Monday, 26 February 2018
Thursday, 22 February 2018
Nitáówahsinnoon
Nitáówahsinnoon covered over half of present-day Alberta, most of Montana and parts of Saskatchewan. And while the Niitsítapiiksi (in this context, the Blackfoot) shared the land with all other ksahkomitapiksi or earth beings (plants, rocks, and animals), they shared the cosmos with the spomitapííksi or above beings (spiritual beings, celestial beings, and birds), and the soyíítapiksi
or under-water beings (fish, amphibians, reptiles, water birds and
mammals) (Blackfoot Gallery Committee, 2001). Many of the stories and
ceremonies of Blackfoot-speaking peoples originate in the sky, and many
ceremonies revolve around bundles, which contain parts of animals and
plants from all of the realms.ii
These bundles and their contents stand in for the extended network of
animate, inspirited kin from all the realms. The bundles serve to
remind human beings that their survival depends upon alliances formed
with other beings in times past, social contracts still in force. The
origins of these kinship ties and the ongoing web of reciprocities and
interdependent responsibilities they evoke are recalled through song
and stories (Ingold, 2000). Through ceremonies and ritual, as well as
through more mundane practices of visiting and feeding, these alliances
are continually renewed (Heavy Head, 2005).
Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Alberta Ribstones
https://hermis.alberta.ca/ARHP/Details.aspx?DeptID=1&ObjectID=4665-0111
The Viking Ribstones are very hard quartzite boulders which have been modified by aboriginal people. They pecked two kinds of marks into the boulder surface: grooves and pits. The grooves are thought to represent the backbone and ribs of the buffalo. The circular pits or "cupules" may have been carved in imitation of the pock-marked surface of the Iron Creek Meteorite which was the aboriginal peoples greatest and most venerated monument to "Old Man Buffalo" the spirit protector of the buffalo herds.
Aboriginal peoples left offerings of meat, tobacco, or beads at ribstones to acquire luck in hunting and to give thanks to "Old Man Buffalo". Only nine ribstone sites are known to exist in Alberta. These are among the rarest types of archaeological sites present within the Province. All other known ribstone sites have been disturbed. In most cases the ribstones themselves have been removed. The Viking Ribstones are one of the few monumental carvings remaining from ancient times which can be viewed in their original natural setting.
https://prairiepeople.blog/2016/12/12/a-sacred-site-the-buffalo-ribstones-by-viking/
There are also several round holes on each stone. Some people have suggested that these holes represent wounds and were carved to allow bullets or arrows to pass through the stones without harming the spirit animal within. Another theory is that the holes are the result of repeated pounding done to replicate the sound of a running herd as part of a pre-hunt ceremony. A third explanation that has been put forward is that the holes on these and other ribstones were made to resemble the rock-mocked surface of the Iron Creek Meteorite or Manitou Stone. Said by some to be the original ribstone, this meteorite – the largest ever found in Canada – fell to the earth only 40 km southeast of the Viking site and remained there until 1866.
The Fox Indians believed that the manitou dwelled in the stones of the sweat lodge.
On heating the stove, the heat of the fire made manitou to come out
from its place in the stones. Then it proceeds out of the stones when
water is sprinkled on them. It comes out in the steam and enters the
body. It moves all over inside the body, driving out everything that
inflicts pain. Before the manitou returns to the stone, it imparts some
of its nature to the body. That is why one feels so well after having
been in the sweat lodge.
Strawstack Hill where the Iron Creek Meteorite once rested can be seen from the site of the Viking ribstones. Indeed, this hilltop provides an incredible view of the surrounding area and would have made a great place to scout out the movements of buffalo herds. This is probably why this location was chosen for these sacred stones. A sad story in the Cree community tells of how after the buffalo herds had been all but wiped out, a group of Cree gathered on the site to try and find some buffalo to feed their people. Unable to see any, they died from hunger and disease.
http://ancientamerica.com/exploring-americas-earliest-rock-art-jack-steinbring-2/
https://forums.arrowheads.com/forum/general-discussion-gc5/fossils-paleontology-old-bones-gc30/79394-ammonites-buffalo-stones
http://rocksstonesdust.com/essays/garneau.html
https://twitter.com/rudkindave/status/786652996302233600
The Viking Ribstones are very hard quartzite boulders which have been modified by aboriginal people. They pecked two kinds of marks into the boulder surface: grooves and pits. The grooves are thought to represent the backbone and ribs of the buffalo. The circular pits or "cupules" may have been carved in imitation of the pock-marked surface of the Iron Creek Meteorite which was the aboriginal peoples greatest and most venerated monument to "Old Man Buffalo" the spirit protector of the buffalo herds.
Aboriginal peoples left offerings of meat, tobacco, or beads at ribstones to acquire luck in hunting and to give thanks to "Old Man Buffalo". Only nine ribstone sites are known to exist in Alberta. These are among the rarest types of archaeological sites present within the Province. All other known ribstone sites have been disturbed. In most cases the ribstones themselves have been removed. The Viking Ribstones are one of the few monumental carvings remaining from ancient times which can be viewed in their original natural setting.
https://prairiepeople.blog/2016/12/12/a-sacred-site-the-buffalo-ribstones-by-viking/
There are also several round holes on each stone. Some people have suggested that these holes represent wounds and were carved to allow bullets or arrows to pass through the stones without harming the spirit animal within. Another theory is that the holes are the result of repeated pounding done to replicate the sound of a running herd as part of a pre-hunt ceremony. A third explanation that has been put forward is that the holes on these and other ribstones were made to resemble the rock-mocked surface of the Iron Creek Meteorite or Manitou Stone. Said by some to be the original ribstone, this meteorite – the largest ever found in Canada – fell to the earth only 40 km southeast of the Viking site and remained there until 1866.
