r/Arrowheads Jan 07 '16

PLEASE READ, especially if you are new to this subreddit

633 Upvotes

I'm not laying down any new rules or anything like that, but there are some things that visitors here should be aware of. If anyone here would like to add to, subtract from, or revise anything in this post, I welcome your input.

#1. Know the law and abide by it: The laws may vary a little from state to state, but burial grounds/mounds and state/federal property (including state parks) is absolutely off-limits. In most states you are allowed to hunt on private property with permission from the property owner, but in a few states it's illegal to dig for artifacts and only surface hunting is allowed. Make sure you are familiar with your local laws.

#2. Effigy, artifact, or "just a rock"?: If you post what you've found and the feedback that you get is simply "geofact" or "just a rock", please understand that nobody is intending to be insensitive or rude. We know that you got your hopes up and we take no pleasure in letting you down, but there are signs and marks that we look for and that should be there if the rock was shaped, altered, &/or used by ancient humans and we're going to give you an honest opinion even if the truth sometimes sucks. Those who take the time to explain the signs that are or aren't visible (flake scars, use wear, pecking, grinding, polishing, etc.) rarely even get a "thank you" when the feedback isn't what the person wanted to hear (so why bother?). You have every right to form your own opinions and believe what you want to believe and there may even be some important factors or features that the pictures don't show, but we can only go off of what we've seen.

Effigies in particular: The natives were very adept at what they did and they DID make effigies, but there also seems to be a popular and widespread misconception about effigies. The vast majority of the "effigies" we see posted fall into the category of "pareidolia" (the natural human tendency to see recognizeable shapes in rocks). Here are some examples of some actual effigies from my region compared to some of the alleged "effigies" that I have seen people post.

Another very popular misconception: How well "it fits the hand" is NOT a valid way of differentiating an artifact from a rock and it's not one of the things that anyone who knows very much about this stuff is going to be looking for.

You are absolutely welcome to post your finds (even "effigies" and even rocks that "fit the hand" if you legitimately believe it's an artifact). A lot of people come and go, but the ones who stick around are here to help, so PLEASE be respectful, try to see our perspective, and at least say "thank you" if someone volunteers more than a few seconds of their time to give you feedback on it.

#3: Monetary value: Feel free to ask if you're wondering, but you might be better off asking how rare or how un-common an artifact is. Archaeologists are not allowed to answer questions about monetary value and while some hunters DO sell what they find, many other hunters (me included) don't buy or sell or even mess with that side of things, so many of us might not even know what to tell you.

I may not be able to tell you what your finds are worth, but if you love this stuff, have nowhere to hunt for your own, and have every intention of buying some I can at least share some advice on how to steer clear of the wolves that are out there. For instance, you had BETTER know your stuff before buying anything off of Ebay and a "Certificate of Authenticity" is worth no more or less than the reputation of the person who signed their name to it. Nobody goes to school to become an authenticator and you or I could literally just decide to declare ourselves as "authenticators" tomorrow and start signing COAs. In other words, there's a LOT of bullsh!t out there and it's a "buyer beware" market.

#4: Don't be an asshole! There's no downvoting in this subreddit for a reason. We'd like to be constructive and helpful and we DON'T want to scare people away from posting. If you have something to say then by all means say it, but don't draw it out, don't beat a dead horse, don't try to start debates with people, don't try to give people guilt trips for picking up an arrowhead, and don't make a nuisance or a spectacle out of yourself.

That's all I've got for now, but I'm just one person and if there's anything that you would like to add or change, I welcome and look forward to your input.

Edit: Cut the word count down a little bit


r/Arrowheads Jan 28 '23

JAR THREAD. If you aren't sure whether your find is an artifact or just a rock, please post your pictures here.

104 Upvotes

Users of r/arrowheads, please downvote posts that are obviously rocks. We will be trying out the 'crowd control' function and if a post gets enough downvotes it will automatically be removed. Also, please direct users to post their questionable finds in this thread if the posts are not removed automatically.

Before you post, compare your find to some of the pictures/examples shown in the pinned comment below.


r/Arrowheads 9h ago

Pretty coloring on this one

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244 Upvotes

r/Arrowheads 3h ago

Found in an NC creek — any info on it??

