Tsarevitch Ivan, The Firebird and the Gray Wolf Blog 16

                 A Russian Wonder Tale - Tsarevitch, The Firebird and the Gray Wolf

Kara Bogaz Gol, Soviet Arid Lands Pt. 2 (Blog 15)

                                              Soviet Arid Lands Pt. 2 Kara Bogaz Gol

Soviet Arid Lands (Blog 14)

                       Part 1  U.S. Scientific Exchange Delegation in Central Asia

Bristlecone Pines in Cedar Breaks National Monument, UT (Blog 13)

Getting away from the heat to the cool of Cedar Breaks

Remote Islands of the South Atlantic Part 1 (Blog 12)

  From the Pillars of Hercules Westward into the Atlantic --  Madeira,

Tenerife, La Gomera, and the Cape Verde Islands

Remote Islands of the South Atlantic Part 2 (Blog 12 A)

  Part 2 of our Expedition to the Remote Islands of the South Atlantic--

Crossing the Equator and Visiting St. Helena, Site of Napoleon's Incarceration.

Hachiman Taro: Firstborn of the God of War (Blog 11)

Alverta and I are please to announce the availability of the novel Hachiman Taro

 Order your pre-released copy of the book today

Send check or money order to

Ned Greenwood

570 S. Five Sisters Dr.

St. George, UT 84790

Soft cover book  $17.99

Shipping, handling, tax  $5.00

Total  $22.99

Northwest Passage, Lost Franklin Expedition, Part 1 (Blog 10)

The Epic Migration and Corn Mountain (Blog 9)

     In that long ago time when the Ashiwi (Zuni) first reached the Light of Day Place, they were instructed by their Rain Priests and the Divine Ones.  First they were taught how to use their Et'tone (Sacred Fetishes) in theurgy, the practice of compelling their gods to aid them in fulfilling their needs.  This was particularly applicable in rain dances and related ceremonials.  They were also instructed to make their way eastward to search for Itiwanna (the Center Place).  The Grand Saga of their Migrations was built around that search.
     From Chimik'yana'kya they made their way across mighty Colorado River and up to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon from which they could see Sunha:K'yaba:chu Yalane (San Francisco Peaks).  This was the first site mentioned if the detailed migration saga.

Chimik'yana'kya, Zuni Place of Emergence and

Starting Point of the Epic Migration

       

Route of the Ashiwi Migration to the Center Place and Corn Mountain

Sunha: K'yaba:chu (San Francisco Peaks) First Site Mentioned

In the Ashiwi Migration Saga

    The ancestral sites of Sunh: K'yaba:chu Yalane and Kumanch an A'l Akkwe'a, Canyon Diablo seem to have been occupied only briefly before the Ashiwi Host moved on to Denatsali Ema. 

Denatsali Ema a Sacred Ceremonial Peak on the Migration Route of the Ashiwi

Denatsali Ema from the South

     At Denatsali Ema, Serro Prieto of the Spanish and Woodruff Butte

of the Anglos, the Ashiwi first entered the area that would become their

homeland--Cibola the land that surrounds Halona Itiwanna, the Middle

Ant Hill of the World. This was not a ignificant interim and they soon

moved on to Hatin Kiaiakwi, the area of the Listening Spring, where

much of their cosmography would be formulated.

Kothluwalawa or Hatin Kiaiakwi Area

Zuni River with Hatin Kiaiakwi in the Middle Ground

Home of the Koyemshi (North Stinking Springs Mountain)

     Kothluwalawa the Dance Village of the Dead is found within Hatin Kiaiakwi

the Listening Spring/Lake.  Anglos would call it Stinking Springs because of the

sulfur odor.  If you place your ear close to the water you can hear the drum beat

and foot falls of the dancing Masked Gods.  This is the Zuni Heaven where spirits

of departed Ashiwi reside.  Here the migrating Flesh had their most prolonged interim.  

     The first ancestral gods were born here.  After many years of searching the Kia'kwemosi , Sacred Rain Priest of the North, sent his son and daughter to look for suitable sites for new villages.  From an incestuous relationship were conceived the Korkokshi (Dancers for Good) and the Koyemshi (Mud Heads the Old Dance Men).  To the Zunis, South Stinking Springs Mountain is the Home of the Korkokshi and North Stinking Springs Mountain is the Home of the Koyemshi.

