Yesterday, I took an arrowhead representative of a point in time to an Archaeological Roadshow event in Bend, Oregon for a free evaluation. I found the arrowhead on our property northeast of Bend. This event is organized and hosted by Portland State University, the Deschutes Historical Society, and the Archaeology Society of Central Oregon.
The Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week is to focus on a subject and I chose to feature pictures of my arrowhead. Several guidelines were listed and it was suggested we pick two or three of them. Since I don’t always follow the rules, I decided to present examples of all of them. 😀
In the first photo, I zoomed in on the arrowhead that I had placed on one of my western juniper trees. I love the bark on these trees.
In the second photo, I used the leading lines created by a long-dead sagebrush shrub. Leading lines are not always straight.
The third photo shows an example of negative space. This is what the arrowhead looked like when I found it. It was like a piece that did not fit into the puzzle of sandy soil.
In the fourth photo, I used selective focus. I placed the arrowhead on its side on top of part of a thunderegg rock I collected north of Madras, Oregon.
In the fifth photo, I simplified the background. I placed the arrowhead on a piece of weathered wood in my yard.
In the last photo, I changed the placement of the subject. I stuck the arrowhead between the furrows of a juniper tree’s bark. You can see the slim profile of this arrowhead when viewed from this angle.
Evaluation of my point in time
So what did the archaeologists at the event say about my arrowhead? They took several photos for their records and asked where I had collected it. They marveled at the craftmanship of this artifact. A master flintknapper created this arrowhead during a long ago point in time.
The archaeologists excitedly passed it from person to person working at the booth. One of them remarked the piece was “the cat’s meow.” That phrase means it’s excellent or outstanding.
Then came the most exciting part. They estimated this arrowhead’s age at 10,000 years. Wow!
There are several sites within an hour or so of my home where ancient artifacts have been found. At the Rimrock Draw Shelter site, the artifacts found so far are estimated to be 18,000 years old. That makes them some of the oldest found in North America.
For a quick summary of laws related to collecting on federal, state, and private lands, check out this page from the Oregon Archaeological Society.
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Focus on the subject
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An amazing example of petroglyphs can be seen on the road into the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. Wow! I have seen petroglyphs before but never so many in one spot. There are more than 650 drawings on Newspaper Rock at this state historical monument. The dark desert varnish provides a nice contrast to the messages carved into the stone.
The first carvings at this site have been determined to be 2,000 years old. People of the Archaic, Anasazi, Fremont, Navajo, Anglo, and Pueblo cultures have carved their messages into the rock over the years. Unfortunately, it looks like some more modern graffiti artists added to parts of the scene.
The meanings of the messages here have been difficult to figure out. Do they tell a story or are they merely scribbles? The Navajo refer to Newspaper Rock as Tse’ Hane – translated as “Rock that tells a story.” It does indeed appear to tell many stories. Only the people who made the carvings know exactly what those stories were.
A sky streaked with clouds frames Fort Rock, rising from the sagebrush sea in central Oregon. This is the view from a cave where ancient sandals made from sagebrush were found. Sandals and other artifacts found there were determined to be 9,300-10,250 years old. Walking from the cave back towards the mountain, you can almost imagine some of the sights ancient people may have seen.
