Boy finds 1,500-year-old artifact

By Audrey Esther and Darren Brown,  News9.com INsite Team

Oklahoma is rich in Native American history, and so is its soil. Next time you're outside take a look around. You might just find an ancient relic like the one 12-year-old Haines Todd found.

"I just saw it on the ground and it just blended in with the leaves," Haines said. "So I got down and picked it up and figured out it was rock.  

He then found his mother, Nancy.

"Haines came riding up and was like mom I found something really old and I said did you find the keys that I lost," Nancy Todd said.  

"Uh, I think it's a little bit older," Haines said.

The stone Haines found looked like an arrowhead and he and his family assumed it to be at least 400 years old.  They took it to local expert James Cox, and he estimated it closer to 1,500 years old.  He also told the family it was not an arrowhead, but a dart point. 

"He found an exceptional piece," Cox said. "It's complete, rather large and made from a chert that comes all way from the border of northern Oklahoma with Kansas."

From northern Oklahoma to a heavily traveled riding lot on the Haine's property...a rare and well-preserved piece of history found by a young history enthusaist

"To figure out it could have been from 1500 B.C. is really neat," Haines said.

"He would be the perfect kid to find something and appreciate something that old," Nancy said.  

James Cox is a dentist by day but freelances in archaelogy during his spare time. He says he wouldn't be suprised if Haines picked up the hobby, too.

"I said Haines you've got a great find because people sometimes look years and years to find even a single whole one like you found," Cox said.

Cox says if you find something that might be an artifact, then record the date, location and contact the Oklahoma Archaelogical Society.