Quartz, Oval Scaper

From North River, Marshfield

Rock Features of the Upper Klamath Basin (2018 Thesis)

An Integrated Approach to Identification 

By Roman Jakien

Central Washington University, romansjakien@gmail.com

“Obtaining power through features on the landscape and stacking rocks were prominent aspects of their traditional religious practice (Deur 2016; Haynal 2000; Ray 1963; Spier 1930; Theodoratus et al. 1990). Deur (2016:36) notes that in Klamath and Modoc oral tradition, the act of stacking rocks during the vision quest is “attributed to the very beginnings of human time, and is rooted in the instruction of the Creator, Gmukamps.” Ray (1963:xiii) noted that the two tribes not only created “artificial rock piles for religious and commemorative purposes” but also “attributed mythological significance” to naturally occurring rock piles…It has been written that certain rock feature types, like “rock stacks” and “prayer seats” are sometimes positioned at specific geographic locations that align them with distant landscape features such as mountains, lakes, and rivers (Jankowski 2012). Deur (2016:52) suggests that ritual rock features are sometimes aligned with distant landmarks so that prayers can be focused towards those places, or powers obtained from those landmarks. He also suggests that some landmarks have stories or moral lessons associated with them that can be incorporated into ritual activity or prayer. The importance of visualizing a distant landmark for certain ceremonial purposes explains why many vision quest sites are found at higher elevations with open viewsheds (Applen 2001; Jones 2003)… 

Deur (2016:56-57) states that the “practice of ritual rock stacking is said to have skipped a generation in many families” due to the assimilation policies and tribal termination, but that there has been a “reawakening in recent decades.” Information gleaned through recent ethnographic studies indicate the practice of constructing rock features in traditional Klamath and Modoc lands continues by current Klamath tribal members, even with the conversion of many to Christianity or secular belief systems (Deur 2016; Haynal 1994, 2000)…”

Jakien, Roman, "Rock Features of the Upper Klamath Basin: An Integrated Approach to Identification" (2018). All Master's Theses. 892. 

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/892

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1873&context=etd

A few artifacts from Plymouth, MA

Some eclectic finds, from a town with a sense of the past. A special place for Americans. What I never realized about Plymouth before is that it was as very hospitable place, with a welcoming topography. 

The most recent prehistory of the town is oriented towards the Wampanoag. These items suggest a deeper past.

A closeup:

Large Rock Pile with Enclosure, from PA

[From Norman Muller]

Going through some old photos, I came upon this image of a large cairn supposedly somewhere in Berks or Bucks Co., PA.  What I found interesting was the stone enclosure at one end.  That reminded me of an enclosure I had photographed in Westkill, NY ages ago (0097).  And then I remembered another small enclosure at one end of a large cairn, also in Westkill.  The enclosures look like sacred spaces, perhaps to leave offerings.

Prehistoric Monumental Archaeology of the Southeastern United States

Mar 6, 2021

Archaeologists have been studying the monumental earthworks in the eastern woodlands since Thomas Jefferson first tasked a few of his slaves with excavating one in order to determine if they were built by Native Americans or not. Here I very briefly review what we know about the process of monumentality in the Southeast over the course of 6000 years . 

https://youtu.be/wGJIoll9zQ0

Lithic Analysis of Nevada Stone tools

A series discussing some of the details of the stone tools I brought back from Nevada [not rock pile-related. ]

Nashobah Praying Indian Book Signing & Open House

Sunday April 23, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Littleton Historical Society, 4 Rogers Street, Littleton, MA

History of the Nashobah Praying Indians: Doings, Sufferings, Tragedy, and Triumph 

Please join Strong Bear Medicine and Quiet Storm of the Nashobah Praying Indians at the Littleton Historical Society building on Sunday April 23 for an open house celebration of the newly released book: History of the Nashobah Praying Indians.  Meet and mingle with Strong Bear and Quiet Storm, and author, Littleton historian Daniel V. Boudillion. Have your books signed, partake of refreshments, and enjoy Native music.

