Thursday, May 26, 2011

What They Left Behind. . .

The field below the blue house is the largest, flattest piece of land on our mountain farm.  It lies between two branches (streams) and  the folks we bought the place from used it to grow tobacco and corn. 

So did we, for years, and the dreary task of hoeing was made more bearable by the hope of finding a spearpoint or some other Cherokee tool because this area was a part of their hunting grounds and this field, from the number of partially finished points we've found, must have been a prime camp site.


This below is probably a 'knife' -- a partially worked piece of quartz that would have been useful for cutting or scraping.  We've found much nicer points and there are pictures of them HERE.
 

The remains of a hoe is another artifact -- much more recent.  The Freeman's, the folks who owned the farm before us, wore their hoes down in the rocky soil, till the blades were like silver half moons -- shadows of their former selves.


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17 comments:

Reader Wil said...

If the earth could speak... And I suppose it can, we can find a hidden history which is so interesting that we are going to dig deeper and nobody can stop us. Silent witnesses are more intriguing than the direct facts, which present themselves without any disguise.
I prefer to walk among ancient ruins than to see the replicas of thoset same old buildings. Or better:first the ruin then the replica.

Martin said...

That's quite a history you're walking on, Vicki. Thanks for the link to 'Are the Cherokee Still There?'. I missed it the first time around, as you posted about one month before I started blogging.

Margie’s daughter Leiny said...

Oh what treasures, I love the mystery attached to the history of the land. Big hugs, Margie.

Pat in east TN said...

I love finding bits of history. We have a little collection of our own.

Brian Miller said...

ooo how fascinating a treasure hunt!!! we used to look for treasure like that as little boys...cool what you find...

BB said...

Where I grew up in NJ, we used to find (Revolutionary War history) cannon balls, arrowheads and all kinds of stuff as kids but we never kept them. How stupid were we? What I wouldn't give to have the things we tossed back in the streams!

Suz said...

"good" old Andrew Jackson...How many remember it was he that defied the Supreme court's ruling
Those are amazing finds Vicki

Alan Burnett said...

How fabulous to be able to dig in your garden and find a Cherokee tool or some such object. If I am lucky I might find an old Cherry tree root in mine.

Anonymous said...

There's one area on our land that I imagine must have been the midden for the old farmhouse that once stood there. The land heaves in the winter, so each year we find old pieces of metal lacy with rust, and small blue medicine bottles,a bit sanded by the years, but still letting the old homesteaders say, "We were here; we were here."

Deana the Queena

Tammy said...

Hey Vicki,
Just wanted to drop by and let you know I'm okay--I hadn't been able to let folks know with a blog post yet. (My Modem got 'lightning fried'). The tornado went about an hour and half SW of us. We are all stunned. The devastation is really too much to take in.

My Dad roamed and combed the hills, hollers and fields around here and has quite a large collection of Indian artifacts. I only got to go a couple of times when people plowed their fields (not much of that goes on anymore) and found a few things. Even now I scan the ground constantly around the place, never knowing when a small bit of history will surface.
Tammy

Jill said...

Wow. You are so lucky to have a place that is so rich in history. I love finding things like that. About two years ago I found a beautiful white spear point. It was about 5 inches long. Only it was in a horse pasture and broken in two from one of the horses stepping on it.

jennyfreckles said...

It must feel very special, farming land that has that kind of history. All I find in my garden is rubble!

Unknown said...

How wonderful to find such artefacts. I squirm when I think what future people might find when they dig over our rubbish tips .. those dreadful landfills of the leftovers of our consumerism. Oh that we just left a knife or two.

Kath said...

I love your connection to your place in the world.

Vicki Lane said...

I agree, Wil -- there's something far more intriguing about a bit of the REAL thing -- replicas, while instructive and interesting, are basically soulless.

The story of the Trail of Tears, like the Holocaust, should never be forgotten, martin.

It's a pleasure to know who's been there before you -- Barb, at least you have the memory -- a pretty nifty one too!

What, no Viking hoards, Alan? I'm really disappointed.

Deana -- we have one of those middens!

Tammy -- So glad that you and the critters are all okay! Thanks fpr letting me know!

Joan, maybe hundreds of years on our 'disposable' diapers and plastic bottles will be of interest -- always assuming the human race hasn't choked on its own excess and there's anyone left to take an interest.

Kath -- it's really nice to live in a place where you know where your water comes from and where it goes.

Folkways Note Book said...

Vicki -- shadows of your land's past -- intriguing -- barbara

Tipper said...

Just lovely :) My favorite thing I found in Pap's big garden-a cow bell.