changing colors

[longtimefree]

just curious if any of you have experienced the same problems or color changes as i have , i guess this has been in my mind for awhile and arrows green and white striped point stirred the mix up in my brain again, recently i found a blue grey uniface tool with a quartz(white) streak running through the middle of it, either side if the quartz streak was a red streak the same thickness, i thought sweet tool , i washed it when i got home , and set it aside to dry , i went to show it to my bro. and the red streaks were gone, on the serrated point i sent to steve v for xmas when i found it it was not black it was brown i never washed it , after a few handlings it turned black, i posted some pics of a shaft straitner i found years back , when i found it it was whitish kinda chalky , there were patterns that although faint were obvious, i gave this straitner to a friend who kept it for ten years and gave it back, i couldnt believe it was the same one , it is now completely black, most of the faint patterns are gone or unrecognizable the piece was chalky now its shiny, i understand most of the problem is probably oil from handling, what i am curious about is other factors that can and do change colors of artifacts, i am curious about natural or odd things that can change colors, any storys are good , thanks

[MidlandMan]

I've noticed that many of my finds seem to alter color as well. I'm wondering if even relativly brief exposure to natural or artificial light can change the patination of stone artifacts. I've heard other people mention it as well. Also very curious. Interresting thread for comment.

[holedigger]

I have noticed that drying of the flint can adversly affect translucency and color. While some banded flints will become much more vivid and make the banding more visible. If the ground has any moisture to it i find that a point will look its best right out of the ground.

Not the greatest picture but this broke c-tang was found by my buddy a few weekends ago. I was next to him when he pulled it out and cleaned it off to a nice even tan color. This picture is the next day were you can see the banding showing up.

[justonemore]

Air, water and light, it is amazing what these three elements of nature are capable of.

[bar2kl]

Dehydration is the culprit in most color change situations, even with the very best flints...JMO

[kliff]

A lot of my finds have been in water for awhile. You have to usually wait for a few days to see what the artifact is actually going to look like. Much of the time they will not look the same as when you find them. Sometime they look better, sometime they look worse.

[Tom Westfall]

River hunters know that when points dry out, they change color due to the dehydration. A completely clear chalcedony point will turn milky white often times as it dries. My friend found a really neat Scotty in the river made of yellow wood with a red streak in it...a year later, it was gone (the red streak). He put it in a bowl of water, and a month later, it had returned.

[drdave514]

You'll often see an insitu pic and then a later "in hand" pic where the colors seem quite different. Moreso than can be explained by cleaning. I think the dehydration of surface layers is the primary reason. Other things like oil of the hands, different lighting, etc... also play a part. Some of my pieces have much more color in sunlight comared to inside lighting.

[Tdog]

A friend of mine found a nice complete quartz point on the beach a couple of years ago. Insitu, it looked as if it was light yellow and had a kind of flourescent (sp) glow to it. When it dried out, it was light gray. We washed it and dried it out again but the yellow tint never came back. It did not feel slimy when first found but we are convinced that algae gave it the color.

[Scotto]

Originally Posted by bar2kl

Dehydration is the culprit in most color change situations, even with the very best flints...JMO

Ditto.

Sometimes I'm sad to see how a point fades after it's dried out for a few days. Or the color changes hue or lightens up somewhat.