Took this pic last fall after taking down a good-sized red oak. I had never thought much about it (nor have I ever really studied tree rings), but the logger pointed out the tight tree rings on the windward side (facing the wind) and the wider rings on the leeward side. Thought it was a neat bit of firewooding trivia: "When a tree is constantly exposed to prevailing winds, it grows asymmetrical rings to stabilize itself against the leaning force."
I admit up front, that I know absolutely nothing about native American cairns. I had to look up the word cairns to even find out what it was. Apparently, they are quite the thing in New England. Lived here 40 years and this is the first time I ever heard of it. Saw an article about the Narragansets and their cairns, though I haven't read it yet. I have quartz from my grandmother that she gave me in the 1970's from Southern Indiana. Is there some tie in with quartz and native Americans that made you suspect? Great find.
I remember hearing somewhere years ago that quartz was highly revered in Native American culture. I knew that they used it for suspected ceremonial purposes. Finding a large dump of hand-worked quartz rocks in one concentrated spot raised a huge red flag with me so I did some Googling, which convinced me further. I know there are faint remnants of that culture all over, hiding in plain sight. If you find areas with large stone outcroppings, you might see a bowl shape carved into the rock face. This was a spot where natives processed acorns for flour. I've only seen one of these before. The only other Native American artifact I ever found was an arrowhead that emerged from the mud in my front yard 30 years ago.
Have you ever found atifacts? Maybe continue conversation in a PM if you feel more comfortable about it EDIT: I just read the rest of the posts regarding this.
This is the second time that I found this car in the woods. The first time was about 27 years ago when a friend and I rode our bikes through the woods and came across it.