The AACA Magazine Volume 10 Issue 1

Volume Number 10 Issue Number 1 Winter 2012

On The Inside: Member IN SITU Pictures NC Archaeology Day The Critter Gallery Landscapes & Much, Much More!!

AACA MAGAZINE Authentic Artifacts Collectors Association, Inc.

www.theaaca.com

Volume Number 10 Issue Number 1 Winter 2012

Table of Contents President’s Message Pg 1 Editor’s Message Pg 2 A Greg Perino Personal Find Pg 3 Archaeology Day in NC Pg 4-7 Cool Indians Pg 8-11 Looking for Flakes…Killing Your Own Pg 12-15 In Situs Pg 16-27 Critter Gallery Pg 28-39 Basham’s Critter Zoo Pg 40-43 Landscapes Pg 44-53 Indian Winter Pg 54 What Is This? Pg 55-56 It’s About Time (Bison Bill) Pg 57

Editor Steve Stangland Design & Layout by Robert J Dills

Message from the President Cliff Jackson

To all AACA members,

Another great collecting year has passed, with promises of the New Year around the corner.

This Christmas, look at your artifact collections and those of others, and remember those people that came before us. Across the world, we have all used the same types of tools of life for tens of thousands of years. Today the people of the world have much more in common in our distant past than politics and the world news will ever reveal. As collectors, we can look at the relics and indeed see that we all are the people of the world.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Cliff Jackson - AACA President

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From the Editor’s Desk Steve Stangland

Editor’s Comments on TEOTWAWKI In order to ascertain whether anyone knew anything about TEOTWAWKI, I attended a Halloween party claiming to be Chief Teotwawki. The wife went as the Chief’s squaw. Of the 30 plus in attendance, not a one had a clue.

Of course, TEOTWAWKI is not an Indian…and of course, all of you collectors know at least something about this…..right? Well, if you are still in the dark, here’s the deal. December 21 of 2012 could be the end of the world because of TEOTWAWKI. This term derives from the first letters of the following phrase: The End Of The World As We Know It. This date could be our doomsday! Are we all going to die?!

The history of our country, even of the world, has always been replete with naysayers and doomsday prophesies. Those who predict the latter have declared that the Mayan calendar foretells a calamity, an apocalypse, on December 21, 2012.

There are a multitude of ways we could all die. We know that the dinosaurs were wiped out, along with most other forms of life, 65 million years ago when a huge meteor smashed into earth off the Yucatan peninsula. So that would be my theory of how we will all meet our demise.

Actually, there are several Mayan calendars….the circular “Long Count” being an important one, and the one in question here. This calendar is based on a time period of a tad over 5,000 years, ending on December 21, 2012. Consequently, those who obsess over doomsday events have attempted to convince all earthlings that December 21 will be their last day on the planet!

Now, there is a little “catch” to all of this. The last part of TEOTWAWKI is “As We Know It.” That could mean that we will not all die; but rather, something “big” might happen to change our lives. Perhaps the second coming of the Christ? Photosynthesis could suddenly changes all plants purple instead of green? (No more “green planet!) An ice age might suddenly converge on earth and we would all become Eskimos?

Wait a minute….there is still a third possibility. The Mayan calendar is only so big and has room for only so many inscriptions and years. Isn’t the calendar ending for the simple reason that there is no more space on it?

If the Maya were still around wouldn’t they just grab a big rock and have a skilled artisan carve it into a new 5,000 year calendar and start again at year zero?

Well, of course, that’s it! This would be an occasion for great ceremony. The Maya nobility would grab a number of their enslaved enemies and sacrifice them. The shamans would stand atop the towering pyramids and pray to their many gods. The populace would feast for three days on succulent human leg flesh. And all would be well in the Maya world again for another 5,000 years.

But hey…I could be wrong. Maybe that mega-meteor is on its way right now?!

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Gregory Perino Personal Find John Selmer

Back in 2004, I attended the Second Annual National Ancient American Artifact Exposition sponsored by the Authentic Artifact Collectors Association (AACA) at Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. It was a wonderful three day show with many great artifacts to admire, informative seminars to attend, and collectors from across the country to trade artifact collecting stories with and visit.

