Finest artifact found in 15 years surface hunting	David Ramp,
Central States Archaeological Societies 2007 October Journal	Columbia City, Indiana

Several years ago, my good friend Richard Kranifleld, whom I met through the Little Turtle archaeological society of Whitley County, Indiana graciously allowed me to purchase the finest two artifacts he had discovered in fifteen years of hunting artifacts. After retiring from the Postal Service, he needed a hobby to keep himself active, so he took up hunting artifacts. Richard started doing field hunts on his own at age 65
and continued until he was 80 years old.

I’m sixty two and have slowed down a lot compared to when I hunted artifacts at 35 years of age. How did he do that?

On May 24th, 1993, Richard found the finest artifact he has yet to discover, a superb boatstone of gray and black banded slate, which he gave the number B-391. This fine artifact is of the type I would call triangular in cross section. I feel these are somewhat later in time than the curved top boatstones which are found more often. But then all boatstones are very scarce in their limited range of the Eastern United States. Triangular
boatstones might be from the Hopewell culture as they made some very fancy ones. The boatstone measures 3 1/2 inches in length, 1 inch in height and 1 3/16 inches in thickness. It is scooped approximately 1 inch by gouging. The base has some traces of Red Ochre. The boatstone was found on a terrace overlooking a kettle moraine about 1/2 acre in size near the Eel River in Cleveland Township, Whitley County, Indiana.

Collection of David & Josephine Ramp, Columbia City, Indiana