"In the late 1880's, an archaeological discovery was made in Humphreys County, Tennessee which was said at that time to be the greatest single archaeological find ever made in the United States. This discovery,----was later to become known as the "Duck River Cache----." ---1981, H. C. Brehm, "The History Of The Duck River Cache," Miscellaneous Paper No. 6, Tennessee Anthropological Association, p. 1.

"The oval, double-pointed "flints," (swords) are, as far as known, the finest examples of flint chipping that have been discovered in North America and, possibly in the world." ---1897, William J. Seever, The Antiquarian , "A Cache Of Idols And Chipped Flint Instruments In Tennessee," p. 145.

"The remarkable length of the objects ( Duck River Cache "Swords" ) would at once suggest coarseness, but the chipping is as remarkable as the extreme length of the objects---." ----1897, William J. Seever, The Antiquarian , "A Cache Of Idols And Chipped Flint Instruments In Tennessee," p. 145.

"In December, 1894, an employee of Mr. Links, while plowing in this field ( on the Links farm ), turned up several implements. Their form and size being unusual, time was taken to dig, and the objects ( Duck River Cache )----were found" ---1897, William J. Seever, The Antiquarian , "A Cache Of Idols And Chipped Flint Instruments In Tennessee," p. 141.

"A remarkable and unexplainable feature of the find is, that with the exception of the long, slender, double-pointed specimens, all the forms, with one exception, are in pairs of two of each form." ---1897, William J. Seever, The Antiquarian , "A Cache Of Idols And Chipped Flint Instruments In Tennessee," p. 142.



DUCK RIVER CACHE

MISSISSIPPIAN PERIOD

HUMPHREYS COUNTY, TENNESSEE Caches of Stone Age artifacts, from all cultural time periods, have been found in North America. They are most often found by the public on land that's been disturbed by farming or construction or by soil erosion. The most reliable information about caches can be found in published reports that describe archaeological excavations. Most of the caches that contain flaked stone artifacts are represented by simple and small tools that relate to utilitarian purposes. They may contain raw materials in the form of flakes or preforms or tools that could be used for hunting or processing food. But the Duck River Cache represents a smaller percentage of caches that apparently contain objects that relate to ritual applications.