Growing up near an ancient fault line and (most of the time) dry creek bed in S.E. Pennsylvania probably set me up for my current interest in the study of rocks and ancient artifacts. Over the past year or so, I have had time to poke around and I am constantly surprised by what I find. The piece shown in the photo above was found on the sidewalk near a gas station remodel. I guess the booty fell out of the diggers pocket. I guess that is about as far a one can get from knowing anything about the strata and so on. But perhaps not that far from my typical amatuer archeology experience. Road cuts, construction site clearings and recently flooded stream beds are places where one can look for & find things all the time, but again, context, strata, etc., is largely out the window.
But does that mean that the information on the surface can tell us nothing? Can we see past the mere projection of our own bias when it comes to such things?
I hope so.
That said, of course I have my own biases. One of them is that you cant keep a good stone artifact down! Many become parts of bridge abutments, buildings and stonework surrounding shopping malls and office parks. My theory is: Of course that weird looking rock may be an artifact!
Anyway, the pic above is an interesting looking creek stone & below a stone burped up during gas pipeline construction in Bradford County PA.
Stay tuned for more breaking news from the stone-age coming soon! Thanks for tuning in!