     Years later when the Flesh resumed their search for Itiwanna, while crossing the Zuni River some of the children became agitated and clawed at their mothers who dropped them into the water.  They were carried to the sacred lake where they became the Council of Masked Gods. Both groups of Ancestral Gods still come to Zuni to participate in dances for rain and other ceremonials.

The Coming of Koloowisi

     Sometime after the Ashiwi had discovered the Center Place, they received the first visit from Koloowisi the Plumed Sea Serpent.  The coming of Koloowisi is told in the video below. 

Chimik'yana'kya Deya, The Coming Through Place Where Newness Was Made (Blog 8)

A'wonawil'ona

       In the beginning A'wonawil'ona alone filled the wide vessel of the universe.  This androgynous, omnipotent, soon to be creator god encompassed the blue vault of space--hence the sometimes title "All Container."  With the breath of his-her heart he-she created the great clouds and great waters.  To the Ashiwi the great clouds are the assurance and symbols of A'wonawil'ona's existence.  Such puffy black and white clouds they call "smoke clouds."  We call them "cumulonimbus."  The symbolism is portrayed in the black and white band that girds the blue vault of the universe portrayed below.

A'wonawil'ona is the Blue Vault of the Universe.  By the Breath of His-Her

Heart, He-She Created the Great Clouds that Symbolize His-Her Existence

and Sustain the Ashiwi in Their Life Endeavors.

     Through innate knowledge, the He-she Container that filled the universe would also become the all-encompassing creator-parent.  To accomplish this, the transmutable and ever-changing A'wonawil'ona thought into existence Yatokia, the Sun Father. The Sun Father did then create Apoyan Ta'chu, the Sky Father and Awitelin Tsita, the Earth Mother thereby facilitating the procreation of the Ashiwi, in the fourth under womb of the earth.  These parents were Surpassing Beings who were also transmutable in their nature.                                                                     .             

The Face of Yatokia the Sun Father Depicted in a Dry Painting Created for

 the Initiation into the Shi'wannakwe (Fire Society) ca 1880.  Yatokia is the most

 Direct Transmutation from A'wonawilona so there is a Strong Spiritual

Connection between the Two in Ashiwi Theology.

Creation of the Flesh--the Ashiwi
   
       In the morning of creation A'wonawil'ona with the Sun Father and Moon Mother existed above.  Shi'wanni and his wife Shi'wano'kia existed below.  To demonstrate his own creative powers, Shi'wanni brought into being the great stars and constellations that there might be light in the night sky when the Moon Mother sleeps.  Unwilling to be outdone Shi'wano'kia created A'witelin Si'ta, the Earth Mother with her infinite fecundity. Shi'wanni and Shi'wano'kia are referred to as the superhuman parents of the Ashiwi--the Flesh, but in reality it was the Sky Father and Earth Mother who actually performed the fertilization and gestation resulting in the birth of the Flesh.
       Following fertilization, the Earth Mother repulsed the Sun Father and sank into warm ambiance
 of the oceans which surround the earth.  In this protective environment, parturition was immediate.   There in A'witen  Te'hula, the Fourth Underworld, she gave birth to a multitude of precursor Ashiwi.  Here terminology of the grand saga of creation becomes ambivalent, A'witen Te'hula also means "Fourth Underwomb."  In any case the primitive Ashiwi along with other races of mankind and the myriad of animals were confined within the underworld darkness.  Safe it may have been, but it was a miserable, uncomfortable existence.  Unable to see in the sooty darkness, the Ashiwi trod upon each other's toes and tails.  The webs between their fingers and toes were a hindrance.  The Ashiwi  pleaded for relief.                     
     The Sun Father, being mindful of their angst, created the Divine Ones.  He armed them with rainbows and lightning arrows.  He gave them cloud shields for protection.  Then he instructed them, "Now go to A'witen Te'hula, the Fourth Underworld, and bring out my children."
     With great power and skill the Divine Ones drew lightning arrows across their rainbows.  The arrows hurtled downward with great force renting the earth and creating a passageway through the various underworlds to the undermost, even the abode of the Ashiwi.  It was so dark that the Divine Ones threw a line of sacred meal toward the north to light the passageway for the Flesh to make their way upward.  Finally in the first underworld they beheld wings of light through a lens of water from the Light of Day Place.  They called it the Wing World.  Here they received instructions from the Divine Ones and their own Rain Priests.  Their tails were cut off and webs between their fingers and toes severed.

