The Business Trip with Archaic Bonuses	by Terry Bourret
Central States Archaeological Societies 2025 October Journal	Hannibal, Missouri

This excerpt from "The Business Trip with Archaic Bonuses" published in the 2025 Central States Archaeological Societies 2025 October Journal Read the complete column in the Central States Archaeological Societies 2025 October Journal which can be purchased on-line after March 2026

he axe and the Nebo Hill point that were found in the same field near the town of Lincoln in Cass County, Illinois, 1974. The author no longer retains ownership of the axe, The point measures 4 ?" in length.

As a former State Consultant for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Illinois, I traveled extensively throughout the state to visit programs for the Hearing Impaired. On one particular morning in 1974, I had a trip planned to visit the Quad City Area programs. I had been an avid amateur archaeologist for a couple decades, so I always had hunting boots and a shoulder bag ready in the event a potential camp site beckoned to me. You know the call!

So, I set out for the Quad Cities driving north out of Jacksonville heading toward Virginia, Illinois. I was dressed professionally for anticipated meetings and did not expect to take a brief detour over a barbed wire fence. After passing through Virginia I spotted a field that I had passed before which had always been in pasture. This time, however, it had been freshly bulldozed and had a heavy rain on it a day or two before. Wow! A temptation I could not pass up! I knew my time was limited, therefore a quick once over was all the time I could spare searching for potential artifacts. I can just imagine the reaction of a few drive bys when they spotted me cautiously climbing over the barbed wire fence in a suit and tie. Crazy person! Before crossing the fence I searched around to see if there was a farm where I could find the owner to ask permission before walking on his land. There was none in sight, so I proceeded into the field. Just like many other avocational archae ologists, as soon as my boots hit the ground I used my natural optical radar surveillance sense to scan the panorama before me to look for telltale signs of campsites. Amazingly, the surface of the field was relatively clear of any broken rock, shell or chert flakes, other than for an odd shaped rock about 100 yards directly in front of me. I debated wasting time on examining it. But, as my former archaeology mentor, Cliff Grove, taught me early on, leave no stone unturned! I looked a second time and swore I detected a groove. Consequently, I sprinted (much younger then) to the suspicious rock and almost had a heart attack when I saw a huge Three-quarter groove Archaic period axe in perfect condition looking up at me. Not having a cell phone back then, I was unable to take an in situ photograph of my find. It took a few minutes for my heart to calm down as I pondered the ancient tool I had discovered. How big was the person who would have wielded such a large axe? It weighed over 5 pounds! Upon lifting the axe and examining it, I discovered heavy calcification (?) / mineral deposits on the under side. The axe was a light brown granite implement with good polish and no damage. I wondered if the axe could have been lying on the body of the person who had been carrying it. Over the years, I had been fortunate enough to find a number of complete grooved axes and celts, but my mentor, Cliff, having hunted atifacts for many years, had never found a ground hard stone implement.

After the thrill of finding the...

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