I’m sure that many of you can relate to the following. Friday night as I was wandering throughout the exhibit hall looking at all of the display tables, an artifact caught my eye in a dealer’s display frame. The artifact was right next to a 2-1/2 inch G10+ Folsom made out of translucent Knife River Flint. Of course, the Folsom was superb but the artifact that I really liked in the frame was this little arrowhead and it seemed to be calling to me. I didn’t think too much more about it and continued looking at all of the other display tables.

Every time that I walked around the show throughout the weekend, the same artifact caught my eye and I had to stop to take another look. Finally, on Saturday afternoon, I asked if I could take the piece out of the frame and look at it closer. The dealer said sure and then he told me that the piece was a personal find of Gregory Perino’s. I examined the piece with my loupe, really liked it, and asked how much it was. I thought the price was reasonable so I bought it to add to my collection.

The artifact was found in Southeastern Colorado in 1945 by Greg and resided in his personal collection until early 2004. It is made out of high grade, translucent chalcedony flint and is only 1-3/16 inches long and 5/16 inch wide. The base is heavily ground. The workmanship on the piece is awesome, with both sides equally well flaked. The edgework is very fine. I believe that it is a Paleo dart point, perhaps a miniature Midland or Plainview. Greg typed the point as “Unnamed” with an undetermined age and cultural affiliation on his authentication paper. It was previously pictured in Jim Bennett's Ancient Indian Artifacts, Volume 2, Collecting Flint Weapons & Tools, page 35. It is catalog number WBC-1101 in the Selmer Collection.

Originally published in The Headhunter, The Official Newsletter of the “Indian Artifact Collectors Association of the North East,” Volume 25, Issue 4, October, November, December of 2004.

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ARCHAEOLOGY DAY in Warrenton, North Carolina

By Cliff Jackson On Saturday April 28, 2012, the Piedmont, NC Chapter of the AACA held the fourth annual Archaeology Day in Warrenton, North Carolina. Held in the local public library, this is an educational event which is free and open to all. Two other Archaeology Days are held in other Piedmont cities. The next will be on August 4 in Oxford, NC at the Granville County Museum, and a larger event will be held in Henderson, NC in the fall. Archaeology Day consists of displays of Native American artifacts by local collectors, artifact identification for the public, and a speaker on an archaeological topic.

Randy and Judy Greeson of Greensboro displayed their NC rhyolite 4

Keith Etchison of Maryland and Jeff Correll of Thomasville, NC discuss Jeff's fine artifacts

Approximately 100 people came through the hall in Warrenton to see all of the artifacts. About a dozen tables were filled with displays by our chapter members, and quite a few beautiful relics were brought in by the public. The highlight of the day was a talk by avocational archaeologist/ geologist, Joe Moylan of Wake Forest, on the various lithic materials of our region which he illustrated with various quarry samples and artifacts. It was a very informative presentation which received many accolades from the collectors in attendance.

5 The public listens as Joe Moylan discusses the lithics of North Carolina

Joe Moylan and his rhyolite samples from various regional aboriginal quarries

A South Carolina paddle-stamped pot

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A heat-treated Coastal Plains chert artifact found in Halifax County, NC by Mark Riggan

A clay-stained rhyolite Kirk found by Joseph Abbott in Warren County, NC

Warrenton, NC Archaeology Day 2012

AACA members may consider sponsoring events such as this in their own area. All that you need are interested collectors and a place to meet with tables for displays. The typical Archaeology Day has free tables and free lectures, and the incidental costs are covered by holding a small auction of donated items. The smaller venues will attract a hundred or so interested people, but the first such event held in Henderson last fall drew almost 1200 people to the Bennett Perry Archaeology Day. Archaeology Days are fun, informative, and full of good friends and great Indian artifacts!

