Here in the Schoharie valley of New York, arrowheads and other items like tomahawk heads and cutting stones are found frequently.
When the ground is first plowed and tilled in the spring there are many arrow head hunters out there looking.
The best time is right after the ground is tilled and there is a light rain. The arrowheads are washed off and stand out very clearly.
I live up in the hills from the valley and I found two small what I, at the time, considered arrowheads in a 4 year period not more than a 1,000 feet apart.
After a little research, I found they are really "projectile points" and date back 3,000 to 4,000 years ago, long before the bow and arrow were invented.
They were used on spears that were sometimes thrown with the help of an "atlatl", a stick which gave extra length to the thrower's arm. I was in my late 60s when I found my first projectile point and it gave me a great deal of excitement.
I think a young person might be even more thrilled and the experience could send him or her off on a whole new career path.
I still think about the hunter up here in the hills who apparently shot at some animal and lost his weapon. A big loss 'cause making it required a lot of work and skill.
And,...... this happened as much as 2,000 years before the birth of Christ.
Down in the valley, they mostly find arrowheads and artifacts from the American Indians who were still living here up through the Revolutionary war.
