 |
The Obsidian Trail Shot in stunningly beautiful cinematography, "The Obsidian Trail" breaches the previously closed doors to Stone Age life in the American West. In this region, impressive discoveries have been rare. That is, until advances in the analysis of the volcanic glass obsidian made archaeologists take a second look at what ancient arrows, spears and fragments could tell them. What they have found may not agree with history as traditionally believed by the Native American Paiute and their ancestors who roamed this land since the beginning of time. "The Obsidian Trail" is also a sightseer¹s guide to an area that straddles two great provinces of the United States, the water-abundant Sierra Nevada mountains of California and the barren desert landscape of the Nevadan Great Basin. For the viewer this is a visual cornucopia. We follow ancient travelers through the oldest forest in the world, the bristlecone pine, down deserted basalt canyons lined with petroglyphs, across ancient fossilized waterfalls and Pleistocene lakes, into the heart of one of the most active volcanic and seismic sites in North America, and up the flanks of three contiguous national parks: Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. Links and Resources Sources of Obsidian in the American Southwest Obsidian use in Mesoamerica (scroll down) CaliforniaPrehistory.com Society for California Archaeology Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Archaeolink.com
Continue the Discussion - Join our local on-line forum
|