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The Cool Indians of Edward S. Curtis Edward S. Curtis, who passed in 1952, was a photographer of the American West and of Native American peoples. He spent a good portion of his life researching and photographing Native Americans in the West. Most of the author’s work was done between 1907 and 1930. Although it did not happen easily, Portraits from North American Indian Life was eventually published. This book contains 85 pictures of Native American people and scenes. For this issue of our magazine, the AACA Editor has selected ten of his favorites.

Before moving on to see these intriguing figures, let’s first examine a few words about Curtis and the book’s delayed, but interesting, journey to publication.

In 1906 J.P. Morgan agreed to finance Edward Sheriff Curtis for a grandiose five-year project that would record and photographically chronicle western Indian tribes. Morgan provided $15,000 per year and Curtis was to produce twenty volumes in the five-year time frame. The plan was to produce a collector-quality limited edition run of only 500 leatherbound books using the highest quality paper.

In addition to taking thousands of pictures, Edward Curtis wrote about all aspects of North American Indian life….. food, clothing, shelter, games, customs, and biographies of Indian leaders.

The goal of accomplishing this in five years was not to be; it took 25 years! By that time J.P. Morgan had died and the financing ceased. Finding himself debt ridden, Curtis’ personal life fell apart and he was forced to sell the rights to the book to J.P. Morgan’s son, Jack Morgan. Unfortunately, the general public had little interest in the work, and in 1935, for only $1060, Jack sold the rights to a Boston book seller.

For almost four decades the work sat forgotten. Finally, in 1970, a Santa Fe investor “discovered” the work….which included 285,000 original photogravures and copper plates. He and an investment group purchased the collection and in 1972 Portraits from North American Indian Life became published, reviving the copious work of Edward S. Curtis.

A nice feature of the book is that it includes a short “blurb” describing each picture. This is a very large “coffee-table” sized book. In our technologically advanced world, people generally do not want this kind of a thing. Consequently, this book can be acquired “dirt cheap” nowadays. Nevertheless, because of the content and the price, I strongly recommend the book to our readers. After reading it, if too cumbersome for your space, pass it on to a relative, a friend, a school……or sell it half price on Craigslist! At any rate, below please enjoy the Editor’s ten favorites.

Black Belly – Cheyenne 8

Chief Joseph – Nez Perce

Wishham Girl

Blackfeet and Travois 9

Bear Bull – Blackfoot

Old Cheyenne Chief

New Chest – Piegan

A Hopi Man

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A Cheyenne

Geronimo - Apache

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Looking for Flakes… or “Killing Your Own”

by Gary Poyssick Preliminary ponderings….

I spend a lot of time with stone tools in my hands. Most of them (more than a thousand) are in my “grandbaby” collection. The collection is composed of points from the Gulf of Mexico where I live, all around Florida, and in the states where over the years, I've poked, dug, scraped, and just stepped on ancient artifacts.

Places where my family has owned property – from Ohio to Kentucky to North Carolina and Georgia – all places where ancient families ranging from Paleo hunter-gathering teams to the mound builders also resided so long ago.

There are mounds that still sprinkle Tampa Bay from Weedon Island to Safety Harbor to the mouth of Tampa Bay, where the first Spanish “visitors” encountered indigenous people in a bay called Boca Ciega. In the early 1500s, it is estimated that of the 80,000 mound builders living in the area their numbers were reduced to below 100. In 1780 the last of them left Florida for Cuba. The history of their cultures, their lives, and their deaths can be found under 12 inches of soil and shells in the form of arrowheads, spear points, tools, and beautiful pottery. While the aboriginals are gone, their artifacts have survived the changes brought on by European religion, whiskey, and smallpox.

I never bought an arrowhead until about twenty years ago when I went to a local art festival and met a guy there who made his own spear points. With the small ones costing $30 and the long angry-looking spear points as much as $250, they were costly. You could buy real ones for $10, and beauties for $100 back then. I talked to the guy and he talked about knapping. I had learned to create a quick scraper years before from an uncle whose survival skills would rival those of any Navy SEAL. He taught me how Indians banged rocks together to see how they sounded, and then selected one to chip another. Although my collecting passions have only grown since finding my first artifact as a child, I had never really appreciated the pure artistic skill of knapping until I made a connection with the knapper I met at the festival.