The coming Through Place

     They were required to pass through that magical aperture in which the water would separate to facilitate their entrance into the Light of Day Place.  It was Chimik'yana'kya Deya--The Place of Coming Through--The Place Where Newness Was Made.
     So now you ask where is this wondrous place through which the Ashiwi had to pass in order to reach the  Light of day Place?  Where else but the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River?  Check it out on the video below.

Welcome to Friendly Egypt (Blog 7)

     Just as I was posting my February blog, news was breaking of a major insurrection in Egypt.  Even though the causes were undoubtedly justified I felt heartsick.  Having lived in Egypt for a year as a Senior Fulbright Research Fellow, I have many friends and associates there.  Although the years have largely severed my contacts, the people remain very fresh in my mind and my concern is deep.

Traffic Going into Midan el-Tahrir (Liberation Square) Where the

Egyptians Protested against the Regime of President Hosni Mubarak 

Equestrian Statue of Muhammad Ali Pasha at Tahrir Midan

     One poignant memory which occurred because of a trip up to Israel will serve as my entry vehicle.  As we passed through the no-man's-land  between Egyptian Passport Control and the Israeli checkpoint at Rafa into the Gaza Strip, a young woman, bus hostess greated us--"Welcome to Clean Israel."  It was true that most of us were putting off our rest stop until we reached Israel.  Even so, it offended me. Alverta and I had been in Egypt long enough to accommodate its third world status and seeming lack of public sanitation. But we had been in enough private homes to realize most were clean and well kept.

The Border Between Egyptian Sinai and Israeli Gaza Strip,

the Space Between the Two Walls Is a No-Man's-Land Buffer 

Famed Western Wall of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem

Dome of the Rock Mosque on the Temple Mount

Where Muhammad Ascended into Heaven

     After a week in Israel we came back through the same checkpoints.  When we cleared passport control a jolly Egyptian bus driver offered--"Welcome to friendly Egypt."  In a phrase he epitomized my feeling for the land and it's people.

     In 1989, the lunar month of Ramadan coincided with April on our solar calendar. That would have been a few weeks before our trip up to Jerusalem.  I probably will never forget our introduction to the holy month of Ramadan. About 3:00 a. m., well before the muezzin from a nearby minaret would announced the call to prayer, a crier struck a heavy beat upon a large bass drum directly under our window in Ismailia.  What a dream-breaker. Since everyone in our neighborhood knew where the infidels lived, I cannot ignore the suspicion that we received an extra vigorous wake-up call.  The reason behind the wake-up was to allow the faithful ample time to eat breakfast and drink lots of liquids before sunrise ushered in the daylong fast.  As nonbelievers we were not obliged to keep the fast.  Never-the-less we tried not to indulge in the presence of our Egyptian associates.  Two incidents related to Ramadan I will share.

A Colorful Canvas in a Park Near Our Ismailia Home Signifies the

Holy Month of Ramadan in Which Muhammad Received the

Revelations Recorded in the Quran  

Preparation of Speciality Foods for the Celebration of Ramadan

These Goodies Looked Like Shredded Wheat but Were Much Tastier

     During the holy month we had occasion to travel across the Delta from Iamailia to Alexandria.  I loved the poetry of the names of the towns we passed through--"Zagazig, Zifta, Tanta and Damashur." It sounded like an old Arizona State University football cheer--"Markovitch, Markeekvich, Medikavich, a son-of-gun and Hugoboom." 

     On the return trip we were approaching Damashur when the thread colors lost discernability in the gathering twilight.  So you ask," What the heck does that mean?"  In traditional nomadic societies it was difficult to affix a precise moment when it was permissible to break the fast.  Perhaps some mullah of long ago came up with the system--a dark thread and a light colored thread were held in the growing twilight.  When it was no longer possible to determine differences between them it was time to chow down.  Of course the opportunist could select threads of closer hues.  In Ismailia a canon was usually fired to announce the arrival of sunset.

