Advice on digging middens

[mcwilliams76]

Let me preface this thread by saying that I am definitely an amateur artifact hunter, so please excuse my ignorance when considering my questions.

My father-in-law has a ranch in southwest Texas (Kerr County) that has garnered some attention from a local archaeological society. A group has been out there at least a dozen times to survey sites. One particular site has 7 middens within about a 50 yard radius. Over the past few years I've found hundreds of points and tools of all sorts, none of which are complete. I'm headed out there this weekend and thought about doing some digging and was hoping to get some advice. Since I'll only have one full day out there I wanted to maximize my time. Should I focus on any particular side of the midden? This site is at one of the highest points in the county so I assume it got a lot of wind blowing out of the north. Did they work on the north side of the middens to avoid having smoke constantly blowing in their faces? Or should I dig straight down into the middle?

Also, how deep should I dig? With the ongoing drought I assume it's not going to be easy to get very deep.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'll try to get pictures of some of the pieces I've found on the surface on here this evening.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

[shaazzamm]

Its hard to say. I have been looking for 'site anatomy' advice or reads for a long time. I live in Kerr county, I could show you what I know...........kind of hard to describe. There is lot of site compression here, and who is to know if one midden isn't from a different occupied time than the other(s).

[Panola]

Close to the creek on a high side of the midden is as good as any place to start . . It will be alot of fire rock mixed with ashes ( and points ) . If it is a big fire area , the points will be on the outside of the central fire pit ---you won't know until you start to dig . Move the top off carefully , usually that is where the arrowpoints will be . As you go deeper you will find rocks mixed with soil , ashes , debitage , snails , and shell midden probably . The artifacts will be laying ( usually ) in all that stuff . Every site is different---at Randy's , also located in Kerr Co near Comfort , The better sites were right next to the creek . Even tho great artifacts were found everywhere on that site . I was one of the first to work there and it was just F U N ! The midden was only about 2-3 foot deep and pretty easy to work . With drought in Texas the ground will be like concrete . Happy hunting ---and I suggest keeping a record of finds and their location & depth ) etc . Take plenty of water ---a portable shade , and an emerengeny ph number listing nearest hospital , next of kin , location of important papers like life insurane -------( just kidding ,----kinda )

[comanche]

""Pot holeing is always a Bad idea.If you are going to work a Site right,,,I would start on the outside.Dig down to The Hard Pan,,and then A few inches deeper,,,looking for flint and evidence the whole time.Working from the outside and Tarping my "Throw behind me keeps me from putting dirt in areas I want to go forward into.Once you get a Good clean hole,,,I like to work in a Circle ,,,arc ing around the edge and then moving forward to make sure I cover the whole area.Some folks can really mess up a Good site by not digging it right,,,Just anticipate your movements for the next Trip out,,,Anyone can dig the "Sweet spots,,,but miss many artifacts.
Good luck!!I look forward to seeing your finds////c

[Clayton]

I think it would be easiest for me to show you where to dig if you took me out there with you

welcome to the site!

[Wichita]

Originally Posted by Clayton

I think it would be easiest for me to show you where to dig if you took me out there with you

welcome to the site!

I wanna go with yall! I need some ejumication at this digging stuff too!

[dccrain]

Originally Posted by Clayton

I think it would be easiest for me to show you where to dig if you took me out there with you

welcome to the site!

Clayton is going to need a ride, or at least someone to keep him awake while he drives. I'll volunteer to take one for the team.

[dccrain]

Seriously, there is no way to tell you where to concentrate your search. I would take a week or two of vacation in October and have a good go at it. In that area you should have no problem locating points.

[joshuaream]

Lots of good advice here.

Going at a rocky midden with a regular shovel is a frustrating experience, the right tools certainly help.

The hardest part of a hand dig to me is getting a hole big enough that I can work in. I'll usually start anywhere where I have something steep in front of me (thick part of the midden, old road cut, dozer track, etc.) Get a small wall going infront of you, keep the bottom of the hole clean, and then go forward colapsing the wall as you go. Clean the bottom of the hole, Colapse the wall, repeat.

[neralich]

Here's a pic of a midden or refuse pit I found today. A mixture of pottery shards, flakes, river pebbles, brokes, shells, fire burnt earth, charcoal, calcined bone, fire cracked rock, and an abundance of fire burnt hearth stones(?)....(chalky with hues of auntique white, pinkish, orangish, greyish)...

Shown is a sample of a 20min test dig....Pottery, tool, broke point(purple)... I will be returning to this site with proper tools!