Found! A Clear Quartz Point	by Terry Ravey,
Central States Archaeological Societies 2017 January Journal	Colorado

 

My wife Sheila and I live in the mountains of Colorado. I bought my 42 acres of land in the 1960s, and spent many years building my home, which is at 9,000 feet in elevation.

Just recently, my dad, Bill Ravey, a retired Air Force Colonel, who now has Alzheimer’s, was visiting. We went out walking, and I told him to be cautious. Nothing is really level on the property. At one point he stumbled, which caused me to look down. Just underneath the topsoil I saw what appeared to be a shiny object. I picked it up, and to my amazement it was a clear quartz crystal point (Figs. 1,2).

I had never seen anything quite like it, and took it to a rock and mineral show, showing it there to Larry Cunningham. He said it was made from quartz crystal of a high grade optical quality. He suggested I take it to the Loveland Stone Age Fair in September. Without his guidance and encouragement I most probably would have just put the point on a shelf as a curiosity. I was surprised that the point gained such attention at the Stone Age Fair. Those who viewed it said most probably it was a transitional piece, Late Paleo to Early Archaic in age and had Goshen characteristics.

Questions arise when I look at this point. How did it get here? I found it near what is known as Camel Rock, a very large rock that provides shelter from the wind. It also serves as a landmark. There is a cave on the north side of my property, several rock shelters, as well as an artesian water source. Pike’s Peak is visible to the east. There is always plenty of game available, much more than down on the open plains below. The elk migrate through here, the rivers are full of fish and you see deer all the time.

I have found other arrowheads on my property and I plan on continuing to look for artifacts and perhaps clues to what might have happened here more than 10,000 years before the land was mine.

Above: Figures 1,2. The clear quartz crystal point. It measures 1 ¾ inches in length and exhibits microflaking on both sides in a ripple
pattern. The point is completly translucent, as can be seen in Figure 1 on the left. The rock behind is visible through the point.