Plates 27 and 28. 
Plate 27 illustrates two very large and beautifully flaked 
knives of obsidian, a glass-like rock of volcanic origin. The 
one to the left (Catalog No. 11X10-534) is 29-5/8 inches 
(75.2 cm.) long and the wider one on the right (Catalog No. 
11X10-531) is 29-1/4 inches (71.8 cm.) long. Both bear the 
notation “Salmon River, Siskiyou County, California.” 
W. H. Holmes (1919, p. 214) said, “Among the most remark- 
able chipped implements in America, and in the world for - 
that matter, are the obsidian blades of California, the largest 
of which are upward of 30 inches in length and at the same 
time are of remarkable symmetry and beauty of finish.” 
The Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico 
(Hodge, 1912, Part 2, p. 102) also comments on the large 
obsidian blades from the Pacific states. By their account they 
have largely been obtained from living tribes and were made 
more for ceremonial than for practical use. They cite 
published accounts by anthropologists of their use in cere- 
monies in which they figured primarily as objects of wealth. 