Another glass "arrowhead"

This is the third piece of glass I picked up since last fall because of the signs of deliberate flaking. I have a very hard time believing anyone would make a working edge out of a piece of glass but the signs of deliberate, organized, serration along the edge are unmistakable. (Although hard to photo.)

I find it beautiful in its own way.

I still can't get over how poor you would need to be to not be able to buy a knife. 

From what I can see, this was happening a lot in southern MA and RI. It re-enforces the idea, applicable to rock piles, that the ancient dissolves into the modern. Less poetically, Native Americans in southern New England (and probably other places) retained some traditional technologies long after you would expect.

Hunting blinds

 (27) Google Earth led me to an amazing discovery in the desert - YouTube

Slate arrowhead, from below tide line at a river mouth

Crystal arrowheads from Spain

Awfully nice:

The Prehistoric weapons made from crystal | HeritageDaily - Archaeology News 

Stonehenge is not a calendar?

The 'Stonehenge calendar' shown to be a modern construct (phys.org)

(The precision of archaeo-astronomy is a two-edged sword.)

Manitoba Petroglyphs

 (via Tommy Hudson)

Thought you might find this interesting. Circles, turtle, snake, etc.

https://www.gov.mb.ca/sd/pubs/parks-protected-spaces/park_info/whiteshell_petro.pdf

Another Sippewissett Rock Pile Site (Falmouth, MA)

 A small site, where the crosshair appears on this map

Or, in the blue outline

This is a small conservation land, a bit hard to get to. I walked there from behind the Chappaquoit Bar and Grill. 

Here, a small neck of land is divided by a stone wall running north-south along its midline. A strange place for a wall but there were signs of boulder quarrying and other, presumably modern, activities. On the east side of this wall, were cedar trees - growing back into what had been an open field. But on the west side of the wall was a tangle of brambles and boulders. Sure enough, following the trail brought us past a rock pile:

I would not have thought an isolated pile was worth recording but, soon enough, some other minor structures appeared in the bushes.

This looks like a small ceremonial. Or it is just a damaged pile. 

Here is the prospect:

There were several rock-on-rocks. 

People wondering what defines a Ceremonial Stone Landscape. It should be clear with such a cluster of small "pointless" piles, all in one spot. 

Is this research?

Experiencing a NEARA Research Trip to A Stone Site in Maine - YouTube

Dear friends: why are you stripping a pile and digging around it like this? (See around 35 minutes in.) Tell me: what was learned by this exercise? 

BLM contact sought

Does any reader have any contacts in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)?

Desert Kites - latest info

 [Not US related]

Spirituality "entangled" with practicality:

Uncovering the ritual past of an ancient stone monument in Saudi Arabia (phys.org)

Standing with Stones (British Stone Sites)

[via Norman Muller]

I came across an excellent documentary on Youtube: "Standing with Stones: An Epic Journey through Prehistoric Britain and Ireland."  The documentary is 2.25 hrs. long, but the story is so fascinating, the photography superb and the commentary by Rupert Soskin intelligent and spot on, that the two plus hours go by quickly.  Soskin is part of a group called "The Prehistoric Guys," and they have produced a number of films/documentaries under that heading.

Talking about stone tools using European terminology

I wish I felt it was possible to have an open discussion of stone tools, without having to justify their existence to people who don't recognize organized flaking, or to justify the ideas in terms of conventional US archeological timelines and vocabulary. I would like to simply look at the data available - the tools themselves.

My problem is mostly that I cannot find referents to some of these items using US terminology. If I say something looks "Solutrean" or [worse] "Mousterian", then this is open to a certain reasonable ridicule. In any case I have no basis for assigning age or chronology to any of the tools I've been posting. I may want to use the phrase "pseudo-Mousterian", or some such, to get around the prohibition against such concepts being applied in America. 

Here at home with only rocks to look at, it is surprising how many details emerge from inspecting their edges and surfaces. I can't help thinking things look old.

The pseudo-Oldowan

Awfully primitive:

I do not want to ignore it but do not want to collect it.

From the caprock east of upper Arrow Canyon, NV [see here]