"You have every right to your find no matter what some tinhorn Fed says. This is Humboldt County after all.Yes, Spyrock is always interesting. The greatest thing about this blog is the things that I have learned from the people that comment. I won’t go into great detail about the people that do comment, because I would end up leaving someone out, and I encourage everyone to comment here when they have something to say.
Great story Spyrock. It illustrates the energy side. Rocks hold energy longer than wood or water. When you hold that pestle in a quiet way, there may be energies, old, old energies that come to you as a gift. Think of all the life experience associated with that pestle, and admire the amazing craftsmanship. You are fortunate."
I have always been interested in other people’s knowledge. I have long been the person to stir up a conversation, then just sit and listen and enjoy. When I was a kid they used to accuse me of “bringing up sore subjects, and starting disagreements”. To me I used to like to wonder how anybody would just plain personally disagree with each other, I always though that there would only be one “Truth” and that they could find it together.
I’ve come to understand as I’ve gotten more “sage” that some people don’t care about truth, and they base most of their decisions on their beliefs, or faiths. Somehow that always scares me. Most times I will find that their reality is based on their own personal agenda. I try to avoid agendas. Some commenters are seekers of truth, like I think that I like to be. Even when I don’t agree with them, I value their opinions of being those of an honest person. Sometimes I’ve even found enough wisdom in their thoughts that I’ve changed my mind about things.
In the last post, about Indian artifacts, I have had many people come to me on the street and tell me about the artifact that they have found. Usually they found it in a place that they shouldn‘t have been, or on State Property and they don’t want anybody to know about it, because they find a personal connection to their “find”. In all cases, they felt a connection to the small chips of rock that they have found that it causes me to wonder why honest people would even defy the law to keep what they feel is “theirs” by the right of finders-keepers.
I guess that people feel that they can trust me, but they tell me about their find but they never reveal any details that might get their find taken away from them. Wouldn't it be great if we could say that “I have an Indian artifact and here are it’s details.” and not have it taken. I think that we could all learn so much.
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13 comments:
So what are you talking about here? Are you trying to make a distinction between absolute (provable) truth and relative truth (based on perceptions)?
Or are you seeking amendments to federal laws regarding disturbances of archaeological sites and retrieval of artifacts? What would the downside be to abolishing those laws and making these practices legal?
I was gone today, so I haven't had the chance to respond.
Truth is that stuff that is based on irrefutable evidence, not just somebody's opinion.
I guess what I was trying to say is I was lamenting the loss of knowledge that can be gleaned from the the found artifacts.
If a person of yesteryear shot an arrow at a deer and missed, and a person today finds the lost arrowhead, that person should have finders rights to the arrowhead. Or if a person finds a pestle in the river, that person should have the right to own it.
There was a time that these artifacts were not valued, in fact they were broken to make sure that the Indian people would not return for them. Many things have been done wrong in the past, that can't be changed. I truly believe that we are all one people, and we should all try to get along. Many of my families treasures belong to someone else now. They rightfully belong to someone else, so I can't change that. I find great comfort in knowing that my families treasures are valued by the people that now have them. If they became available, I would probably try to buy them, if I could afford it. Otherwise I'll just have to put them in the same category as many other things that I can't afford. Life goes on.
If people know that they can keep something that they have found, they are more likely to look for them. Otherwise they might say, “Let the people that own them look for them”. And a lot of things would never be recovered.
I don't know... what are your thoughts?
Ernie... Every "newcomer" land subdivision around here has several residents with big arrowhead collections. They like to show them off but keep it kind of secret so's not to be bothered by the arrowhead police. I'm sure ranchers have their own collections. Many of these objects are works of extraordinary craft and time. We appreciate these artifacts as works of art. I'm not sure that we can find truth in them beyond the excellence and utility of their construction but that is truth enough. When I pick up a scraper which seems crudely made, I often realize that it fits my hand perfectly, little dents for my thumb and fingers make it seem that I could use it for hours without tiring and then I realize that is exactly what the maker had to do with it. It was made for the best possible comfort and utility. When I realize that, I have learned something. A little chip of chert I might never have noticed turns out to be brilliant, but only when you actually hold it. It must be held to feel the craft in it. I'll never get it in a photo or under glass. You have to hold it to learn its lesson.
