The round grinding stone on the left was found in upturned dirt at the Waterford point. When the dock at Waterford was redone, there was no archaeological survey done, even though it was well known that Native Americans had lived in the area over 2,000 years and that there probably were Dutch and later Revolutionary War era forts at the point.
Pictured with the grinding stone is an unnaturally triangular stone. There's no evidence of points, but I'd say from the shape it was probably manmade.
According to Jonathan Lothrop, Curator of Archaeology at the New York State Museum,the two point specimens on the left look to be Brewerton side-notched points, made from what looks like Quartz Crystal (an unusual raw material for this point type, usually they're made of chert). The triangular specimen on the right looks like a Brewerton eared-notched or Brewerton eared-triangle point of Quartz -- basically a Brewerton notched point where the blade margins have been resharpened so much that only a small remnant of the original notch is still present. These points probably date to the Late Archaic, more specifically about 5000 years ago (were 3000 B.C.).
I have found similar perfectly shaped triangle rocks in Erie, Pa when I was a kid in the 70's in a field. We would also find arrowheads. Do you have any more info on the triangular rocks? How were they made and what, if anything, were they used for?
ReplyDeleteI have found numerous articles from side scrapers, front end scrapers, limaces, projectile points, knives with hefting assembly, burnishing stones, etc., that are made from the very same quartzite in Waterford, Saratoga. They are from the same group of people, most likely.
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