The Damashur Cemetery, Groundwater Tables Are so High in the

Delta that Artificial Mounds Are Frequently Built for Burial Sites

    

     On that return home to Ismailia we were between Damashur.and Tanta when someone somewhere checked the threads and it was announced over the bus speakers that we were free to break the fast.  Along with the faithful we broke out our reserve supply of peanut butter crackers, cheese crackers and English tea biscuits.  Fortunately we had picked up a box of chocolates from Soulab Candy Shop, so we were not totally embarrassed to share the Ramadan treats offered by our fellow riders on the Super Jet (bus).  It was a real cultural conjuncture, besides we enjoyed the Ramadan specialities.  In addition we are all "People of the Book," Jews, Christians and Muslims all have their interrelated books of holy writ. 

     That brings us to another story.  As an adjunct professor at Suez Canal University, I was often included in university functions.  On a particular day, Alverta and her friend Beth decided to go to Cairo.  It was a 90 mile trip on one of the "Flying Coffins," usually multi-passenger Peugeots, so-called because of the many burned-out hulks lining the Ismailia-Cairo Highway.  But they were much faster than the Super Jets if you made it.  The Bedouins favored the sturdy Peugeot because of the Rampant Lion icon that set them apart. 

With Dr. Samir Ghoneim, dean of the Faculty of Environmental

Agriculture, El Arrish Campus and Ada Abbassi of the Fulbright Office

     To get on with the story, my contact and mentor Dr. Samir Ghoneim called, saying be ready to go to El Arrish in fifteen minutes.  El Arrish is the capital of the Province of North Sinai and the site of three faculties (colleges) of Suez Canal University.  Ghoneim is the Dean of the brand new Faculty of Environmental  Agricultural Sciences there. On this occasion the group consisted of two university vice presidents, the deans of the Agricultural Faculty and the Medical Faculty plus Dr. Ghoneim and myself.  The purpose of our trip was to confer with officials concerning the prospects and difficulties of expanding irrigation in Sinai.  We were to be the guests of Governor Moneer Shaesh at the El Arrish Oberoi, the only five star hotel in Sinai. 

     As we waited for the strengths of the color differential in threads to dissipate in the gathering twilight, an announcement came over the public address system.  My Arabic was so poor that I understood little--only something about Taba and Yamit.  In that intellectual group I was the only one who didn't speak two or three languages fluently. These classy Egyptians were so considerate they hurried to explain what was happening.

     At the Camp David Accords which facilitated the return of Sinai to Egypt in 1979, Israel demanded payment for the city of Yamit which they had constructed in the desert northeast of El Arrish as a regional banking and agricultural resource center.  When the Egyptians said they could not afford the several million asked, the Israeli dynamited the entire physical infrastructure--roads, canals and concrete buildings. 

Yamit Before the Camp David Accords

Yamit Following Israeli Dynamiting

      Now it was interesting to watch this happy group of deans and vice presidents dancing about like kids weaving a May pole.  The announcement was that Israel had agreed to let Egypt have two luxury tourist hotels at Taba on the Gulf of Akaba Coast instead of destroying them as they had Yamit. 

Back to Friendly Egypt Featuring the Mossa Family

     Soon after our arrival in Ismailia, we had gone to the Suk al Juma, the Friday Market, to purchase groceries. As we dickered with a vendor over the price of some paltry tomatoes, a deep voice with a clipped British accent asked, "May I help you?"  We turned to face a large jovial man. We indicated we were shopping for tomatoes. In a few moments the vendor brought out some large beautiful fruit for which we paid less than what was asked for the original.  That was our introduction to Fouid Mossa.  Mr. Mossa owns the bakery at the suk.  He learned English while employed at the Suez Canal when it was run by the British. From then on whenever we were at the suk it was incumbent on us to visit the bakery where we would sit in the shade and have tea or soft drinks and chat with Fouid while his wives did the work. Over time we became very fond of Lila his second wife. The others were nice, but she was super special.  One day we were shopping for rice, so she accompanied us.  Not only did she find the best deal for us, but as we returned to Fouid's shady spot, she sat down and hand winnowed it for us.  She always had the extra touch of thoughtfulness that made us love Egypt the more.  

