Publisher's Synopsis
"ARROWHEAD Gems of the Pacific Northwest" -- For several generations those of us who have been privileged to grow up in the Pacific Northwest have also been able to discover the lasting evidence of those many ancient cultures which first pioneered human occupation and enjoyment of this region. One of the great adventures of childhood and youth in the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and northern Nevada and northern California has been the opportunity to venture into the wilderness around us. To go where the first people went. To see what they saw. To dream of how they lived in, explored and mastered those wonderfully varied and challenging natural environments which we still love, respect and treasure to this day. This book was produced to share some of the working gems which were made by those people who were here when the first users of the bow and arrow inhabited this part of the North American continent, some 1500 to 2000 years ago. Their forebears had been here since the end of the last Ice Age, 500 generations ago. These artifacts have been recovered over the past century all across the Pacific Northwest. They were made as hunting tools. They were made by hand, without metal, using stone, bone and antler as their tools for breaking and shaping these points for their arrows. From stone as hard as steel, like agate and jasper. From volcanic rock, known to us as obsidian, a natural glass which fractures to an edge far sharper than any steel razor blade. In the pages of "ARROWHEAD Gems of the Pacific Northwest" you will see beautiful stone material shaped into aerodynamic forms which remind us today of supersonic fighter aircraft. These stone hunting weapons were made and used across time, from 2000 years ago to 200 years ago. Over that time the designs and shapes changed, based on the experience and results of the people who used them to feed their families. These are an ancient technology, yes, and they have been proven effective by long use. Today we see many of these artifacts as beautiful. To our eyes they are. We even call these "gem" points. However, they were imminently practical and essential to survival. They are enduring evidence of the creative genius of the people who relied on these hunting weapons for thousands of years. "ARROWHEAD Gems of the Pacific Northwest". 112 pages, full color.