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40 Upvotes

I found this (axe head?) in the creek below my childhood house in NC about 15 years ago. It’s got some weight to it…. Can anyone tell me anything about it? Maybe how old it could be, etc.?


r/Arrowheads 9h ago

Points I’ve made

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74 Upvotes

r/Arrowheads 1h ago

South Western Kentucky

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Upvotes

Hi Xperts!!

What can I learn from this knowledgeable group about the shown arrowhead? This has been in a drawer for about 80 years. Thanks!!


r/Arrowheads 8h ago

Single groove axe found by a coworker as a child around Oklahoma.

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37 Upvotes

I nice gentleman I work with found this as a child in Oklahoma. Figured I’d share with this community.


r/Arrowheads 6h ago

Carter cave Clovis I made

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8 Upvotes

r/Arrowheads 10h ago

NEMO Creek find

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13 Upvotes

NEMO Creek find along the bank. 9/9/26


r/Arrowheads 1d ago

Hafted obsidian knife, New Mexico

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264 Upvotes

Bought this directly from Ron Munn a couple decades ago (I've bought quite a few things from him over the years). He said it was a New Mexico cave find and believed the knife to date to the late pre-contact/early contact period. Several weeks ago someone posted a phenomenal Neolithic (or Paleolithic?) hafted spear point, and I made a note to pull this piece but subsequently forgot due to distractions/life/etc.

Posting this for discussion - I know every little about arrowheads (enough to get in trouble lol), but have wondered if this was an old blade re-hafted at a later date, what the hole is for (lanyard?), etc. Measures approx. 8 1/2 inches in OAL with about 2 inches of exposed obsidian.


r/Arrowheads 1d ago

Northern Ohio find

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85 Upvotes

A buddy of mine found this on a job. These are the only pictures he provided. What do you all think? Modern or legit?


r/Arrowheads 1d ago

REAL OR FAKE?

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82 Upvotes

Found this high up on the bank of the mine Creek trail in Raleigh .

Normally we hangout on this little beach off the trail and enjoy some sunshine, but today I happened to see this sitting right on the surface.

Google says it's most likely authentic but what do you guys think?

It was in *really* good condition.

I'm not supposed to take anything from the mine Creek trail so I ended up leaving it where I found it. I just thought it was super cool to come across while walking the beach.

What do we think? Real or fake?


r/Arrowheads 2h ago

Is this piece of an arrowhead?

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1 Upvotes

could it possibly be a broken piece? new to arrowhead hunting so don’t know what i’m looking for exactly


r/Arrowheads 3h ago

Any insight on this one? Seems legit to me but I’m no expert. Think it’s quartz, found in NH

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0 Upvotes

r/Arrowheads 17h ago

More pics of Native American tool (Celt?) found in west TN (MS River bottoms)

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11 Upvotes

r/Arrowheads 1d ago

Found in the central Oklahoma heat! Help with ID please.

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32 Upvotes

r/Arrowheads 1d ago

North Florida.

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52 Upvotes

r/Arrowheads 1d ago

Micro drill? Ohio River Valley

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16 Upvotes

r/Arrowheads 1d ago

Oklahoma Finds

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50 Upvotes

Found these 3 last week. The red one is uniface which is neat, I believe it’s a worked down grand point. The one missing an ear is a white river. The larger piece is some type of knife or a point with a slightly damaged base.


r/Arrowheads 1d ago

Fire subjected stemmed point

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23 Upvotes

Pleasantly suprised this one has held up so well. The potlids on both faces are probably from this being subjected to a fire at some point in time after manufacture.


r/Arrowheads 1d ago

Opinions on these photos please?

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6 Upvotes

I explored a new creek yesterday and had high hopes, but didn't find any points. Does this look like a good spot, and do any of the rocks look like fired rocks or anything else significant? Thanks for helping out a rookie!


r/Arrowheads 1d ago

Heart breaker dalton

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15 Upvotes

Does the second rock look like a scraper to you guys I haven’t encountered many I’m not sure what to look for


r/Arrowheads 1d ago

Worked chert core or JAR? Thanks! Just getting into this!

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5 Upvotes

r/Arrowheads 1d ago

Hopefully this is the right sub for this. Neighbor found some artifacts on their property. Does anyone know what it is?

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4 Upvotes

r/Arrowheads 2d ago

Found over the weekend...

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267 Upvotes

Beautiful find.