A week later I had a copper nail wrapped with leather strings onto the end of a mop handle, and my perspectives changed forever. These events changed my limited spare time, and more importantly… my general collecting habits.

As I grew older, I watched my collection grow as I also watched prices grow with the passing of time.

Artifacts are currently being sold in plenty of places, but where money moves, so too do the bad guys. And bad guys have copper nails, the ability to press stone in just the right way, and the willingness to steal. I have the first two. The last one is lost on me. As a kid I got busted stealing a little plastic Viking man from a friend.

When my uncle Eddie saw it, and heard me explain that “I just took it,” he took every toy I had ever owned, boxed them up, and transported me to the Salvation Army to give them away to poor kids. We lived in the ghetto ourselves. That was my last theft. The thought of taking what I started learning at that art show all those years ago and making somebody believe that the perfect coral Hillsborough spearhead I have in a pretty glass case was created by an ancient 3,000 years ago not only makes me nauseous, it makes me laugh. If I can make that thing, I want people to know who did it.

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Getting more technical….

That brings us to purchases. And more accurately….. purchasing modernly-made, or modernly-repaired, artifacts. It's not hard to repoint or resharpen an ancient artifact - and do it well. But there are signs. There are outstanding points being auctioned, but there are also bad ones. There are excellent artifact vendors on the web. The honest ones are true collectors. They maintain their respect and client base by carefully checking what they are offering for sale, and if you do get a bad piece that turns out not to be ancient, they will immediately return your money.

However, knowing what to look for yourself will save you money, keep you from getting ripped off, and make it hard for the bad guys….all good things in my opinion. We are all part of this organization for exactly that reason – to keep people honest and to share our knowledge. So if doing that or helping stop bad guys in action is the result of this article I’m writing, that's a very cool thing.

Signs...

I look at pieces for my friends, and ninety-nine percent of the time they are the finders. Knowing the “provenance” – or history and where a piece was found – is 99% of the trick, assuming that you know the information is correct and accurate. If somebody finds an artifact under three feet of ground while excavating a parking lot, the chances that somebody created that piece from a pre-cut slab and seeded the spot are slim.

The odds are the piece is ancient.

The second thing I do is look at the artifact. Does it have a true patina? We find pieces here in the Florida sand that have been filtered by rain several times a week for thousands of years. The pieces look like they've been polished with a dremel and gem polish – but this is totally natural for the area. Having the correct patina for a specific area is important, as different regions have totally different natural patination processes. There are areas where the ground does not create a “thick” patina and the lack of patina can fool you as an old piece can look brand new. I have an obsidian collection found ninety years ago in a single cache in the hills behind Marin County, California. They show not a sprinkle of patina, but are definitely ancient. The work, the style, the material, and most importantly the provenance stood the test. A few of them even show correct mineral growth. That's something nearly impossible to fake, although many fakers are applying artificial substances on many reproductions to make them appear old. It is important to learn what correct patina looks like from the area you are collecting.

Flakes...

One easy thing to look for and an obvious sign of modern knapping – are newly made flakes and silicon debris on a piece. Understanding flakes will make you a better and a safer buyer.

First, take a look at the pictured piece of obsidian below, made by a friend of mine. The obsidian is showing the beginning of the pressure-flaking process. The piece is held in one hand; an antler (or copper nail) is pushed against the side of the stone and a flake is formed.

The energy is transferred by the direction of the pressure and releases a flake. At the top of several of the flakes, you can see a small white shape. It looks somewhat like a fingernail. There are a number of them.

Some of the released flakes “feathered” perfectly into the flat sawed surface; others did not. They left the “fingernails.” These same “sub-flakes” would have also appeared when the ancients first manufactured an item.

