Several farmers in the Town of Colonie have discovered various stone tools after plowing their fields a few years ago, and now the town’s historian and two archaeologists are putting on a presentation discussing the artifacts on Saturday, Oct. 29 at the William K. Sanford Library. The tools are not that unfamiliar, said historian Kevin Franklin, but they do provide a window into some of what took place in the town of Colonie in 4,000 B.C. “The town has many, many sites that are archaeologically sensitive or have had Native American occupation,” Franklin said. “Farmers many years ago, before mechanized farming and tractors became more popular, they used to walk behind a team of horses with a plow. They would unearth these things, the plow would kick them over, and then they would reach down and put them in their pockets.” What many of the farmers began to find were pieces of bronze and copper that were used to make a projectile point, though many people have referred to them as arrowheads. Archaeologist Matt Kirk said most of what people call an arrowhead was never actually used in a bow and arrow, as that particular weapon did not become popular until about 800 A.D. in the Town of Colonie. The weapon that was used before this time is called an Atlatl, which Kirk said is a crooked piece of wood attached to the end of a spear. The other end is held like an arrow. People would then whip the tool, releasing the spear at a fast speed. “People who could use it, could use it with deadly accuracy,” Kirk said. “It probably had more to do with the manner in the way people were hunting and what types of things they were hunting. Deer was probably the most common.” Franklin said it is important to look at these artifacts because they can tell you whether or not there was a repeated occupation in a particular area. He added that several sites in the town were occupied several times over hundred-year spans. The artifacts can also give information as to where some tribes have migrated from, with some of them coming from as far as Maine of the Ohio Valley. Kirk said what he and Frank Cowan will be discussing on Oct. 29 are the type of points that were discovered and what style they are. “Archaeologists, through radio carbon dating, can say something about the time period in which these came from,” Kirk said. “What we understand archaeologically is how native people were living, what the environment was like, what the social conditions were like and what type of trade relations there were.” Kirk said they are able to come to these conclusions through using a whole range of artifacts that were discovered. He said by looking at the morphology of an artifact, you can tell that they have changed at a steady and predictable rate. Kirk added that Cowan will also be discussing flint knapping, which is how to start with just a regular piece of stone and work it into a specific tool. Franklin said it is nice to have the knowledge of where these artifacts have come from and that there is always something new to learn. Some of the tools found could have been used to skin hides and some of them could have been used to perforate leather to lace up with string. “What’s amazing is a lot of these points when they are recovered from the ground, they could cut you,” Franklin said. “They’re still very sharp… I hope people will show and enjoy the day and learn about the Native American occupation in Colonie.”