Alverta with Mr. Mossa and His Three Current Wives--Lila, Fatima and 

Nianma Who Lost Her Foot and Part of the Leg to Artillery

Bombardment During the Arab-Israeli Wars

Fatima, Fouid, Ned and Lilla

Mr. Mossa Demonstrates His Hooka Pipe

Front Row, Fouid jr. with Tarboosh and Mustache,

Musa (Moses) and Asa (Jesus)

Little Fouid Thought I Might Look More 

 Egyptian with the Tarboosh and Mustache 

      The day following the end of Ramadan is Feast Day.  It would be comparable to an American Holiday in which Christmas and the Fourth of July were combined. In 1989 Feast Day fell on May 8.  We were invited to spend it with the Mossa's for a picnic and boat outing at Lake Timsah (Crocodile Lake) which forms part of  Suez Canal.  Canal employees have their own beach at the lake.  We were permitted to use the facility because Mr. Mossa's son-in-law works at the canal. 
     Mr. Mossa picked us up in his Land Rover for the trip to the lake.  It was a harrowing journey made worse by holiday traffic and the fact that President Mubarak had chosen to spend Feast Day at his villa on the Suez Canal adding a facet of extreme security measures.  In spite of all we finally arrived.  Most of the extended family were already there.

                                                                          

President Maburak's Villa at Point 6 on the Suez Canal, the Boat

                   Has Just Changed the Ship's Pilot at This Half Way Point                     



Lake Timsah

Mossa Family Members

Mr. Mossa's Son-in-law who is also his nephew

and his Oldest Son, Muhammad

We Join the Children for a Photo

With This Picture of Lila and Fouid jr. We End

 a Happy Feast Day in Friendly Egypt

   

                                     

Shin-Gunto (Blog 6)

     With the close of World War II, I became aware of two types of Japanese weapons:  Nambu Semiautomatic Pistols and Samurai Swords.  In my juvenile mind-set, all Japanese swords were "Samurai" and all pistols were "Nambu."  Furthermore my acquisitive interest in weapons was largely focused on pre-Colombian, lithic arrowheads and spear points.  To be sure I had found a number of antique cartridges in my search for arrowheads.  Then in 1963 I purchased several Toledo daggers and navajas as I passed through Spain.  But my real interests in antique and exotic weapons came later with the discovery of the rusty mechanism of a Model 1873 Winchester Rifle.  With the assistance and guidance of Ed Butler, we completely restored the metal parts and fitted new walnut stocks.  Viola, it was a gorgeous piece.   I was totally hooked.

Navajas and Dagger from Toledo, Spain

                                                                              

        Although old Winchesters suddenly became my main focus, they also served to heighten my interests in other exotic weaponry.  With the release of Jacob Bronowski's television series and book, The Ascent of Man, 1973, I hurried to acquire the work.  Of the many aspects of science that his works opened to my mind, only one will be considered here -- the meld of science and ritual in the ancient metallurgy of Japanese swordsmithing.  (See Bronowski  130-133)
     Less than a year later I had the opportunity to purchase a Shin Gunto, war prize from the estate of a World War II Veteran, Virgil Day.  The previous owner took the sword from a Japanese officer whom he killed on New Guinea in 1944.  Day was in the Seventh Air Force, 469th Fighter Squadron.  Their airfield was under constant fire and changed hands several times.  It was during one such night skirmish that he acquired the sword.

Holding the Shin-Gunto in a Tenchi No Kamae Stance 

     Shin Gunto means "New Military Sword."  In essence it was forged during the "Showa Period," i.e. the "Reign of Bright Peace."  Showa was the official designation for the reign of the Emperor Hirohito.  Shin Guntos were made between 1926 and the end of World War II (the "Pacific War" of the Japanese).  But to me it was like a Kokuho, a National Treasure Sword.  I could almost imagine it was forge-welded by Goro Nyudo Masamune, Japan's greatest swordsmith who worked during the Enkyo Era of the Emperor Hanazona, including one called the Enduring Comet after the year of the same name, 1308 on the Christian Calendar.  At the end of World War II a Masamune Blade was presented to President Truman and now resides in his Presidential Library and Museum at Independence, Missouri.

