Rock Piles/Cairns

[dreamcatcher]

Looking for any info or knowledge/ideas about rock cairns? I have four on my property. The land has never been cleared for farming but has been clearcut for timber 15-20 years ago. The two in the photo appear to have no disturbances but the other two evidently got moved about by the skidders when the land was cut. This view is looking directly North. Appreciate any info. Larry

[arappaho]

Hey Larry,
Me again.
But I gotta jump in here because this is the stuff I'm most
interested in. Confirming, plotting, and collecting samples
from aboriginal quarry sites. And, as I'm sure you know,
your area is full of them. I have, for the most part, left the
Uwharries to the professionals, and have been concentrating
my efforts on the nothern NC Slate Belt, or Virgilina District.
I've looked at a lot of piles of rocks like that. Usually, they are
created by a combination of nature and man. To what extent
mans role was, and when, can only be determined by taking
a closer look. Yep, that means doing something everyone on
this board actually will pay money to do. Dig and sift dirt! ;D

Now I have no idea if those outcroppings on your property
were prehistorically quarried or not, but there are alot of tell
tale signs in the photo and you are in the right location. Take
a rake and look around below the leaves for flakes. Also, even
tho there may not be much hard evidence of it, the presence
of historic man,( us ), usually adds up to some alteration of
the site. I don't believe I would call these rockpiles a 'cairin'.
But then again, who knows?

Joe

[dreamcatcher]

Joe,
What differentiates a "pile" from a "cairn?"

I'm not sure if it was a quarry site but there is a huge outcropping of rhyolite on a rise above the creek within a stone's throw from the piles. I haven't made many surface finds of chips, etc in that specific area but did find a few points and fifteen or so of what I consider preforms which were unearthed when a pine tree blew over.

These rock things fascinate me.

Thanks, Larry

[arappaho]

Well, Larry,
I'm glad you are enjoying this, because I am too!
You and nose2ground have got really interesting situations!
What you said you were finding around these rockpiles
sounds exactly right. First of all you have to keep in mind that
these rhyolite outcroppings were utilized to all different degrees.
Some, like Morrow Mtn., were major quarry sites, and then
you have many types of lesser used quarry sites.

Since your spot has not been disturbed in quite sometime, if ever,
then any layer of flakes and debris, or debitage, would most
likely be a foot or more under the dirt and humus. Also, you don't
usually find many finished points at quarry sites. What you do find
are preforms called 'quarry blades or blanks', like the ones you
found under that pine tree that fell over. The aboriginals would
sit at the quarry site and reduce the rock to these preform
stages thereby minimizing the amount of weight and useless
rock they would have to carry back to camp or where ever.

So it sounds to me like you have a quarry site. No telling how
big of one or how much used, but one all the same. I would be
happy to help you 'check it out' sometime, and can tell you how
and what is involved with recording the site, should you feel you
would like to. Like I said earlier, quarry sites are more interesting
to me than camp sites.

And a rockpile is a rockpile is a rockpile. A cairn is a monument.
People sometimes call markers along a trail cairns, but I would
say that too is incorrect. A cairn can be a marker, but more
importantly, it is a monument to something or one. That is my
understanding of the word anyway.

Talk to you later, Joe