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This beautiful pattern was started by my friend Larry Harris. At the top of several of the release flakes (the curved and wavy openings below the arrows) are sub-flakes. They occur where the pressured and release (large) flakes hit and begin to 'feather' onto the flat surface. The same thing happened in raw stone worked by the ancients as happens here with these pre-cut slabs. The only difference is how these sub-flakes would have reacted to being in the ground for hundreds or thousands of years, based on the area where the artifact was found. If in a freeze zone, most of these would have been removed by the process of ground moisture freezing and thawing. If in a non-freeze zone, they would have still reacted to the elements and “weathered.”

The slabs produce points indistinguishable to an untrained eye from a real artifact.

In the next picture you see a beautiful “snapped base” point from Florida that was knapped by an ancient hunter. You can see that the edges are nicely colored from the patination process and there are no sub-flake remnants from the point’s original manufacture.

This Florida snap-base shows the work of the original knapper. But there are no sub-flakes. Looking at the notches is critical – they're places almost impossible for a knapper NOT to leave sub-flakes. On modern pieces, they carry silicon dust that is hard to remove… and it shows, most often in a “white powdery” appearance. On an ancient piece it does not. Before purchasing, check the notches carefully!

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In the next picture you see the notches on an obsidian point I made myself. Look closely, and you will see that the notch shows a slightly white ridge. That white ridge - regardless of where the piece lay for however many thousands of years since it was lost or discarded - would not be as white as it is. This is a sign of fresh flaking.

No ancient piece should have fresh stone showing.

The pressure patterns, the shape, the material relative to the point's style – all of these things are very nice on this obsidian point I knapped. But look closely at the notch on the right (this was shot with a macro lens) and you will see the little white spot. Bad sign! That's a tiny sub-flake just like you saw on the Obsidian point two pictures above. In the tight “platforms” of a notch like this, they're nearly impossible to remove.

Close-up view...

I am a believer in using a digital camera with a good macro lens to slowly and carefully analyze your pieces for authenticity. That does not mean that professional authenticators are not worth their money. They are. If you want the value of your collection to be truly maximized, consider talking to some of those men. Many of the recognized professional authenticators are seriously respected because they are seriously respectable. That said, taking some of your important pieces and sending them to be papered might be well worth it. But if you're careful and work with the better vendors with solid reputations you can get some incredible additions to your collection and do so safely and without much risk. And the good vendors will, in fact, quickly and gladly refund you money if a point is found to be altered or a reproduction. Most respected sellers also offer moneyback guarantees without your getting the point officially killed. You can kill it yourself and they will gladly return your money. So learn everything you can about authenticating, get a good digital camera, and consider a good (used!) stereo microscope. For shows, be sure that you have a good jeweler’s loupe.

Armed with knowledge, you can take your artifact purchases home, inspect them both with the naked eye and under magnification or by looking at high-resolution digital photographs, and you can authenticate many of them yourself.

Editor’s Note: If you are going to purchase artifacts, the point of Poyssner’s article is that you learn as much as you can and try to authenticate your own points. An important point not mentioned in the article is that AACA sellers must offer a 14 day “no questions asked” return privilege. Nevertheless, there are some non-AACA sellers who, if asked, will agree to the same policy. Regardless of whom you buy from, our advice is to secure a written agreement equivalent to the AACA seller policy. If you plan to send a piece to an authenticator as part of your purchase agreement, it is always wise to get the seller to agree to a 30 to 60 day time period during which there is ample time to do so. If the seller does not agree, there is probably a reason for it.

Don’t make the purchase!

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IN SITUS Most of the pictures in this section are in situ; however, because circumstances always do no allow an in situ, a few of them are in hand.

Matt Patstone CALIFORNIA

At first glance, this December 4, 2011 find looks like basalt. However, notice the green tip. The green tip “tips us off� that the point is made of felsite. The ancient Kumeyaay that knapped this thin 1 9/16 inch point was a master of his trade!

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Look closely…..another fine Kumeyaay point found by Matt on Saturday, February 18, 2012. Spectacular color! Unfortunately, when it came out, it was not whole, but an excellent find, nonetheless!

Matt found this true “heartbreaker” on May 6, 2012. Some of The Southern California areas produce exotic lithic material.

