My grandmother gave it to me about a year back. She had a native American great grand mother with incredible longevity for the time, who I assume gave it to her.
I've never had it appraised. Anyone know how old it is?
My grandma was Blackfoot Indian. Or some other native that inhabited the Mississippi region.
>Sorry, I'm shit at taking pictures.
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blm.gov
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Arrowhead. Do NOT take it to get appraised. It will be seized.
Not, OP but would it really get seized? wtf why?
It's illegal to take arrowheads, pottery shards, etc. from where you found them in the U.S. for archeological and tribal reasons. I'm not kidding. It's a hefty fucking fine too.
It's been passed down in my family since my great, great, great grandmother and possibly before then.
It wasn't taken from some archeological dig.
>from where you found them in the U.S.
Even if they are handed down from generation?
Dam, that's a shame. So if you find anything in your back yard, better keep it a secret?
>It wasn't taken from some archeological dig.
You may have a hard time proving that and they might just take it anyway.
Maybe get it appraised outside the country?
I'll just keep it in my family. I wasn't planning on selling it, it means alot to me since my grandmother gave it to me.
I also don't think I'll have a hard time proving it, I'll just take my grandmother with me, she looks and genetically is native american.
Doesn't matter. Unless you can absolutely prove that, the government will seize it and fine the shit out of you.
>So if you find anything in your back yard, better keep it a secret
Yes, unless you want to lease and allow archeological digs. I live in Colorado, so I find arrowheads and pottery shards all the fucking time. It's a common nuisance here. Usually, you just chuck it back into the grass and don't say anything.
Also while this is BLM New Mexico, the law is federal:
>The theft, disturbance, or vandalism of archaeological resources is against the law including the surface collection of arrowheads or pottery shards. These illegal activities lead to the loss of important artifacts and can destroy the scientific information that could be helpful in analyzing the culture of the people who lived at the site
The same goes for fossils too.
blm.gov
Again: They do not care.
Makes sense, but holy shit American govt really has no faith in it's peoples.
>so I find arrowheads and pottery shards all the fucking time.
I've actually wanted to travel to colorado for this exact reason, what do you think my chances are of finding anything/where is the 'best' place to start? It would be hard getting this stuff through airport security though wouldn't it?
It's just a fucking arrowhead.
Not since November of 1963.
I know but I was hoping someone could tell me what time period it is from.
Start in the Four Corners. Somewhere around Canyon of the Ancients/Hovenweep Monument. You're pretty much guaranteed to find something because of how many natives were in the area and it's technically on the Navajo Nation so your chances of actually finding a government official are slim to nil. If you DO see one they don't even stop as long as they don't catch you off trail.
>It would be hard getting this stuff through airport security though wouldn't it
Not really. Stuff it deep in your non-carryon or keep it on your person. It's not gonna set off a metal detector or anything.
Honestly, it could be anywhere from 500 BC to somewhere in the 18th century.
Fucking awesome, cheers bro.
>If you DO see one they don't even stop as long as they don't catch you off trail.
So are there trails inside the reservation? Are you not alowed to stray from the paths? Have you heard of any cases of foreigners getting in trouble for going off the track?
Surely there would be some leniency?
September 1883 to June 1884.
Why do you say that?
I'm good with numbers.
>So are there trails inside the reservation
Yes, the two I mentioned. They're really only locally known as well, so you don't have to worry about other tourists really.
>Are you not alowed to stray from the paths
Technically no, especially in Hovenweep because it is an archeological and tribal heritage site
>Have you heard of any cases of foreigners getting in trouble for going off the track?
I've never heard of anyone getting in any trouble at all. I have been stopped personally by BLM rangers for going off the trail at Hovenweep and got lectured by them but they didn't do anything.
>Surely there would be some leniency
You could always pull a "No Habla" assuming you're not Anglo.
Also: If you come around here, you might as well hit up Mesa Verde and Monument Valley. Best beer around here is at Mainstreet Brewery, Cortez, aka Mesa Cerveza. Do NOT go on the rez at night. If you're near the rez and you feel like something is following you, do not turn around. Walk calmly toward your vehicle and GTFO. This is your first and only warning.
>Do NOT go on the rez at night. If you're near the rez and you feel like something is following you, do not turn around. Walk calmly toward your vehicle and GTFO. This is your first and only warning.
The fuck is this supposed to mean? Some uga booga boogy man shit?
Or are you saying the injuns will get him?
>Some uga booga boogy man shit?
>Or are you saying the injuns will get him?
Both. Crime is terrible on the rez, plus you have skin walkers. You can go all "not real" as much as you like, but I wouldn't test it.
Awesome man, thanks heaps for the info writing all this down for me future travels.
Definitely not going to a rez at night.
Last thing: If you do end up near Hovenweep or Canyon of the Ancients, don't go alone. It's quite literally in the middle of fucking nowhere. No cell service, no people, no anything. You'll probably get an eery feeling if you're not used to that kind of quiet, but don't worry too much about it. Just bring someone in case you get injured or something. You CAN find rattlesnakes and tarantulas out there, not often, but it's a real possibility so buddy up. Honestly, you can stick to the trail at Hovenweep and see awesome shit. Depending on how long you're in the area, you can make a full trip out of it. Head to Durango and take the old mining train to Silverton and back, head to Mesa Verde and see the ruins, head to Hovenweep and Canyon of the Ancients and see ruins up close plus no other tourists, head to Mexican Hat and Monument Valley and see all kinds of cool rock formations, head to Paige and see the Grand Canyon, end your trip in Flagstaff or Las Vegas depending on how far you want to go.
