Camps?

[trobbi33]

How do you know if you have found an old campsite? What type of stuff do you look for? Since I have started collecting I just look for flat areas near water that have flakes around the area. Is this what most of you all do? If I could get examples of stuff to look for to determine if its a camp that would be awesome. Some pictures would great if anyone has any to share

[Steve Valentine]

I'm not 100% sure what to look for in Texas, but in my area if you start seeing lots of Mussell Shell, Pottery Shards. Bone Fragments, and Flint Chips then you have stembled across a Campsite or Village. I have seen pictures of some of the Middens from Texas and they seem to have tons of Snail Shells on and in them. That might be something to look for.

I'll post some pics of what my sites look like and I'll give you some links to some pictures of a site in North Dakota that is very similar to mine.

a few pieces and some road pictures

snow melted, misc shots

[cachefind09]

What to look for in finding an old occupation site varies from region to region. Some find middens and remains of old fires. The signs that tell me that I'm onto an old site are the type of things that are being found on the surface and the number of pieces that are found. Usually if I find scrapers, drills and stone tools that usually is a good sign that I'm on a site and if all the pieces are concentrated in one area that pretty much confirms it. Since you are in Texas, I don't really know how to tell you to find a site there. Try surface hunting and go from there.

[ghost recon]

Campsites around here are usually found in two different places. The first would be level high spots on the second shelf or tier above the rivers, always above the ancient flood plain. Sometimes that can be hundreds of feet above the water elevation or five to ten feet. The second area around here that campsites are commonly found are along the ridges well above the river/creek bottoms. Almost every ridge camp I've found has had two or three other factors in common and those would be: Located near small mountaintop streams or springs. Rock shelters and caves nearby, and a strategic viewpoint, sometimes a 360º view.

Besides two campsites I found hiking along ridges the rest I found surface hunting new areas that looked promising. Concentrated amounts of debitage and raw material has been a common characteristic of every camp I've hunted. Sometimes whole artifacts are scarce while at others they are everywhere. Jmo.

Here's a few campsites I've found over the years. In the first pic across the creek where the bank levels out below the hill is a small camp, you can still see the mound of dirt I was moving towards the middle of the picture. This camp was only 12 to 15 ft above the creek bottom, it's a Mississipian camp, lots of triangles, shell, and some bone tools came from there.

The second area is a view from one of the ridgetop campsites I found, with elevated views of the river and valley below. Some of the shelters and natural fortress like rock formations found nearby. This was a late paleo occupied camp that produced a few fluted types, lanceolates, pes, uniface knives, etc. The last couple pics are some other camps I've found. I don't know how much this will help you because the topography between Va. / Wv. is so much different than Tx. but maybe this info could be of some help.

[trobbi33]

Wow thanks alot guys. That is some very good info
you gave me. Again thanks for sharing your pics and knowledge with me.

[Ryno]

Trobbi, I live in central Tx, and have done lots of hunting down that way.. Del Rio etc.. You want to look for Midden rock, (cooking rock) It will be in a high concentration.. Look for small, squared up, burnt rock.. along with flint chips... look for a camp to be on the high side of a water source... dried up creeks.. tributarys.. any place that holds water, or looked like it held water at one time.. Down on the river where you live there are lots of caves where the native people once lived.. Just be careful not to trespass. As most of these spots are on private property.. But this should help ya out..
Also...
Go to texasbeyondhistory.net
You'll learn alot here..
GOOD LUCK
Ryno

[trobbi33]

Thanks ryno! Where do you hunt in Del Rio? Im having a hard identifying these midden rocks. Am I looking for them piled up or just scattered around the area? I think I seen soon today but I'm not exactly sure. Guess I should have taken some pictures. Thanks for your input.

[Ryno]

Yes, A midden will be a concentrated area of rock ..Keep in mind, some camps will be shallower/deeper than others ..So the majority of the rock will be mostly underground/exposed .. However, with all the rock around your area, Camps tend to be pretty shallow. I have some friends who own some property down near Del Rio. Seriously, Go to Texasbeyondhistory.net .. A Large Drawing of texas will appear, with many archaeological site links.. Click on Camp Bowie (in center of central Tx).. You will see some great examples of a midden, and what it was used for. THis is a great site to learn from.
Ryno

[longtimefree]

as a kid here in san diego county ca. we hunted for camps all the time, we had some basic things we looked for , oak trees, a water source, were the main ones , pottery or flakes of obsideon, flat rocks with grinding holes, and of course the color of the soil, a camp has very dark almost black soil and we always attributed it to the amount of ash and organic matter left by the inhabitants, almost all major sites or camps sat where they were bathed by the rising sun. we dont have alot of agriculture here so we rely on rodents to reveal alot of camps that are buried, gophers squirrels rabbits ,all push stuff up, here is a recent site i found while hiking,didnt find much on the surface and unlike most sites in san diego this one hasnt been dug up or buried, which is what happens to all known sights , and as you can see san diego isnt all city as most people think , we have lots of open space still, and all of it twice occupied by nomadic indian people

[neralich]

awesome photos.. yeah, that's not the stereotypical views of san diego that i've ever imagined. looks like some neat places.. u should post some more pics. i've never been out west past colorado, but do you have creeks out their??