The Disassembled Shin Gunto 

Sword Part Names

     Unfortunately my Shin Gunto falls a bit short of a Kokuho, but it remains a historical piece in its own little way.  Too bad we will never know the name of its original owner, but thanks to my friend, the late Tadako Keen, who translated the chisel cut characters on its tang we know the month and year of its creation as well as the name of the smith who made it.

     For more about Japanese Samurai swords, watch for my forthcoming novel Hachiman Taro, Firstborn of the God of War, due to be released by Tate Publishing Company in the coming months.  Hachiman Taro is the name of a fictional Temple Sword and Kokuho, created by the real wizard swordsmith, Sengo Muramasa in the sixteenth century.  The sword would come to have impact on American POWs at the end of World War II.

     More about the novel will appear in subsequent blogs.

Blackhand Gorge and Flint Ridge (Blog 5) January 1, 2011

     October 22, 1961 was a fine autumn day in Licking County, Ohio.  Doctor Sydney White's graduate class in glacial geomorphology from Ohio State University had spent the morning doing rock-count studies to determine the boundaries of Illinoian and Wisconsin glacial advances in eastern Ohio.  When our bus stopped near an exposure of Blackhand Sandstone, below the Logan and Pottsville formations and above the Cuyahoga Shale, we rushed to the base of a massive sandstone cliff.  Near an ancient overhang shelter my rock-counting pardner picked up an Archaic, single notch arrowhead.  It was very thick and not particularly beautiful, but it was obviously made of Flint Ridge Flint.  I searched diligently but failed to turn up anything.  Good Buckeye and collector though he was; my friend insisted on giving his find of the day to me.  This of course only whetted my desire for some of the large, beautifully knapped spear points sometimes found along Ohio and Mississippi river valleys.                   

Blankhand Gorge
of the Licking River

             

Single-notched Archaic Point

Made from Flint Ridge Flint

 found near an Overhand Shelter

at the Blankhand Gorge

                                              

                                              
                                              
                                              
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
      From the overhang we continued to explore the gorge.  The first thing that struck me was, the water seemed to be flowing up hill. Professor White informed us that the optical illusion in this sector of the Licking River, like many tributaries of the ancient Teays River System in Ohio, once flowed to the northwest; but Pleistocene Glaciers, thousands of feet thick, had forced the Licking and parallel streams to reverse their flow toward the east.

     The ancient Teays River once headed on the eastern flank of the Blue Ridge in what is today North Carolina.  That was thought to be 350 million years ago when North America was part of the super continent, Pangaea.   Some 60 million years ago while the Appalachians were in one of their periods of uplift, the antecedent Teays was able to cut down fast enough to maintain its existing course.  During the Devonian it may have at times emptied into the shallow sea occupying the Mississippi Basin.  In later periods it appeared to have flowed northwest across Ohio into north central Indiana before  swinging southwest across Illinois to enter the Mississippi River opposite the site of present St. Louis.  Then as now the upper Teays followed the existing valleys of the New and Kanawha Rivers out of North Carolina, across the neck of Virginia and the width of West Virginia.  From that point on, its valleys through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois were blocked by Pleistocene Glaciation and subsequently filled with moraine and glacial out wash deposited as the continental ice retreated. The New River, which was actually the upper Teays, is often claimed to be the second oldest river in the world.

Teays and Ohio River Systems on a Regional Map

Where the Ancient Teays River Crossed Ohio

     A lasting change came with the cutting of a new stream valley by the Ohio River which is a very young stream by geological standards. The Ohio River has been in place less than a million years, compared with the Teays which is almost certainly more than 60 million years old, but could be as much as 350 million.  Pleistocene glaciation forced the development of the new erosional valley parallel to the front of continental ice advancing from the northwest across Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.  It is uncertain which glacial advance first blocked the westward flow of the Teays and its tributaries in Ohio.  Many geologists think it was the Kansan Advance or earlier.  That would mean 600 to 700 thousand years ago.