Ben
I know what you mean. Just like the lady said, that worked the Indian mortar and pestle. You can feel the presence of the people that made them. A person like myself that has to know how everthing works, understands how incredibly long some of these indian people must have worked on them. Just like the pestle in the previous post. It takes a lot longer to make something perfectly. So, I can understand the work and craftmanship that went into it.
going to spyrock in the early 50's there were collections that you didn't normally see in the rest of norman rockwell california. there was the oil lamp collection, the rattlesnake tail collection, the arrowhead collection, and the deer antlers on the barn collection. the grinding bowls were in the creek bed we swam in. and for entertainment, you had the wind up phonograph with the tube records and the big megaphone sticking out of it. without electricity it was a different world out there.
Bottle collections, too, Spy.
Ah yes, bottle collections. My aunt used to scour the homesteads Southern Trinity looking for bottles. That was in the 1950's. The dumpsites were filled with all manner of oddities. The same can be said for the Indian dumpsites. But, lets not forget about the Chinese miners, too. I have several Chinese pieces of pottery that were "found" on both private and public property.
Is it my assumption that we are to leave artifacts to rot and let nature take it's course? Then, how did museums come to be?
Hey!!! Robin is Back!!!
Ten thousand years from now, the Indian artifacts will be the same. What kind of enduring artifacts are we leaving?
Well I know I have done my part by leaving a few hundred thousand rifle case's laying on the ground in Humboldt, Trinity and Mendocino counties.
Oregon
I’ve come to understand as I’ve gotten more “sage” that some people don’t care about truth, and they base most of their decisions on their beliefs, or faiths. Somehow that always scares me.
--don't mean to frighten anyone but Suzy has no taste for what most people call 'truth'. It's way too boring and often quite bitter. i'm totally more into what an anonymous Greek once wrote on an old artifact someone found,
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,--that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to
know"
When I pick up a scraper which seems crudely made, I often realize that it fits my hand perfectly...
It takes a lot longer to make something perfectly. So, I can understand the work and craftmanship that went into it.
and Suzy especially dislikes 'perfection', something that's about 93% perfect is what's most comfortable to me.
A long-time favorite poem, thanks Suzy. Almost perfect.
we went to see avatar in 3d and i knew that the special effects were going to be amazing ahead of time but the critics also said that there was no plot in this movie but who cares. well who are these critics anyway. there did seem to be some kind of plot going on maybe it was just too deep for them to see it just looking at the surface of things.
i've been reading about tecumseh and bluejacket the last few months. both of whose lives were similiar to what happened in this movie. bluejacket was a white kid who was adopted into the shawnee and became one of their greatest warriors and actually won a battle where over 900 americans were killed versus only about 20 shawnee. there is some question among the shawnee whether or not bluejacket was white or red because the dna and time period doesn't match up historically. but still bluejackets victory was much more impressive than custers last stand. but you never hear about this battle in american history. they swept it under the rug. then you have this crossover acting like tecumseh trying to get all the people on the planet to unite to fight the americans using bow and arrow against modern weapons. and they win. go figure. we are there to get a metal called unobtanium. unobtainium. sorta sounds like gold doesn't it.
but this is how i saw it. and i'm probably the only person on the planet who saw it this way. so don't worry. i didn't ruin the plot because the experts say there is none. just enjoy the beauty then.
Good review Spy, thanks. Being a special effects junkie, I have been waiting for that movie. As for your buried Bluejacket history, isn't it something what doesn't get told. That is really interesting to me.
Bigger massacres than Sand Creek have occured up north, but who reads in the history books of such? It is said that history is written by the victors, ain't that the truth?
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