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Here is a nice little “haul� found by Matt and his brother in the middle of June 2012

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On June 14, 2012, Matt scored again on this near-perfect Desert Delta

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A Late July 2012 Desert Delta find of Matt’s. A bit of a heart breaker, but a great find with that speckled chert.

Here is another “early a.m.” point that Matt found on October 14, 2012.

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“The one that almost got away.” Notice the footprint on the left….and the point on the right. Now, read below what Matt has to say about this.

“I went out on September 30, 2012, and I had to wait for the sun to come up. One of the pics shows my footprint near this arrowhead which I missed when I had walked by earlier with the sun just coming up and casting lots of shadows.”

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Found at approximately the 4000 foot level in Southern California, here’s a real sweetie from mid-October 2012 by a friend of Matt’s. This point measures three inches…..somewhat unusual for the area found. This may indicate that the point is pre-bow and arrow and possibly an atlatl or spear point.

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Ryan Cockrum MISSOURI

Here are pictures of my Missouri Hardin. This was found by myself on March 3, 2012, in Benton County, MO. I found it while field hunting with my wife. We were at a site I've hunted off and on for 25 years and this was the first time she ever hunted with me. We had looked for a couple hours and I was about to give up when we stopped so I could show her the pocket full of pieces I had found when I looked down and saw an obvious notch peeking out of the dirt. I dropped my backpack and got out the camera because I had a good feeling about this one. I told her to say a little prayer for me that it was whole and I started wiggling it out. Well...It just kept on coming. Needless to say I was dancing! In my 25 years this is by far my best find. I thank my Aunt Lisa and my late Uncle Chris who got me started in this wonderful hobby (and of course my good luck charm wife).

Ryan Cockrum

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Gary Henson California

Found on November 23, 2011, the day before Thanksgiving

Also found on November 23, 2011‌.. a 1.5 inch, serrated felsite heart-breaker

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Gary found this “heart breaker” pendant on February 8, 2012.

A “Saved” Point Gary Henson’s friend, Jerry Hawkins, found this Gary point, made of Reeds Spring Chert, while fishing in February of 2012 on Shoal Creek, Newton County, Missouri. According to Gary…. “Jerry said he just happened to look over at the bank as he was fishing and saw this point. It was about a foot above the water and about to fall into a deep hole.”

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Because manos were purely utilitarian, it’s hard to find a “killer” mano. Although not “killer,” this April 2012 find of Gary’s is unique because it has divots on each side. Gary says, “The field was muddy and I saw a very small edge sticking up.

When I pulled it out it was covered with mud, so I washed it in the creek and took a picture with the corn in the background. Not an in situ, but the best I could do with my hands covered in mud.”

Several late April 2012 Missouri field finds

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This looked like a winner! But alas, it came out broken!

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THE CRITTER GALLERY The AACA Magazine would like to publish your “critter” pictures. Artifact hunters are constantly in field and forest and often have opportunities to snap pictures of our wild friends. This is one of the joys of our hobby. Sometimes the only in situ picture the hunter gets is one of an insect or animal. Our readers would like to see your “critter” pictures! Ideally, pictures should be of creatures you capture on film while out hunting points. (Please, no zoo pics!) Any type of “creature” will suffice….insects, birds, reptiles, mammals, etc. Of course, the pics need to be at least of average or better resolution. Send to sstangland@cox.net. We hope that you enjoy the following “Critter Gallery.”

The following seven pictures were submitted by Ronnie Clough of Maryland (But more follow below these seven)

Canadian Geese

Fawn in August corn 28

A youngster explores the world in April

Young eastern buck

An April gobbler

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May Pollywogs in a San Diego County mountain stream – Editor picture

The Editor’s son, David, caught and released this young Western Blue Tailed Skink on March 29, 2012 in the local San Diego mountains. The picture doesn’t quite capture the spectacular florescent blue of the tail section.

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You’ve seen this Great Gray Owl before, but not these particular shots. “Bird Whisperer” Ken Schmidt rescued this raptor after it had collided with a vehicle a couple years ago. After recovery of a broken ulna, Ken released it.

