A Day to Remember	by Steven Jordan
Central States Archaeological Societies 2024 April Journal	Shelbyville, Tennessee

One face of the three-quarter groove axe. It measures just over 7” in length and is made from oolitic limestone.

I have been hunting a certain field in Franklin County, Tennessee, for the last five years. Most of the relics from this site are multi-occupational, and date from as early as Paleo all through to Mississippian. I have found Archaic points such as Kirk, Bifurcated Kirk, Decatur, Cobbs, White Spring and Benton. The site has produced some beautiful examples! Interestingly, the Woodland period Motley points have always been damaged by the plow or ancient use.

This area has three creeks that run through the property. Over many years, the owner allowed others to collect there, but some did not have respect for his land, making the farmer angry by damaging his crops. The first time I pulled up to his place and asked to walk his fields, he told me no. He mentioned to me how artifact hunters had destroyed his planting season, and thus he kept people off from as far back as the early 1990s to just five years ago (2019-2020).

I talked with him and told him that my whole life has been dedicated to archaeology and collecting. I told him I would not ever walk his fields when planted, and that I would only hunt when he turns the fields before planting, after the harvest and in the winter. After we had a long conversation, he agreed to allow me...

 

Read the complete "A Day to Remember" column in the Central States Archaeological Societies 2024 April Journal which can be purchased on-line after March 2025