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This excerpt from "Ishi Point" published
in the 2025 Central States Archaeological Societies 2025
January Journal
Read this and mores in the Central
States Archaeological 2025
January Journal which can be purchased on-line after March
2026
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At top: Figure 1. Glass point made by Ishi (enlarged).
It measures 1 ½” in length and is made from green wine
bottle glass. Collection of the Authors
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Ishi was the last known survivor of the Yahi tribe (a small, reclusive band
of the Yana tribe) in northern California in the Deer Creek region. He was
born in the early 1860s and died on March 25, 1916 of tuberculosis. Ishi
lived most of his life completely outside of modern Western culture. He was
widely exploited in his time as the "last wild Indian" in America.
He would not share his true name because the Yahi traditionally did not
reveal their names to the enemy. so anthropologist Alfred Kroeber of the
University of California, Berkeley, named him Ishi, which means "man" in
the Yana language. Ishi was well advertised in the newspapers of his day
and he became one of the most famous Native American Indians ever known in
North America. The year 1911, when Ishi entered Western society, is recognized
as the end of the Native American Historicultural Period in North America.
[1, 2]
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This excerpt from "Ishi Point" published
in the 2025 Central States Archaeological Societies 2025
January Journal
Read this and mores in the Central States
Archaeological 2025
January Journal which can be purchased on-line after March 2026
|
 |
|
Figure 2. Colorized photograph of Ishi the day
he was found in 1911 and referred to as the “Deer Creek Indian"
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Gregory Perino included the Ishi point type in his second typology volume.
His description states: “This long, well-made, triangular arrow point
has internally expanded side notches set low on the blade. The basal edge
is straight to slightly concave. Basal corners are sharp. It was made of
obsidian and a few of glass when Ishi lived in the wild. When he was installed
in the University of California Museum in San Francisco, he made points of
plate glass, milk glass, flint, agate, obsidian, brown beer bottle glass,
and blue Milk of Magnesia bottle glass. He could make a fine arrow point
in thirty minutes. He made traditional Wintu points but also made stylized
forms for visitors.” [4] Overstreet defines the Ishi point type as “A
medium size, thin, corner to side notched point with deep notches set close
to the base. Bases vary from concave to convex. The workmanship is excellent.” [3]
In 1996, UC Berkeley’s Steven Shackley performed a detailed typological
analysis. He compared the points Ishi knapped at the museum to points excavated
from traditional Yahi, Yana, and Wintu sites in northern California. The
study results suggested the Ishi point type characteristics (as defined by
Perino) were much closer to traditional Wintu points than Yahi or Yana points.
Combining this information with Ishi’s phyical and anatomical measurements
(which also were more similar to the Wintu tribe than Yahi), has led many
to conclude that Ishi may have only been half Yahi and of mixed ancestry.
He probably had relatives from both the Yahi and Wintu tribes. He may have
learned his flint knapping skills from a male Wintu relative. Another clue
for determining Ishi’s heritage can be found in his flint knapping
toolkit, which contains what modern day flint knappers call an “Ishi
stick.” The Ishi stick is used to run long pressure flakes. When pressure
flaking, the Ishi stick provides additional leverage so the knapper’s
body energy is used more efficiently. It allows the knapper more precision
and greater control. This type of knapping tool has been more commonly found
at historical Wintu sites than Yahi and Yana sites. [8]
At IACANE’s Lehigh Valley Artifact Show in July 2017, I acquired an
Ishi-type arrowhead from Glenn Mandler of New York. I was introduced to Glenn
by Paul Frey at the show. At one time Glenn owned three Ishi points which
had been personally knapped by Ishi while he was with the Museum. Glenn purchased
them from the Charles Shewey estate. Subsequently Jeb Taylor purchased all
three of those points from Glenn. Obviously the Ishi point I purchased cannot
be proven to have been knapped by Ishi since it was a surface find many years
after Ishi’s death. However it was found in the same general geographic
area where Ishi lived in his early years. It has a Gregory Perino Artifact
Authentication Certificate and it was typed by him as an Ishi point. On
his certificate Perino commented: “Ishi ....
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