Archaic Migration

Description

I was reading recently about how some bones were found in caves in southern New Mexico that showed evidence of flint butchering by the archaic people who roamed this part of the world thousands of years ago. What was unusual about these bones however, was that they were from a species of rabbit and prehistoric horse that disappeared around 40,000 years ago--long before the earliest people were believed to have arrived. Whether or not these dates prove correct, I am fascinated by the elusive and mysterious archaic people who, for tens of thousands of years, traveled these lands hunting and gathering in the company of animals that we will never see. What must life have been like for them? How did they relate to their world? Reflecting on these questions, I am taken out of our world with its shallow busyness and into deep time, and a far vaster perspective.

It was these reflections that gave birth to this large talisman neckpiece, Archaic Migration. I imagine it might have looked at home around the neck of one of our distant ancestors as she roamed the plains and mountains. The pendant, originally carved as a ring by lapidary artist Gary Wilson, is a piece of beach stone from the shores of Lake Michigan. Just above it is a layer of stacked elements including fossil walrus ivory beads; a wound-glass disk by Karen Ovington the color of parchment; various resined papers, torn and burned at the edges; and a curved disc of bronze that I molded over a desert stone.

A sturdy handwoven nylon cord is adorned with large snake vertabrae, African brass Yoruba beads, copper beads, and Burmese brass heishe. I've woven the copper and brass heishe directly into the cord. At the top, the cord joins at another fossil ivory disk. The cord has a very subtle twist to it that suggests an ancient tribal artifact.

This is a larger, showier type of necklace and it would be wonderful for special occassions, but because of the muted colors and earthy textures I think it would work for everyday wear as well. It certainly is sturdy enough for that! Because it is a special piece, it comes with its own keepsake pine needle basket as well, a beautiful, patterned, triangular lidded one from the Tarahumara Indians of Northern Mexico.

Size: 20" from the top of the strand to the base of the pendant. The total length of the strand is 32". The stone ring pendant measures 3" x 1 1/2" x 1/2".

Care: You can wash this gently with mild detergent and lukewarm water (resined paper is waterproof).

Archaic Migration will arrive giftwrapped in the above-mentioned basket, along with a handwritten descriptive label.

Added on Oct 27, 2009