Vent: My neighbor keeps calling every old rock in his yard an 'ancient artifact'

The guy next door has a gravel driveway and every time he finds a slightly smooth stone, he brings it over asking if it's an 'arrowhead'. I'm not a pro, just a hobbyist who reads a lot, but I finally had to explain after the fifth rock last week. Real worked stone tools have specific flaking patterns you can see with a simple 10x loupe, which I showed him. His 'artifact' was just a piece of river rock. It matters because calling everything an artifact muddies what real local history looks like. Our area in central Ohio has actual Adena culture sites, not random driveway gravel. Has anyone else had to gently correct a friend's over-enthusiastic identifications?

2 comments

2 Comments

claire9992d ago

You said it muddies local history, but I think letting people get excited about rocks is how real interest starts.

ryan_flores1d ago

Getting excited about rocks is such a good point.