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If you have a sharp eye you will count 10 Southern California Mule Deer here. The Editor was too slow to catch two more on the far left‌. out of the picture.

Missouri Sphinx Moth in April of 2012. Submitted by Gary Henson.

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This five-foot Missouri Black Snake tried to chase Gary Henson off a site he was hunting in Missouri.

If he can avoid the hungry bass lurking in the creek, this little guy will live a happy life in Missouri. Submission by Gary Henson.

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Gary Henson has become a “regular” with his impressive catches on his annual trips to Missouri. The critter above is a 15 1/2 inch “catch & release” Shoal Creek Smallmouth.

The clear, green depths of Shoal Creek also harbor aquatic critters called Largemouth Bass. This catch and release prize measured 15 ¾ inches.

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A spring Collared Lizard captured on film by John Selmer in New Mexico

A San Diego County Gopher snake spotted

by Matt Patstone in late June of 2012

This section wouldn’t be complete without at least one shot of the ubiquitous horned lizard (Matt Patstone pic – July 2012). How about those malicious looking horns on this little stinker!

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The following six pictures were sent in by John Peterson of Southern California. These are protected Bighorn Sheep that reside in Palm Canyon in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, approximately two hours northeast of San Diego.

Don’t worry! He knows what he is doing and will land safely!

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GREG BASHAM’S CRITTER ZOO Earlier this year Greg Basham of Valley Center, California sent 15 critter pictures to the AACA Editor. For this reason we believe that Greg deserves his own “critter” article. Below are the Editor’s 8 favorites. Thanks, Greg! And send us some more!

During a wildfire several years ago, these wild boars were run out of a canyon near Valley Center, California. They were looking for the sheriff to discuss protection from some of the local two-legged critters.

San Diego County does not have Western Diamondbacks. It does, however, have “Red Diamond” rattlers, and that is what you see here.

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Here is another “Red,” caught out in the open by Greg

Some of Greg’s pictures were taken at night, as was this of a Sidewinder that hangs out around Borrego Springs in the desert east of San Diego

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Another Borrego Springs night-time resident: a Banded Gecko

Fence Lizard – Escondido, California

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Scary Critter A scary critter that terrorizes the residents of Borrego Springs, California. If I told you it measures 3 ½ feet long, would you believe me? ............. (I didn’t think so). This is actually a “Wind Scorpion.” See the separate article “What Is This” for more detailed and intriguing information.

California Slender Salamander

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Landscapes Almost all artifact hunters are lovers of Mother Nature. Oftentimes, we are not rewarded with a little piece of the past made of chert. But we are almost always rewarded with the beauty that surrounds us. Here are some particularly nice landscape and nature shots sent in by several of our AACA members.

Submissions from Ron Clough All taken near the northeastern shore of Maryland

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Submissions from Matt Patstone Southern California, Arizona, Utah

48 Early morning winter sun (December, 2010) in a San Diego desert

An Arizona dawn

Utah waterfall

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Rockwood Canyon - San Pasqual Valley – San Diego County

Wild horses spotted by Matt while hiking in Southern California in April of 2011

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Matt captured this Utah landscape in October of 2011

Submissions from Francis Auld – Pablo, Montana

“Arrow Sign” – Northeastern Montana – Kalispell / Flathead Lake area

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A Montana sunset

“The House” – Northeastern Montana

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MISCELLANEOUS SUBMISSIONS from the EDITOR

A common site in the San Diego County Mountains. This is a pine tree “storage vault” for woodpeckers. The birds store the acorns in the holes. In most of the acorns there is a beetle that lays an egg. The egg turns into a grub and then the woodpeckers eat the grub! Before winter these trees are full of acorns and in spring most of the acorns are gone!

High desert foothills below Table Mountain east of San Diego – Editor’s hike Oct. 15, 2011 53

Submitted by Mike Calhoun-Knight of Escondido, CA

Indian Winter

It's late fall and the Indians on the Greater Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old ways. When he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like.

