The Cashmere Museum in Cashmere, Washington includes several exhibits of collections of ancient American Indian artifacts found in the Columbia River area. Artifacts such as these can provide important clues about prehistory—that period of time for which there are no written accounts. Unfortunately, when such artifacts are removed from the sites where they had been for hundreds and perhaps thousands of years, they tell us almost nothing about life in the past.
In terms of geography, Cashmere is located in the Plateau Culture Area and the items in this exhibit seem to be Plateau Indian artifacts. This is an area which has been inhabited by American Indians for tens of thousands of years. When artifacts such as those in this display are removed from their original context they cannot be accurately dated. In other words, we do not know the age of any of these items.
Shown below is the collection of artifacts in the museum exhibit 204.
Stone Clubs
While stone clubs were used in warfare, the toothed clubs (similar to those found in California) may have also served as status symbols.
Mauls
These mauls—basically hand-held hammers—have different sizes and weights and were probably used for different tasks, such as driving wedges in woodworking and striking antler butts in flaking obsidian or chalcedony for stone blades and points.
Paint Palettes
Red ocher (hematite) would be ground into a powder and then mixed with binder to produce paint. This paint could then be used for decorating clothing and tools, for body and face paint, and for making pictographs.
Arrow Shaft Smoothers
Using these grooved stones, skilled arrow makers would produce arrow shafts that were smooth and of a uniform size.
Decorated Stones
Stone Bowls
These bowls were probably used as mortars.
Stone Pestles
These were used in food preparation. Nuts and seeds would be ground up to produce flour; berries, fish, and meat would be ground up to produce pemmican.
More Ancient America
Ancient America: Paleoindian stone tools in Washington's Plateau area
Ancient America: Avonlea, the early bow hunters
Ancient America: The Old Copper People
Ancient America: Aboriginal Mining
Ancient America: Occupation of Paisley Caves in Oregon
Ancient America: The Willis Carey collection of Columbia River artifacts (museum exhibit)
Ancient America: Ohio Ceremonial Earthworks (museum tour)
Ancient America: A very brief overview of the Hopewell moundbuilders