  

The Licking River as a West Flowing Tributary

of the Pre-Pleistocene Teays River System

     

Terminal Positions of Illinoian and Wisconsin

Glacial Advances, Showing the Reversed Flow

of the Licking and Hocking Rivers Which are

Now Tributaries of the Newer Ohio River

                                                       

        The Teays originally flowed directly across the area that would later become the Ohio River Valley.  The cross point is where the Kanawha now becomes tributary to the Ohio--Point Pleasant, West Virginia.  The Scioto River, a south-flowing tributary of the younger Ohio System, flows above the ancient bed of the Teays, deeply buried under layers of glacial moraine and out wash near the city of Chillicothe.  The present master stream generally follows a southwesterly course, diverging strongly from the northwesterly run of the Teays, before it discharged into the Mississippi nearly two hundred miles down stream from where the Teays once entered.  The lower Ohio generally follows the southern edge of Pleistocene glaciation in North America.  This new channel was maintained, even after the retreat of continental ice because of thick layers of glacial deposition left behind by the melting ice.
      For the Licking River, the advance of continental ice, probably a mile thick, forced a complete reversal of stream flow which cut a gorge eastward through the interfluve of highly resistant sandstone.  At its deepest point the Blackhand Gorge was cut down three hundred and twenty feet vertically.  
      The river itself was named for adjacent salt licks used by game animals, especially deer.  These were also a source of salt for native tribes as well as European settlers, long after Licking River was forced to reverse its course toward the east,
     
       There is evidence that Archaic precursors of the Mound Builders may have occupied the Licking Valley as early as 10,000 years ago, but the Adena Phase (Pioneer Mound Builders) was taking form only 3,000 years ago.  The Adena were overlapped by the later Hopewell People who would come to dominate the Midwest until 1400 A D.  The 1,254 foot long Great Serpent Mound, near Cincinnati, was built by the Adena.  The Newark Mounds near the Licking River were somewhat later and built by the Hopewell.  The later Hopewell had driven a wedge into Adena territory and were gradually forcing them outward.

The Great Serpent Mound Built by the Adena Near the Site of Cincinnati

                      

The Newark Mound Group Shown on a 1946 Topographic Sheet

                              

     The Hopewell with an elite upper class and a knack for trade forged a confederation that extended from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes and from the High Plains to the Atlantic Ocean.  This vast trading empire was largely based on long distance trade of high value commodities like Sacred Pipestone from Minnesota and Rainbow Flint from Flint Ridge in Ohio.  By 800 A D the Mound Builders were evolving into a phase called the Temple Mound People or Mississippian Culture--one of its important centers was along the Mississippi Valley in Illinois.  The Temple Mound People reached their zenith about 1300 A D.  They may well have been the richest material culture in the pre-Colombian area now encompassed by the United States.

     Without getting into the argument about the difference between flint and chert; let me just say that hard Flint Ridge material is among the best knapping stones in the world.  It had the additional benefit of unusual color combinations.  It is sometimes called "Rainbow Flint."  The intensity and contrast of colors are usually enhanced by heat treatment, so in the modern context, Rainbow Flint usually means heat treated.

  

                

   

                   

Roy Miller, Dean of American Flint Knappers, Holds a Frame of Dovetail Points

He Created from Flint Ridge, Rainbow Flint.  Thanks Roy. 



      On that October day long ago, we continued on into the gorge.  My rock counting friend was well versed in the history and traditions of the Blackhand.  The name of the gorge and the geologic formation were both derived from ancient Indian rock art.  Oral tradition tells us that a large black hand was once painted on a cliff of sandstone.  The hand pointed out the trail to Flint Ridge. It was also said to warn all comers that this was neutral ground and like the pipe stone quarries in Minnesota no fighting would be allowed.  My friend then showed us a spot on the cliff face that was obviously disturbed more recently than the Pleistocene down cut of the gorge itself.  This is where the Blackhand Petroglyph was probably found prior to blasting during construction of the Ohio-Erie Canal Towpath in 1828.  We could still see remnants of the tow path as well as ruins of a few lock structures that once lifted boat commerce around the schoals and rapids of the actively down cutting stream, but the "Blackhand" is gone forever.

