My Find of a Lifetime	by Jeff Mayo
Central States Archaeological Societies 2021 July Journal	Grandview, Indiana

This is an excerpt from "My Find of a Lifetime". Read the complete column in the Central States Archaeological Societies 2021 July Journal which can be purchased on-line after March 2022 The bannerstone found by the author. It measures 2 13/16” long. It is a Humped style bannerstone made of orange, dark red and cream colored ferruginous quartz from Spencer County, Indiana. It is pictured in The Art Gerber Story by Art Gerber on page 64, The Archaic Bannerstone by David Lutz on page 73, figure 69, No. 1, and in the Central States Archaeological Journal” 61(4) on pg. 314.
I have hunted arrowheads and artifacts since the early 1980s. In the spring of 1984, I found my find of a lifetime. My interest in arrowheads started with fellows I worked with at an aluminum plant in Rockport, Indiana. They would bring in arrowheads, discuss and show them to each other. I always asked to see them. They would show me their pieces, but I could never get them to take me hunting. They would tell me to go find my own places to hunt. They seemed very secretive to me. It was one of the many things I did not understand at the time. So, with limited knowledge to say the least, I took it upon myself to find my own spots to hunt artifacts. With lots of interest, luck and determination, but mostly luck, I found a few places that gave up their secrets to me. One such place was along the Ohio River near Rockport. I had gotten information from another person that had fished along this spot. He told me he had found arrowheads there, so it made sense to me to start there. The first arrowhead I found, as luck would have it, wasn’t along the river but was lying in fresh dirt on a bank as I was climbing to where I had parked my vehicle. It was a 3” long, a beautiful Adena point. This was the point that started the fever for arrowhead hunting in me. This site gave me artifacts nearly every time I hunted it. I started taking a few of my artifacts to show the fellows at work. They started asking to go hunting with me. I thought it was funny how that turned around. As I hunted, I began to learn the basics of hunting arrowheads along the Ohio River. I learned about rain, changing water levels and being the first person on the site! My only downfall was all I knew about at the time was arrowheads. One Friday afternoon, as I was getting ready to leave work, I asked the three arrowhead fellow....
Read the complete column in the Central States Archaeological Societies 2021 July Journal which can be purchased on-line after March 2022