IRON 'PURE AS POSSIBLE, AND SONOROUS
AS AN ANVIL
Canada's Iron Creek meteorite, a 320 lb (145 kg) Group IIIAB medium
octahedrite iron, was long venerated by the First Nations in Alberta as
their sacred Manitou Stone, but it was taken without authority from them
by Methodist missionaries in 1866. That began the meteorite's long
odyssey, as it was transferred first to the Methodist Mission in
Victoria (now Pakan) Alberta; then to the Red River Mission in Winnipeg,
Manitoba; then to the Wesleyan Methodist Church's Mission Rooms in
Toronto, Ontario; then to Victoria College in Cobourg, Ontario; then to
the campus of the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario; then to the
Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto; and finally to the Provincial Museum
of Alberta (now the Royal Alberta Museum) in Edmonton. In recent years, a
First Nations movement to repatriate the meteorite to a place near its
original find site has been initiated.
Strawstack Hill where the Iron Creek Meteorite once rested can be seen from the site of the Viking ribstones. Indeed, this hilltop provides an incredible view of the surrounding area and would have made a great place to scout out the movements of buffalo herds. This is probably why this location was chosen for these sacred stones. A sad story in the Cree community tells of how after the buffalo herds had been all but wiped out, a group of Cree gathered on the site to try and find some buffalo to feed their people. Unable to see any, they died from hunger and disease.
http://rocksstonesdust.com/essays/garneau.html
Some times there was paint marks upon it.
Reclining Bear used the term in the general sense meaning the people of those three tribes. Continuing, he said:
“This stone is a big one. It is a little distance from the water of the Cannon Ball. It is as big as a log house, where it stands. It has many marks upon it. The marks are made by the spirits. When we came near to it, we sung songs and acted very respectfully then. We camped on the water and not too near it.
Then when we were ready, some old man carried a pipe to it. He carried the stem in both hands in front of his body. He extended it toward the sky and toward the holy stone then. There he sat down and smoked with four draws through it. He placed the pipe there. He poured out some tobacco there. He sung a good song then. He wanted plenty of buffalo and he wanted the people to live a long time. He sung that way. He went away from there.
The next day he went again. When he went again there were other marks upon the stone. Some good men would tell what they meant to the people. Some times there was paint marks upon it. The marks were made by spirits.
They were never the same marks like they were before. It told us what to do. It said when to strike the enemy. It told where the buffalo had gone to. If the people did like it said, they were all right.
One time it sung a song with words. We saw an old woman walk into it one time. She went right in it. She was gone. It is very holy. It was there when we came across the Missouri. I think it had been an Arikara stone. I think they found it first. The put things there, too. No one would strike an enemy around that place. Every one was safe there. There were always many presents there. There were weapons and things to eat and valuable cloth on sticks. There were buffalo heads there, too, for meat to come around. It is very holy. It is there yet. I do not want to talk much about it.”
“This stone is a big one. It is a little distance from the water of the Cannon Ball. It is as big as a log house, where it stands. It has many marks upon it. The marks are made by the spirits. When we came near to it, we sung songs and acted very respectfully then. We camped on the water and not too near it.
Then when we were ready, some old man carried a pipe to it. He carried the stem in both hands in front of his body. He extended it toward the sky and toward the holy stone then. There he sat down and smoked with four draws through it. He placed the pipe there. He poured out some tobacco there. He sung a good song then. He wanted plenty of buffalo and he wanted the people to live a long time. He sung that way. He went away from there.
The next day he went again. When he went again there were other marks upon the stone. Some good men would tell what they meant to the people. Some times there was paint marks upon it. The marks were made by spirits.
They were never the same marks like they were before. It told us what to do. It said when to strike the enemy. It told where the buffalo had gone to. If the people did like it said, they were all right.
One time it sung a song with words. We saw an old woman walk into it one time. She went right in it. She was gone. It is very holy. It was there when we came across the Missouri. I think it had been an Arikara stone. I think they found it first. The put things there, too. No one would strike an enemy around that place. Every one was safe there. There were always many presents there. There were weapons and things to eat and valuable cloth on sticks. There were buffalo heads there, too, for meat to come around. It is very holy. It is there yet. I do not want to talk much about it.”
Tuesday, 20 February 2018
efficacy of the markers in deterring inadvertent human intrusion
The expert panel identified basic
principles to guide current and future marker development efforts: (1)
the site must be marked, (2) message(s) must be truthful and
informative, (3) multiple components within a marker system, (4)
multiple means of communication (e.g., language, pictographs, scientific
diagrams), (5) multiple levels of complexity within individual messages
on individual marker system elements, (6) use of materials with little
recycle value, and (7) international effort to maintain knowledge of the
locations and contents of nuclear waste repositories. The efficacy of
the markers in deterring inadvertent human intrusion was estimated to
decrease with time, with the probability function varying with the mode
of intrusion (who is intruding and for what purpose) and the level of
technological development of the society. The development of a
permanent, passive marker system capable of surviving and remaining
interpretable for 10,000 years will require further study prior to
implementation
Sunday, 18 February 2018
Thursday, 15 February 2018
Monday, 12 February 2018
Sunday, 4 February 2018
Thursday, 1 February 2018
animal architectures
resin print of mouse neurones // university of lethbridge digital physicalisation lab
beaver sculpture // lethbridge wetlands
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