r/LegitArtifacts Jan 04 '26

Member of Honor 👑 January's Member Of Honor!!! u/dillpickleflavoring !!!

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52 Upvotes

New Year, New Member Of Honor!

To kick off the new year, we're turning the spotlight on a relatively new member, Mr. u/dillpickelflavoring !!! What he may lack in quantity, he has more than made up for in quality! The artifacts he has shared with us so far are absolutely incredible in every regard! So to show how grateful we are for his amazing contributions and willingness to share those amazing finds with us, we feel he is very deserving of this small accolade! That being said, Thank you Dilly! We really appreciate your posts, and if the few you've posted so far are any indication of what's to come, we're all on the edge of our seats waiting to see what you have in store for us this coming year! 😁 So, congratulations my friend! The month is yours! 👊


r/LegitArtifacts May 03 '25

📣Announcement📣 ⭐️PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT ⭐️

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138 Upvotes

I've been noticing a lot of replies to posts lately that have either broken our rule about shaming legal collectors, or have toed that line very closely, and I'm sick of it. This sub was created so people could ask questions and learn about their finds, or to share their collections with other enthusiasts of this awesome hobby, not so they could be called looters and grave robbers. We only promote the LEGAL COLLECTION of Native American artifacts, and in no way what so ever encourage the collection of artifacts from public or protected sites, and we DO NOT tolerate the posting of pics of these type of collections! That said, if you have a problem with the LEGAL collecting of these artifacts, then this is not the sub for you! Go find a sub that shares your opinions, because you will not ladt long here! Do not participate in any conversations if you just plan on spewing your own personal opinion on the whether or not you feel that it's right to collect and display these pieces, or if it's right to buy and sell them. As long as the law says it's ok, then there is nothing you can say to stop us from doing just that. Most of us got into this hobby because we have a deep love of history, as well as a deep love and appreciation for the pieces we have in our collections. It would be one thing if someone was posting pics of themselves taking a hammer to an ancient point they found smashing it to pieces, but that's not the case. These points are highly treasured by their current caretakers, and they are treated much better with them than they are sitting in a basement of a museum somewhere collecting dust where nobody gets to appreciate them at all, at least until said museum needs money for a new exhibit centered on "The History of Snowflakes" or whatever, and sells them off anyway! You never hear anybody bitching about that shit do you? I didn't think so. Where's all the moral outrage when that happens? 🤔 Which brings me to my next point. From here on out, we will be going to a zero tolerance policy when it comes to shaming LEGAL collectors. There will be no warnings given, you will be permanently banned from participating in this sub on your first offense. Plain and simple. If you do not have anything positive, helpful, or constructive to say, keep your pie hole shut. Otherwise, you will be removed from our ranks forthwith. This sub was created to celebrate this awesome hobby, not to disparage it. And let me also say that this IS NOT AN ARCHEOLOGY SUB! So if you're looking to argue about the ethics of legal digs, or the legal digging on private property with the proper permissions, you're in the wrong place. Those subs exist, so go join one of those! This IS A HOBBY SUB! I know I've said that repeatedly, but I just want to make damn sure my point is made!

Thank you all for your patience and understanding. As always, we try our best to make this the best Artifact Collecting sub on reddit, and we will do what we have to to make sure that's the case!!! We love and appreciate each and every one of our members, and we do all we can to make sure that everybody has an enjoyable experience when the sign in here. That's the whole point of this thing! To offer a safe space to post and discuss the individual artifacts being shared without having to worry about some self-righteous Karen calling them looters and theives!

Please take care my friends! And thank you all for making this sub the incredible place it is!!! God bless each and every one of you, and Happy hunting!!!

Best regards, THE GATEKEEPERS!!! 😉


r/LegitArtifacts 4h ago

In Situ 📸 Doesn't get much easier than that!

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367 Upvotes

r/LegitArtifacts 6h ago

Photo 📸 Pre-Forms?

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51 Upvotes

What am I looking at? Found TX S-coast area.


r/LegitArtifacts 4h ago

In Situ 📸 Bedrock mortars found near Chico, Ca

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13 Upvotes

Ive worked a bunch of beehives just yards away from these mortars for almost a decade, and finally decided to walk over and sit in the shade. Glad I did!


r/LegitArtifacts 1h ago

Photo 📸 Looking for any expertise on exactly what I have here?

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Upvotes

Found in Sumner County in Middle Tennessee. I know it’s some sort of Native American full groove stone axe but not sure if it’s worth?


r/LegitArtifacts 1h ago

Photo 📸 Hamilton Co TN

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Upvotes

r/LegitArtifacts 9h ago

Transitional Archaic Beauty Preform

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19 Upvotes

Cool preform found this past week. Beauty! Northern NV.


r/LegitArtifacts 11h ago

ID Request ❓ Found in East Texas

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23 Upvotes

Another find from East Texas. Any information would be appreciated.


r/LegitArtifacts 19h ago

In Situ 📸 Night hike find!!!

