So I get an email from a friend who has a friend who found an unusual projectile point on the berm of the Newtown Ditch. It came with a blurry photo but it looked intriguing, it looked like the mid-section of a point with, what looked like incised designs. Naturally I needed to see it. The person who had this mysterious item was leaving town so we met the next day at the place where it was found.
Before looking at it I attempted to find some background and/or perspective to better understand it. I should mention that I located, recorded and evaluated archaeological sites on mostly public land for over 20 years. This kind of artifact sounded unique – I've never even heard of such a thing in our locale – that doesn’t mean they never existed. After all, it's the unusual or rare artifacts that are more likely to be collected. I have seen projectile points and basketry that were made by masters combining elegant technique and visionary symbolism, so I was looking forward to this. The artifact arrived protected in a plastic container cushioned with a paper napkin.
Here's what I saw. At first glance it appeared to be a small thin projectile point with the tip and base missing. The base is important because the notching pattern or method of affixing the point to the shaft is often diagnostic and provides a time frame. The artifact was bifacial with one side convex and smooth while the other side was almost flat with very thin striations At the margins were additional designs that simulated cross point stitches, or "Xs". I was curious about how such an intricate design could be etched on such a thin object. The material was dark gray but not basalt – I planned to show it to an archaeologist friend who is knowledgeable about geology. It seemed too fragile to be useful for hunting and the intricate design suggested that it may be "ceremonial" or possibly associated with "hunting magic."
We walked along the ditch berm to the place where the object was found. Realizing that the berm was created from the surrounding soils and would lack integrity of location we gave the area a close look anyway. Just below the ditch was a meadow on slightly sloping ground and I personally knew of two bedrock mortar locations less than 1/4 mile from here.
I called my archaeologist friend who happened to be in his office and told him that I'd be stopping by soon. Outside his office, before I left my truck, I took another, more critical look, and dared to gently bend it (?), knowing full-well that it could snap if I was too enthusiastic. Eureka! It bent – because it was rubber! Hilarious – we had evidence of mountain biking! Now I felt compelled to move the trickster's gift along. There were two archaeologists in the office when I showed up with the find. They were going for it too because in both my case and theirs it was presented as an artifact and we neglected to start at the beginning with "Is this an artifact." After some serious discussion, they both caught on at the same time and we had a deep laugh. We were also reminded how an innocent assumption can effect a line of reasoning and the value of healthy skepticism. Everyone associated with this event had a good laugh at themselves and hopefully had a small insight. We're all just a little happier and smarter too – what a gift.
An obsidian projectile point
Rattlesnake Creek / North Yuba
