Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer General Forum Native American Artifacts

I have often wondered... Fact: You can find Indian artifacts all over Alabama (other states too). Question: Why are artifacts are so distributed throughout the state on any given piece of property and, to an extent, fairly common? Were there "THAT" many Indians all over Alabama? Or, is it more of just a factor of an enormous time frame that over X number of years, artifacts got distributed all over our 67 counties? Or, a combination of both?

I know we have some professionals here that can shed light on this subject!

Maybe my aforementioned premise is incorrect but I have found Indian artifacts well away from any stream or river system and I look around at the topography and marvel. I think, "Man, they (Indians) were everywhere!" I always consider myself fortunate to put my hands on an artifact (point or whatever) and think: "I am the first man to touch this artifact since that Indian either lost it or an animal ran off with it in its body and died!" Finding an Indian artifact just makes my day.

BhamFred below... that's kinda what I think. After X number of years... artifacts can get distributed ALL OVER! The "time frame" is somewhat of a Wow Factor!

13,000 years of dropping/losing/throwing away artifacts means a LOT of stuff is out there.

Plus Alabama was a very attractive place for them to live. Game, water and temperate climate. A lot of them for 13,000 years.

I'd love to know the true number of Native Americans in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Mississippi given the number of waterways, amount of game animals and birds, and mast-plants that provided food. The Southeast had to be astounding with a plentiful bounty.

Clem, me too. Like I said... I have been miles away from any significant stream or topography that would induce Native American activity and found an artifact. Of course, I am well aware that topography changes over time.

I would imagine that the tornados that touched down on April 27 a few years ago would have been a game paradise with the Native Americans because of all the new growth because of downed trees and sunlight hitting the ground. Hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, beetles, etc... that opens up the forest canopy is all a part of Mother Nature's plan. Given that Native Americans could and would move to where available food is located may help to explain the vast distribution of evidence of Native American's scope of travel.

I thought that Columbus found America in 1492.

What we are seeing evidence of and I have recently demonstrated this.
Is that the American Southeast is one of only a few places on Earth where a large human population can sustain themselves through just hunting and gathering. It appears that there have been "Era's" throughout time where the South was consistently warmer and wetter than it is today. During those time periods of warm/wet human populations got large, more food was available. At the end of the Ice Age, roughly 10-11k years before present the South had one of the largest populations of people in the America's.
It wasn't until the people of South and Central America began domesticating crops and started farming that their populations got larger than what was here. (Roughly 6-7000 yrs ago)
Beginning around 13-1100 years ago people in the South began maize horticulture and their population got significantly larger, rather quickly.

There is a lot more to it than that. You can learn more for cheap by joining the Alabama Archaeological Society. http://www.alabamaarchaeology.org/

Ain't that the dang truth amazing how bad we have screwed this country up since then.

Best place I have found to get some artifacts is during the winter time at low water level on the banks of the TN river.

True, and especially with a little rake with strong tines and a collapsible shovel. The riverbank is fantastic.

I have found 20 plus points on my property and the neighbor found that many in two green fields. I believe there use to be a old hunting camp around the house.

I just get my cousins backhoe and start digging at the water line. dip the bucket in the water to wash the mud away.

The best places on the river are where a creek runs in, like the Paint Rock or Bluewater or whatever. Just dig around there pretty heavily and sift a bit, and sometimes you'll be surprised.

ya'll gonna make someone think thats ok and get them in trouble with TVA.

I could move so much more dirt like that, great idea. A track hoe with some small holes drilled in the bucket to release water and rinse the mud out would be perfect.

Use a sand flea rake

Really this ain't funny, Clorox stumps are funny, but this could get someone in a boat load of trouble....

I am going to start putting a disclaimer on my sig line that basically says not to trust anything I say.

Don't you read aldeer? The earth is only a little over a hundred years old. Any "history" before that is propaganda that is being taught to us by evil scientists.