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was in- deed going to be cold and that the members of the tribe should collect firewood to be prepared.

But, being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea. He got on the phone and called the National Weather Service and asked, “Is the coming winter going to be cold?” “It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,” the meteorologist at the weather service responded.

So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared.

A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. “Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?” “Yes,” the man at National Weather Service again replied, “it's going to be a very cold winter.”

The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find.

Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service again.

“Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?”

“Absolutely.” the man replied. “It's looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we've ever seen.” 'How can you be so sure?” the chief asked.

The weatherman replied, “The Indians are collecting a shitload of firewood.”

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WHAT IS THIS ??

Compiled by Editor S. Stangland

WIND SCORPION - Picture by Greg Basham

Collectors, in particular those living in the southwestern states, may have lifted up a board, a rock or a log, and found one of these. Because they are nocturnal hunters, they are not commonly seen during daylight hours. Although they prefer warm, dry climates, they can be found in many states, including areas as far north as Canada.

This critter is a “Wind Scorpion,” also know as a “Camel Spider” or a “Sun Spider.” Not actually a scorpion or a spider, it is in the order of Arachnids called Solifugae. A single specimen like this one is correctly called a “Solifugid.” They are nocturnal, carnivorous hunters and prefer to live in burrows. With voracious appetites, they can “run like the wind” to chase down prey; thus, the name “Wind Scorpion.” They feed on other critters of almost any size; smaller, the same size, or even larger: insects, beetles, centipedes, small lizards, small scorpions and snakes.

Pictures by John Dillon – Taken near Ocotillo Wells, CA

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They are not hard to recognize because of their large, pincer-like mouth parts, called “chelicerae,” found on the head in front of the mouth. These mouth parts are used independently of each other to chew food - one pair holds the prey, while the other cuts it. Worldwide, there are 800 to 900 species of these- with over a hundred in North America.

American adult species run around 2 ½ to 3 inches in size. There are species that can be much larger.

Anytime you have an ugly, menacing-looking bug like this, there will be “old wives’ tales.” No, they are not poisonous.

No, they will not “come and get you!” However, they can be feisty and as you can see from the pictures, they sport powerful jaws that can inflict a painful bite. Their bite is large and easily prone to infection, so when you encounter a “Wind Scorpion,” don’t aggravate it!

Face Off between a Solifugid and a Scorpion Artist’s conception – Wikipedia …………………………………………………….

Article sources: Interview with “critter expert” John Dillon of National City, California Wikipedia Encyclopedia Miscellaneous internet sources

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It’s About Time! (or is it?....read below)

Because of the buffalo’s close association with Amerind history, the AACA Magazine has featured several articles on the American bison in previous issues. Here is an interesting development.

In May of 2012 a bill (H.R.6304) entitled the “National Bison Legacy Act” was introduced in the U.S. Congress. The intent of the bill is to declare the bison as America’s “national mammal.” Backing the bill are lawmakers from Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Rhode Island. The bill is also supported by the 57 tribes of the “Intertribal Buffalo Council.”

It is not the intent of the bill to minimize or overshadow the bald eagle as the country’s national emblem (as declared by the Second Continental Congress in 1782). It is simply to afford overdue recognition to America’s largest land animal…..a species that has sweeping cultural, historical and ecological significance.

Once numbering in the tens of millions, the buffalo population was reduced to approximately 1000 by the very late 1800’s. Saved from extinction by conservationists, today’s population is estimated at half a million. However, this includes those in commercial herds, many of which have mixed cattle genetics. The estimate for purely genetic wild bison, such as those in Yellowstone National Park, is only 20,000.

Bill UPDATE: In late October, 2012, the Editor checked the status of this bill. It had been referred to a House Committee on August 2, 2012. One internet source gave a ‘prognosis’ that the bill had little chance of passing.

We should know the outcome some time in 2013. Interested readers can track bills through the following website: Thomas.loc.gov.

Sources: San Diego Union Tribune – Sunday, May 27, 2012 Associated Press article by Matthew Brown Editor’s own general reading Bison pic from Editor’s personal files

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