OUTDOORS

Ancient treasures

This pottery shard is marked with a small ear of corn. The smooth edge near the thumb is the finished lip of a jar or vessel of some type.
This pottery shard is marked with a small ear of corn. The smooth edge near the thumb is the finished lip of a jar or vessel of some type.
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I rubbed the dirt off with my fingers and marveled at the markings. The design was vaguely familiar, yet different somehow. It was a negative, or reverse image, of something that I just couldn't figure out. Then it hit me - corn!

It looked like an ear of corn had been rolled in the soft clay while it was still wet, leaving an interesting and unique design. They used what they had - sticks, sharp stones and yes, even ears of corn - to make decorative markings in their handmade pottery.

It is believed that pottery making began in coastal South Carolina, Georgia, or Florida between 4,500 and 5,000 years ago. It spread up the east coast and into the interior and is one of the most common Native American artifacts found.

Native Americans formed their pottery by coiling ropes of clay, with one coil on top of another until a wall was built up. These coils were squeezed together with hands and fingers, then paddled or "malleted." These paddles were often wrapped in fabric or cords that left impressions and designs.

I have small pieces the size of a thumb nail and larger pieces, some as big as my hand. Almost all have some kind of design that was stamped, punctuated, fabric impressed, textile marked or cord marked. All are smooth on the inside. The colors range from a reddish orange to a brown and even some gray. Colors were determined by the clay and the region where the pieces were produced. The pottery would be thoroughly dried then fired on the ground surface or in shallow pits.

Every single piece of Native American pottery that I have ever picked up has a slight curve to it. It was part of a bowl, or cup, or storage vessel of some kind. You can almost imagine the size of the original by the amount of curve to the little piece that you hold.

I have hundreds of shards and pieces of pottery that I have picked up over the years. These are timeless treasures, created by ancient craftsmen, that have lain undisturbed for perhaps thousands of years. They are remnants and relics from a people that inhabited this land long before we did. Almost nothing has survived from their civilization but earthen mounds, shell middens, pottery, arrowheads, and stone tools. They had no written language that we know of.

Just think - you could hold something in your hand that was made by another human being, thousands of years ago. I have a couple of pieces that have finger marks. That is a marvel to me. They were hunters and gatherers, and they grew corn and squash and beans. They lived here - where we do now. Yet we know so little about them.

When I find a good artifact site I walk over it carefully scanning the ground for something that looks different. A smooth surface, or a different color will catch your eye. Bare ground is essential, as grass, leaves, and other debris will hide these treasures.

Plowed fields, or a land disturbance of some kind near a water source, are good hunting grounds.

Most of the sites that I have discovered are on hunt club land that has been plowed for wildlife food plots. Usually I will pick up a handful of pottery and an arrowhead or two at a site, then leave. On return trips I almost always find more "treasures." The plow or bulldozer will continue to turn up more pieces.

Anyone that likes to spend time outdoors and loves the natural world could join the hunt. It has a unique way of connecting us with the land and the past.