Tow Path for the Ohio-Erie Canal

                                                   

      Now back to arrowheads.  The Hopewell People who inhabited the area surrounding the Blackhand
Gorge and Flint Ridge may have been prolific traders, but they were not adverse to war and developed some of the best lithic weapons known to prehistoric North America.  Unlike pipe stone which had an intrinsic value based almost entirely upon aesthetic appeal; Blackhand Flint had a pragmatic internal worth--it made excellent weapons and tools.  Picture a Hopewell Corner Notched Spear Point hafted on a short stock of hickory, you have fine cutting tool or a formidable defence weapon.  Haft one on a long shaft and voila it is an excellent hunting or offensive weapon, being either a slicing or a stabbing blade.  By contrast the Hopewell Lost Lake Point is more of a stabbing weapon, but still highly suitable for hunting as well as offensive combat.

Indian Mounds at Newark, Ohio.  The Group at Left Became a Golf Course

in 1907.  Great Circle Mound (E) was Part of the County Fairgrounds.  Such

Usage Helped the Ohio Historical Society in Preserving the Area.

                            

                                          

Sacred Pipestone Fetish

of a Shaman in Bear Skin

from Newark Mounds

                                                

                                                                                                            

                                                                    
                                                  
                                                                  

                            

 A Stubby, Platform Pipe of

Sacred Pipe Stone

Large Hopewell Speat Points

                                                        

        I was a collector of arrowheads and spear points long before hearing of Mound Builders, Blackhand Gorge or Flint Ridge.  Hopefully you will forgive me when I stretch a point to say that my interest in exotic weapons was triggered by my love for ancient lithic arrowheads. I was probably not more than five years old when I picked up my first arrowhead fragment.  But it was my grandmothers display cabinet that held the real fascination, a small lead tray containing arrowheads and other artifacts.  I bugged her so long that in desperation she gave me the whole bunch.  That was the root of my problem, I had become an inveterate collector.

     My collection area was at that time limited to the southern part of the Cibola Branch of the Anasazi.  The Cibola Culture was so dependent upon maize horticulture that hunting was of minor importance.  Flint knapping had largely regressed to small, thin points which required less skill than large Hopewell types.  Even so, many of these were aesthetically pleasing and a large portion seemed to have been devoted to fetish ceremonialism.

Cibola Branch of the Anasazi ca 1100 to 1300 A D 

                                     

     As the Pleistocene was coming to a close, long before the Cibola branch was forming, early man was hunting big game along the edge of the Mogollon Geanticline in southern Cibola.  Volcanic depressions filled with water attracted large game animals especially the mammoth.  Killing these large mammals required sturdy and sometimes specialized spear points like the fluted Clovis and Folsum types; which I have never been lucky enough to find.  Big game hunters in southern Cibola were called the Vernon Culture.  They probably used both the fluted and the less sophisticated types shown below.      

  Paleo Spear Points Dating Between 7000 and 9000 B C

                   

      More recent points were commonly found on or near ancient pueblo sites and were assumed to date from a comparable time frame.  Other were found in more general provenience's and were assumed to be hunting points.  Such was the case with the points shown below.  They came from a wooded area of our ranch that provided suitable habitat for game, but was not near any cultural site.

A Cibola Hunting Arrowhead ca 1100 to 1300 A D

                                            

 




  A One Inch Cibola Hunting Point
       Made from White Quartz

                                                                 

Frame of Obsidian Points

Most Were Used in a Fetish Context Except

for the Broad Hunting Points at the Center

Time 900 to 1400 A D

So Called "Bird Points"

ca 1100 to 1300 A D  

Grandma's Arrowhead

                                                           
      Within the group of artifacts from my grandmother's display cabinet, was a sturdy, corner-notched job.  For several reasons it is my favorite from all I have collected, but only one reason will be considered here--it is atypical of Cibola points.  It looks as though it might have been created by a Hopewell Knapper, yet Grandma found it on the banks of Coyote Wash some 1,650 miles from the Blackhand Gorge or Flint Ridge.  Unfortunately arrowhead taxonomy is highly fallible and its taxons, unlike those of ceramic technology, are of limited use in archaeology reconstructs.  At some future date I may create a blog dealing with taxonomy and scientific knowledge.  (next post 2-1-2011)