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The Paleo blade point found by the author resting
in the water
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It was a Saturday, and my Dad and I made plans to spend time at the river.
We usually try to get there early, but that does not always happen. However,
this morning my dad was up and ready before me, which rarely happens. He
obviously had a “feeling.”
As we started our drive, the second song to come on the radio was “Banded
Clovis” by Tyler Childers. I looked over at my dad and said, “This
is a good omen – today is the day!”
We arrived at the river before sunrise, turned on our flashlights and proceeded
to start walking the gravel bar. As daylight grew, the gravel bar looked
nice and clean. Suddenly I noticed two other hunters coming towards us,
so I told my dad I was going to walk on ahead and claim this gravel bar for
us. But that did not work, and they walked right where I was grid hunting.
I asked them not to cut me off, and instead they turned around and cut my
dad off.
I thought about it for a while, and decided it was unethical for them to
be acting like they were since we got here before them. I yelled out to them, “Now
you have cut my Dad off! That is not cool!” They proceeded to tell
me that it was just a gravel bar, and that they had been hunting this spot
for years. I knew that to be a lie, as I recognized one of them and knew
he had only been hunting and collecting for about a year. I decided my anger
was getting in the way of the real reason we were here today, and so went
about the task at hand. After about 90 minutes they finally left, successfully
ruining the morning for me.
My Dad and I hunted for another two hours, without much success. I told
him lets continue for a bit and be patient. He walked a distance from me,
and not five minutes later was yelling and literally dancing! I ran over
to see what he found, which was a very nice 4 ½” paleo knife
made from a white chert (Figs.1-3).
After enjoying this find, I told my Dad we needed to again ...
Read the complete "Father and Son Gravel Bar Hunt" column
in the Central States Archaeological Societies 2022
April Journal which can be purchased on-line after March 2022
