Staff Report
A Columbus teenager’s Fourth of July family vacation in Michigan included not only fun in the sun but the discovery of an ancient artifact.
Emma, 13, was walking on the beach at Tawas Bay when something caught her eye. She bent over to take a closer look and found what she thought was an American Indian arrowhead.
Emma wondered if it was real thing or a lost souvenir from a gift shop. She tucked it in her pocket.
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Several days later, Emma went with her cousins to The Lumberman’s Monument to attend a program about the atlatl, a tool used by early American Indians to propel a spear.
The subject of the arrowhead came up, and James Renn, forest archaeologist with the Huron-Manistee National Forest, said he’d be interested in seeing it.
A picture was sent to him by email and Renn replied that Emma had indeed found a real artifact. Later, she returned to the monument to show her artifact to him in person. He had some news: Emma had not found an arrowhead, but a spearhead like the ones used on spears propelled by the atlatl.
A book that Renn had on arrowheads and spearheads revealed that Emma’s particular spearhead was a Brewerton notched spearhead, dating back 4,000 to 6,000 years.
As Emma held her spearhead, she said, “It’s hard to believe I’m holding something that was here even before Jesus!”
Emma is the daughter of John and Tina Woodall, of Columbus, and granddaughter of Bobby and Laurie Woodall, also of Columbus.
