beveled adze that was 100% complete and, aside from use-wear damage to the bit and poll, was nearly  perfect in every way.    It had been patiently pecked and ground by its maker, the telltale marks of manufacture still apparent after 5000 years of rest in the soil.

    Dan came over and patted me on the back. After realizing that the adze lay 6 feet from the footprints he had left on the previous pass he said "I'm glad you found that one and not me." We have an understanding that artifacts found on each others sites should stay with their

respective assemblages. Dan admitted that if he had made this find that he would have had a hard time letting it go. I jokingly replied that "I'd have had to wrestle you for it."
    We left the field shortly after that incredible find with our spirits justifiably lifted. I couldn't have imagined a better day spent searching for artifacts. Our efforts netted 9 Lamoka points that were 90% or more intact, 3 broken point tips, 7 point bases, 4 knives (including fragments), 3 retouched end scrapers, 1 graver, 3 flaked cores, 2 beveled adze fragments, 2 pitted stones, 1 hammerstone, and 1 complete beveled adze. A total of 36 artifacts and a new one day record for the site. On the way out I kidded Dan about the weight of all the stone tools I was carrying and how much work I had ahead of me cleaning, labeling and cataloging the days' finds. We agreed that it was a labor that any avocational archaeologist would gladly bear. 
    The adze I found did have an unsettling mark left by a farm implement on its flat underside. That scar represented an agricultural near miss and served as a sad reminder of the collateral damage that claims many quality artifacts. It affirmed my conviction that amateur artifact collectors fill a necessary and valuable role in preserving artifacts that may otherwise go unsalvaged.  The good intentions of ethical surface collectors continue to save relics of the past for everyone's appreciation, present and future.                                                    g

A sample of some of the Lamoka lithic tool assemblage collected on this hunt including various whole points, tips, bases, knife forms, and scrapers.