Finding treasure in Sumter County
I rubbed the dirt off with my fingers and marveled at the markings. The design was vaguely familiar yet different somehow. It was a negative, or reverse image, of something that I just couldn't figure out. Then it hit me - corn!
It looked like an ear of corn had been rolled in the soft clay while it was still wet, leaving an interesting and unique design. They used what they had - sticks, sharp stones and, yes, even ears of corn - to make decorative markings in their handmade pottery.
It is thought that pottery making began in coastal South Carolina, Georgia and Florida between 4,500 and 5,000 years ago. It spread up the East Coast and into the interior. It is one of the most common Native-American artifacts found.
Native Americans formed their pottery by coiling ropes of clay, with one coil on top of another until a wall was built up. These coils were squeezed together with hands and fingers, then paddled or "malleated." These paddles were often wrapped in fabric or cords that left impressions and designs. I have small pieces the size of a thumb nail and larger pieces, some as big as my hand. Almost all have some kind of design that was stamped, impressed or marked in the soft clay. All are smooth on the inside. The colors range from a reddish orange to a brown and even some gray. Colors were determined by the clay and the region where the pieces were produced.
The pottery would be thoroughly dried then fired on the ground surface or in shallow pits. Every single piece of Native American pottery that I have ever picked up has a slight curve to it. It was part of a bowl or cup or storage vessel of some kind. You can almost imagine the size of the original by the amount of curve to the little piece that you hold.
I have hundreds, maybe thousands, of shards and pieces of pottery that I have picked up over the years. These are timeless treasures, created by ancient craftsmen, that have lain undisturbed for perhaps thousands of years. They are remnants and relics from a people that inhabited this land long before we did. Almost nothing has survived from their civilization but earthen mounds, pottery, arrowheads and some stone tools. They had no written language that we know of.
Just think - you could hold something in your hand that was made by another human being, thousands of years ago. That is a marvel to me.
They were hunters and gatherers, and they grew corn and squash and beans. They lived here - where we do now. Yet we know so little about them.
When I find a good artifact site, I walk over it carefully, scanning the ground for something that looks different. A flat surface or a different color will catch your eye. Bare ground is essential, as grass, leaves and other debris will hide these treasures.
Plowed fields, or an area disturbed by a bulldozer, near a water source, are good hunting grounds. The best time to find artifacts is after a rain that settles the dust and washes off the dirt, to make things more visible. All you need is permission to access the site and the patience to walk slowly over an area, looking carefully.
Many of the sites that I have discovered are on hunt club land that has been plowed for wildlife food plots. Usually I will pick up a handful of pottery and an arrowhead or two, then leave. On return trips, I almost always find more "treasure." The plow will continue to turn up more pieces.
Anyone who likes to spend time outdoors and loves the natural world could join the hunt. It has a unique way of connecting you with the land.
Reach Dan Geddings at cdgeddings@gmail.com.