So is there anyway to determine the age of the arrowhead without knowing where it came from?
I could take more pics if necessary.
More pics.
>warpaths2peacepipes.com
>ezinearticles.com
>ehow.com
You also may need to supply some testimony about it from your grandmother, if you can. Seems like their arrow heads evolved definitive shapes over time so you should be able to get a good idea when it came from, assuming it's not too eroded.
1/2
2/2
>putting your fingers on porous material
Shiggy fucking diggy
Sorry, I'll wear gloves next time.
It's an ancient indian bottle-opener. Your grandma was an alcoholic and get shitfaced every night.
>NO GRANDMA! NO MORE FIREWATER!
Looks like it could be hard to tell as it's been worn and apparently arrowheads were quite often repurposed into other tools, you will probably have to get it appraised outside of your country if you want to actually find out or find someone you can trust.
Is correct you should wear gloves, the oil in your hands will damage it.
...
Thanks for the heads up.
What should I use as a container for it? I don't want to damage it.
Original glove guy here, the container in your OP is fine.
>What should I use as a container for it? I don't want to damage it.
I honestly have no clue, maybe in a jar. What you have it in already may be good enough. You will have to look into that yourself. Just be careful not to touch anything you may think as old with your bare hands.
Alright, good. I've placed it back on my mantle and I don't plan on moving it again anytime soon unless absolutely necessary.
My grandma was telling me someone offered her 200+ dollars for it.
>as old with your bare hands.
Or even anything you want to keep until it's old.
Alright, I'm going to pick up some gloves incase I ever have to touch it again.
What type should I get, latex?
Eh... that's high for a non-intact arrowhead, but it's in the right ballpark.
You don't necessarily need gloves. Clean cloth is fine.
This
>Clean cloth is fine.
You may want to give it a rub down before putting it away since you've touched it.
Better than the alternative.
I was on an archaeological dig in Spain. They've had entire sites picked clean by detectorists. It's really fucking shady, there are people in government passing on information and such about prospective sites and actually blocking real archaeologists from excavating. Shit's crazy.
It's stone, isn't it?
I highly doubt gloves will accomplish anything.
It's smooth stone, I'm not sure what type however.
By smooth I mean it's got a smooth texture, the surface has lots of dents in it though.
Their is no chance of the U.S. government seizing this from you, unless they can prove you took it from federal lands without permission, or from Native American lands.
Also, it is just a piece of rock and cannot be dated. There are thousands of people, some Natives and some white, in the U.S. If they start with the right rock and know what they are doing their stone tools cannot be told from one 10,000 years old. Google 'knapping associations'.
>'knapping associations'
Couldn't you carbon date it, if you were really serious about it anyway.
>Their is no chance of the U.S. government seizing this from you, unless they can prove you took it from federal lands without permission, or from Native American lands.
You are presumed to have stolen it and have to prove otherwise.
I thought it was innocent until proven guilty.
The type of rocks used for knapping have no organic carbon in them. They can only be dated by dating the earth strata in which they are found.
Fair enough, I have no clue how carbon dating works.
Not true. I have next to a river used by 5 species of salmon for spawning. Virtually the entire stretch of riverbank contains various stone tools for miles. The National Park Service is well aware of this and never makes any attempt to seize any artifacts brought into their station by tourists. they just identify them if they can and warn people to be sure not to pick them up if they are on federal land (which is posted).
You thought wrong.
have a field full of those things and they are fucking worthless. usually find a few every year and just give them away to kids and shit
Well a family artifact is a family artifact. As I stated previously I have no intent to sell it so it has no monetary value to me.
>arrowhead
I have $100 that says it's either a spearhead or part of a dart.
Well how old do you think it is?
No clue. Dating things like that to even a narrow range is generally extremely difficult because you can't use carbon dating and the craftsmanship is so simple and universal (ie. for the most part a spearhead is a spearhead is a fucking spearhead; tons of them were being made all the time and they were generally fairly crude so broad generalities like "region" are often about as good as it gets) that it could be from pretty much anywhere that that particular kind of stone was found and that knapping technique was used. Your best bet for identification would probably be someone who specializes in Amerindian stone tools; he'd look at the materials and the technique and compare it to similar examples from known time periods, regions and/or peoples if there are any distinguishing features.
Also, there's approximately a 0% chance of it getting taken away. If it was some other kind of artifact the chance would be much greater but nobody gives a damn about arrowheads unless they're looking to jam you up or you're collecting them without permission (even then they usually don't care if you pick one up here or there as long as you're not on a res or obviously hunting for them) and selling them.
It's just a flipping arrowhead, you can find them e z in little-trodden parts of the country. Nobody is that interested in them out side of state-ran treasure hunti--excuse me, archaeology. Not worth getting appraised, though you could do some research and find out what tribe made them like that.
If it was found on the ground, which it probably was, it's probably 150-250 years old.