Looking for some good spots to hunt for indian artifacts (Omaha: house, purchasing)

[broncomike]

If anybody has any good spots to find these artifacts please let me know. Thanks.

[roots'nbulbs]

Probably gleaned, but arrow heads and pottery shards used to turn up on the South shores of Harlan Reservoir and, on down the Republican River.

[MICHAEL J]

What part of the state are you interested in? And what era artifacts interest you?

[Bigg Mann]

Originally Posted by broncomike

If anybody has any good spots to find these artifacts please let me know. Thanks.

I grew up in extreme sw Nebraska and our neighbor 1 mile away was moving some dirt around near his house for an outbuilding. His blade hit some bones and he called our house and my brother who was visiting from Wichita,KS went over and unearted a complete Indian skeleton including teeth and mumified skin. He took it back in his hatchback (creepy) to Wichita State and they said it was a hunting party indian that traveled thru that area a lot and stopped at a natural Sring on our ranch. That was neat to know.

There is also a burial ground one half mile behind our old house and when we were kids we never went up there.

[broncomike]

thanks for the feedback so far. I reside in grand island so am looking for locations within 200 miles either direction preferrably. Any era of artifacts interest me. I was trying to locate the "Native Americans in the Lower Platte Valley" which housed prehistoric indians near ashland. I was at the historical marker but had no idea where the actual spot was. Ive actually been interested in artifact hunting/rock hunting/treasure hunting for many years but only recently have i actually took the time to go out and hunt for them. The last couple years a friend of mine and i would take a trip to wyoming to hunt for indian artifacts. But i havent had much luck in nebraska yet. I appreciate any information that you guys have. I would be willing to offer a fee to search on anyones property that may provide spots to search. Also would possibly be interested in purchasing some land that was previously occupied by indians. Im heading to lake mcconaughy for a couple days this weekend so maybe ill have some luck up there. Thanks in advance for any information.
Michael

[broncomike]

Wow thats a great story and sounds like quite the adventure. yes id be in heaven with a location like that with the history behind it. Having that spring as a spot where they stopped to gather, i would suspect there would be alot of artifacts there to be found.

[Gunluvver2]

I grew up on a farm in Eastern Colorado about 7 miles from the Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado border. If you ever fly across the Tri-Corners area you can still see Buffalo trails from the air in land that is still in native grasses. The farm I grew up on was only six miles from Beecher Island, CO, the site of a major Indian battleground. That battle took place on an Island in the Arickaree River. I believe the year was 1869. I walked all over this area as a kid with my dog and .22 Rifle. I found a lot of artifacts like arrowheads, spear points, pottery shards and even an old Spencer Rolling block rifle that was just a hunk of rust by the time I found it.

One thing to remember in this part of the country is that water is scarce. Indian campsites were typically located within sight of a source of water. An older Great Uncle settled in this area in the 1880's. When I was a kid he pointed out old Buffalo trails, wallows and Springs that once had enough water in them that he would swim there. Thanks to the practice of using underground water for irrigation almost all of those springs have now dried up. The Arickaree River is almost totally gone now. When I was a kid it was disappearing quickly. In the late 1970's or early 1980's a grove of Cottonwood trees in the area revealed several skeletons buried high in the tree tops. An archaeology student from the University of Colorado discovered them. I had hunted all around the grove as a kid. Heck for all I know some of the old bones I found were human. Finding bones was a regular occurence. I always assumed they were coyote, deer, antelope, or cattle bones.Who knows.

Any of the bluffs overlooking the Republican River Valley from Wray, Colorado all the way to Harlan County Reservoir 250 miles away should be prime country for Indian artifacts.

Good Luck GL2

[broncomike]

thanks for the great info and story, i got more locations now and hope to add some artifacts to my collection.

[Sandhills Guru]

I know of a couple guys who enjoy searching for artifacts in my area. I know one of them regularly searches tribuiaries of the Niobrara River. He uses a bucket, which the bottom has been cut out and replaced with plexi-glass, he walks the smaller streams using this as his veiw finder. I have went with him a couple times and its amazing what he finds in these streams. Spring time or after a major rain is best he says.

He also will walk/crawl down agricultural fields right after planting or after cultivating.

Good luck to you.

[laserdisque]

Interesting post! Sounds like something that I could get into. Does anyone know of any areas around the Omaha Metro that is good for finding artifacts?