The Stone Age is the common denominator of mankind, and through experimental archeologythe relearning and replication of ancient skillswe take a step of discovery and understanding into this rich past. In this collection, drawn from the pages of the Bulletin of Primitive Technology, learn to create tools to fabricate more complex technologies; master the arts of the bow and arrow; build a shelter or fashion clothing from fibers or buckskin.
Primitive Technology: A Book of Earth Skills is a sharing of ideas--the philosophies, the history, and the personal stories by the authorities on primitive technology from teh pages of The Bulletin of Primitive Technology. Included are instructions for creating fire and tools of wood, stone, and bone, as well as fiber adhesives, projectiles, art, and music. Practicing these primitive methods will lead the seeker towards a tangible, raw connection with the ancient past, with nature's resources and, ultimately, with the creative forces that constructed the foundation of man's survival on the planet.
Over 1000 artifacts of the Pacific Northwest coast Indians are illustrated and described as to how these items were made and used.
From the giant cedar of the rainforest came a wealth of raw materials vital to the way of life, art and culture of the early First Nations people of the Northwest Coast. All parts of the cedar tree had many uses. From the wood, skilled men made ocean-going canoes, massive post-and-beam houses, monumental carved poles that declared history, rights and lineage, and powerful dance masks. Women dextrously wove the inner bark into mats and baskets, plied it into cordage and netting or processed it into soft, warm, water-repellent clothing. They also made the strong withes into heavy-duty rope and wove the roots into watertight baskets. Hilary Stewart explains, through her vivid descriptions, 550 detailed drawings and 50 photographs, the tools and techniques used, as well as the superbly crafted objects and their uses - all in the context of daily and ceremonial life. Anecdotes, oral history and the accounts of early explorers, traders, missionaries and native elders highlight the text.
