The items shown come from the area surrounding a lithic
quarry site (quartzite) bordering the Conecuh River north of Andalusia,
Alabama. Most of the remaining items come from sites located
on
recently clear-cut, burned, and replanted timber tracts in south-central
Covington County, Alabama. There is typically a 2 year window
of
collection/salvage opportunity after the burn-off and replanting of
the
clear-cuts.
Most sites are located within several hundred yards of a creek or spring,
on sandy well drained soil, and well above flood levels. Maximum
undisturbed artifact depths are typically 8 inches. Most of the
sites are
in at least the third timber clear-cut cycle and are thus highly “disturbed”
from the logging operations and the repeated bulldozing cleanup operation
following each cut cycle.
We collect everything: lithic flakes, pottery shards, cooking stones,
grinding stones - anything that suggests human use or alteration.
We do not buy, sell, or trade artifacts. All items are kept separated
by site and we are now documenting artifact distribution at some sites.
This requires much effort of course and is not done for the mere sake
of collecting but for the future use of serious students of archeology
as
a contribution to the collective knowledge of our ancestors.
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