figurines including mammoth, wooly rhinoceros and the Ice Age camel, which were alive during the Ice Age.




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