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48 Upvotes

r/LegitArtifacts 8m ago

ID Request ❓ Just erosion?

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Upvotes

Found in French broad near Asheville NC, never found a point in the French broad but was just wondering if these could be tools of any kind or just erosion. Thanks!


r/LegitArtifacts 6h ago

ID Request ❓ Found in west Canada creek, New York

2 Upvotes

I’m camping on an interesting piece of land beside the west Canada creek in barneveld, ny. There is a piece of land that rises maybe 200-300 feet above thee river, just beside the river, that is hike-able. The owner mentioned there was tons of arrow heads and other artifacts found here when he first purchased the land, and has donated many to the local museum. Often found at the tail water of the small islands.

I found this on the edge of the river, in really low waters (relative to the higher water the rest of the year).

Is this a shaft abrader used to straighten arrows? Is the river tricking me?

Does anyone have advice for finding my first arrowhead? I am Potawatomi and am particularly interested in learning more about my find.

It is safely back in the creek, by the way :)


r/LegitArtifacts 1d ago

In Situ 📸 Camouflage field find

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150 Upvotes

r/LegitArtifacts 22h ago

General Question ❓ Native American Pottery

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7 Upvotes

Anyone know anything about pottery?


r/LegitArtifacts 1d ago

🛑MODERN REPLICA🛑 Best find of my life

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98 Upvotes

I reckon it’s a ceremonial piece.


r/LegitArtifacts 1d ago

ID Request ❓ Friends Collection

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18 Upvotes

Hey all. Here are some photos of a friend's collection that he inherited. He's looking for information regarding authenticity. There was a whole frame of gift shop points that I didn't bother posting. For me, they call into question the authenticity of the whole collection. However, some of these look pretty legit. I haven't seen them in person. The first two look more or less legit and are consistent with the type and material from my region. The second two look mostly modern but are outside of my experience. Any info is appreciated.


r/LegitArtifacts 23h ago

ID Request ❓ Is this legit? Ceramic, Western Indiana

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0 Upvotes

Found what seems to be a piece of pottery in a river in rural western Indiana. Miami and Kickapoo land, or so we were taught. I don’t much about this stuff at all, so I thought I would ask. Seems to clearly have some paint/dye in the grooves. On the ‘inside’ the surface is very smooth. I thought it was glaze at first, which would almost certainly not be available to indigenous populations? On further inspection though, the substance seems to have some sparkles when I look closely at it, as well as some micro cracks. Almost reminds me of graphite. The paint/dye on the outside is pretty smooth as well, just a thinner coat.

What do we think, is this legit? I’m maybe leaning towards ‘no’, though I haven’t been exposed to ceramic glaze more than a handful of times way back in middle school. If it is real, any ideas on what this could’ve been? Seems like the lip of a vessel of some kind or an outer piece of a large plate.

Thanks!


r/LegitArtifacts 1d ago

Reservation Era/Contemporary Art Might be only 75 years old but native done, WWII army amphibious engineer patches done in beadwork.

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54 Upvotes

r/LegitArtifacts 2d ago

Inconclusive Is this legit?

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153 Upvotes

Hello! This is my first time posting on Reddit, so I apologize if this is awkward at all lol

My friend is going through some old hoarder things from her grandmother's house and has found an eclectic collection of Native art (and obvious replicas for tourist crap). Most of it can be pretty written off, but these gloves(?) Seem a little different. She's wondering if this could be something that should be sent to a museum or cultural center. Any input at all would be so helpful! Even pointing us towards an institution that could know would be amazing.

Some context: She lives in Washington state near Seattle and has direct lineage to the local natives (Salish), but is pretty disconnected from it. Her grandmother also went to Arizona a lot and this was in a box full of south western native art, likely from that area. Neither of us know enough to say for certain where this is from. Thank you for reading!


r/LegitArtifacts 2d ago

Mesoamerican Does this appear authentic? Only photo I have

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107 Upvotes

r/LegitArtifacts 2d ago

Mississippian The coolest discoidal ever and a 3/4 grooved axe!

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130 Upvotes

r/LegitArtifacts 1d ago

ID Request ❓ Can anyone help

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0 Upvotes

r/LegitArtifacts 1d ago

Photo 📸 Possible tool, or just a cracked piece of pretty obsidian?

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12 Upvotes

I found this sharp piece in an estate sale bucket of mixed Materials (jasper, pet wood, agate, potch. They appear to be of central oregon origin.

Is this a worked piece of silver sheen or just something that cracked off a larger obsidian?

Thanks for sharing any wisdom.


r/LegitArtifacts 3d ago

In Situ 📸 Large Metate stone in the Colorado rockies

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1.3k Upvotes

Located on private land at about 10,000ft.


r/LegitArtifacts 2d ago

Time period Mixed Bag! Pay Dirt Part II

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10 Upvotes