MONDAY BLAH .........What a difference a day makes... or in this instance, approximately 1,460,000 of em. On the left is an Ashtabula dart point from the late Archaic period, between 1500 and 4000 years old and on the right is a Dove Tail point from the early Archaic period between 8000 and 9500 years old. Both of these were made from mottled blue Coshocton chert, quite possibly from the same quarry site in Ohio, but the much older Dove Tail point shows heavy patina from aging. Patina is a discoloration which occurs to the surface of artifacts after theyve been exposed to the elements, soil and weather changes over hundreds of years. Many times this discoloration, or coating has a foggy appearance. (Such as in this example) Patina differs greatly from stone type to stone type and often patina can turn a snow white host stone solid black in appearance and conversely patina can turn a black host stone a frosty white color. (Especially in desert areas where artifacts not only experience a bleaching process from exposure to the sun, but also take on what is termed desert polish from blown sand contacting the surface of artifacts over hundreds of years in time.)
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 22:00:16 +0000