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BASTROP, La. —
Local collectors, of all ages, turned the Chemin-A-Haut State Park lodge into a temporary archaeological museum over the weekend.
Poverty Point State Historic Site manager David Griffing and flint knapping expert Mark Fox were on hand Saturday to identify the age and function of arrowheads, pottery shards, beads and other fascinating relics collected in the fields and creek banks of Morehouse Parish and surrounding area.
Chemin-A-Haut park manager Russ Brantley said the event had drawn 65-70 visitors and around 15 private artifact collections by Saturday afternoon.
“And this is just what they wanted to bring,” he said. “[The collectors] said they have a lot more stuff at home.”
Many of the artifacts on display were found in Morehouse Parish, while other items came from West Carroll, Richland, Union and Bienville parishes. Richard Hughes brought a small portion of his collection of plummets (carved stone net weights) he found in the Goodwill area, while Jason Smith displayed one of the largest collections of projectile points, which he has found in the Mer Rouge area.
“Every chance I get, I go out and find them,” he said.
Some of the items were especially unique, such as a spearhead lodged in a bear or bison vertebra. Kathy Robinson of Bastrop displayed a miniscule pot-bellied owl pendant carved from red jasper, which she found several years ago in the Mer Rouge area. The mysterious pot-bellied owls are associated with the Poverty Point culture, and Robinson learned her pendant is over 3,000 years old.
“I didn’t know what I had when I found it,” she said. “I’ve been told this is the smallest and most detailed of any [owl pendants] found in the state.”
Saturday’s exhibits also included geological treasures. Wilma Turner and her great-granddaughters, Janie and Jayla Stewart, displayed a large collection of crystals, fossils, amber and other interesting rocks they have found in Bastrop.
Visitors were also treated to a demonstration in flint knapping by Fox, who shaped projectile points from stone through the same meticulous process used by prehistoric craftsmen.
“I’ve been trying to do [flint knapping] since I was little, but it took a few lessons to do it right,” he said.
Fox used a blunt antler to thin the stone – producing the razor-sharp flakes commonly found at archaeological sites in Morehouse Parish – and then shaped the blade’s serrated edge using an antler tine and copper-tipped tool. A significant part of the process is to “get the energy to run through the path of least resistance” so the stone can be shaped without crumbling.
Brantley said he hopes to make this an annual event at Chemin-A-Haut, so citizens will have future chances to delve into the region’s prehistory.
“We’re going to try to have this once a year, around this time of year,” he said.
Local collectors, of all ages, turned the Chemin-A-Haut State Park lodge into a temporary archaeological museum over the weekend.
Poverty Point State Historic Site manager David Griffing and flint knapping expert Mark Fox were on hand Saturday to identify the age and function of arrowheads, pottery shards, beads and other fascinating relics collected in the fields and creek banks of Morehouse Parish and surrounding area.
Chemin-A-Haut park manager Russ Brantley said the event had drawn 65-70 visitors and around 15 private artifact collections by Saturday afternoon.
“And this is just what they wanted to bring,” he said. “[The collectors] said they have a lot more stuff at home.”
Many of the artifacts on display were found in Morehouse Parish, while other items came from West Carroll, Richland, Union and Bienville parishes. Richard Hughes brought a small portion of his collection of plummets (carved stone net weights) he found in the Goodwill area, while Jason Smith displayed one of the largest collections of projectile points, which he has found in the Mer Rouge area.
“Every chance I get, I go out and find them,” he said.
Some of the items were especially unique, such as a spearhead lodged in a bear or bison vertebra. Kathy Robinson of Bastrop displayed a miniscule pot-bellied owl pendant carved from red jasper, which she found several years ago in the Mer Rouge area. The mysterious pot-bellied owls are associated with the Poverty Point culture, and Robinson learned her pendant is over 3,000 years old.
“I didn’t know what I had when I found it,” she said. “I’ve been told this is the smallest and most detailed of any [owl pendants] found in the state.”
Saturday’s exhibits also included geological treasures. Wilma Turner and her great-granddaughters, Janie and Jayla Stewart, displayed a large collection of crystals, fossils, amber and other interesting rocks they have found in Bastrop.
Visitors were also treated to a demonstration in flint knapping by Fox, who shaped projectile points from stone through the same meticulous process used by prehistoric craftsmen.
“I’ve been trying to do [flint knapping] since I was little, but it took a few lessons to do it right,” he said.
Fox used a blunt antler to thin the stone – producing the razor-sharp flakes commonly found at archaeological sites in Morehouse Parish – and then shaped the blade’s serrated edge using an antler tine and copper-tipped tool. A significant part of the process is to “get the energy to run through the path of least resistance” so the stone can be shaped without crumbling.
Brantley said he hopes to make this an annual event at Chemin-A-Haut, so citizens will have future chances to delve into the region’s prehistory.
“We’re going to try to have this once a year, around this time of year,” he said.
