Hey cointosser,
That's a tough question because sometimes it's really tough to
tell. Artifacts that end up in a creek or water can be really hard
to say for sure.
Short Answer; Sometimes it's hard to say for sure. So it can be
whatever you Believe it to be.
Then again, like I like to tell people with those type questions,
"If it was made to be something, then you will be able to see it."
So, the Long Answer, would have to do with the second part of
your question. ie;"Mainly Blanks and half-worked items."
What is an Artifact? An artifact is anything that has been altered
by man. Example: Say I came upon a nice gravel bar in a creek
somewhere and wanted to look for some good working material.
I would find a nice rock to use as a hammerstone and I would
begin picking up other rocks and whack a piece off of them to see
what's inside. Now, the rock and the flake that I chipped off of it
are both artifacts. The rock may not be suitable material for
working and I would just toss them back down and look for
another, but they are both now "artifacts".
How about the farmer sitting up on his tractor plowing his field?
His plow hits a rock and puts a chip in it. Is that an artifact?
Yes, even tho incidentally created, it has been altered by the
action of man.
I am saying this so that you will think more about what your
questionable artifact was used for. If it was used, then there
should be signs of that use. If it was made into some sort of tool,
then it should be fairly obvious. Little apparent work on a tool
usually means little use.
And sometimes you just have to give it your best guess.
Good question, but hard to answer, cointosser.
We could talk more about this, but there's two cents to begin
with. Hope it helps some.
Joe
