We present to you a 3-D scan of a gorgeous Early Archaic Nettling point discovered this past winter by our Field Director Robb Bhardwaj, who shared his story of discovery with us:
Nettling Projectile Point
by ASI
on Sketchfab
“Sometimes in archaeology, artifacts seem to want to be found. I came upon just such an artifact this past December, on a warm winter’s morning in Waterdown. I manage a crew of three people doing surveys across Southern Ontario; on that particular day we were field walking a ploughed field and test pitting around a historic house, a few modern sheds, and some scrub land. Once the crew got working, I decided to scout ahead across the twenty acre property. As I began my trek, I realized a few things very quickly: one, it was far too warm for a December morning and I had foolishly worn too many layers of clothing and two, the field was littered with a myriad of golf balls and I had forgotten my satchel with the crew. As I reached the end of the property with a coat full of golf balls, I needed a break, so I put my golf ball filled coat on the ground, looked just in front of me, and saw, lying on top of the ploughed field, an almost perfect Early Archaic Nettling point. After my initial jubilation, I quickly realized that I had left my camera and GPS with the crew, and only had pockets of golf balls in the coat. I remembered my FD training and asked myself, what would Wojo do? (Veteran field director Rob Wojtowicz knows what to do in even the most unusual situations.) The answer was to make a cairn of golf balls at the place of the point. So just like when Bilbo found the one ring, I popped the point in my interior coat pocket and walked back to the crew with a jump in my step and a big grin on my face.
When I showed them my find, their response was of shock and then annoyance that I had gone off and “cherry-picked” such a beautiful find. But I was deaf to their moans and grumbles, still enamoured with the point, and in disbelief over how I had stumbled across it in the ploughed field.”
Nettling Points are one of the earliest types of projectile points that we find in Ontario, ranging in age from 8,000 to 10,000 years old. On that field in Waterdown, Robb was quick to note the details of the shape, notching and serration along the point’s edge, which informed him of the importance of his find. We have annotated the above 3-D scan to help you identify those same features, just like our expert field directors!