Rock Art Papers Volume I. Ken Hedges, editor. San Diego: San Diego Museum Papers No. 16, 1983, 104 pp., 94 illustrations, $10.95 (paper).

Generally, standing aboriginal structures relate to late prehistoric and historic times; the Panamint Mountains example is no exception. Of course, there are many southern California Native American groups and individuals who retain knowledge of the construction techniques or have recently built such structures. Many early ethnographers observed aboriginal structures either still in use or recently abandoned within California and the Great Basin (cf. Nelson 1891:372; Dutcher 1893:377-378; Harrington 1932; Steward 1933:265, 1938:54- 55, 1941:233; Fowler and Fowler 1971), so there are many good descriptions or illustrations of a variety of structure types.

Ishi: America's Last Stoneage Indian. Richard Burrill. Sacramento: The Anthro Company, 1990, vi + 50 pp., 36 figs., $8.95 (paper).

Messages from the Past: Studies in California Rock Art. Clement W. Meighan, editor. Los Angeles: University of California Institute of Archaeology Monograph No. 20, 1981, 185 pp., includes 63 pp. of black-and-white and color illustrations and photographs, $9.50 (paper).

Examples of historic native American use of Euroamerican manufactured goods are well known. Woodward (1965:2) noted that trade goods entering California included a great variety of items, such as various cloths, beads, brass rings, wire, kettles, knives, and other goods. Wire was used to bind poles for construction (Ritter 1980); iron was used for projectile points (Fowler and Matley 1979:65, Fig. 51a-b); other items served more elaborate functions such as the use of glass beads in wealth displays, as part of ceremonial dress, and as mortuary offerings (Meighan and Riddell 1972:39; Hester 1978:498).

Glass beads are found in nearly all contact-period archaeological sites in North America, and they occur in greater quantity and have a wider geographical distribution than any other artifact type. Much can be learned from the occurrence of glass beads at aboriginal sites in terms of temporal affinities, trade, status (through burial offerings or accompaniments), and aesthetics. Two protohistoric cemeteries (CA-SIS-168 and CA-SIS-837) in the Klamath Mountains of Siskiyou County, in extreme northern California, provide an opportunity to study these aspects of glass bead distribution. Also, in this examination a check and, in several cases, a refinement of the temporal position of some glass bead types is possible through cross-dating and study of bead co-occurrence. Finally, intrasite variability of a sampling of Shasta sites is examined for evidence of ethnic differences and similarities.

Given the available data on basketry in the general region, the Lava Mountain fragment exhibits some possibly unique characteristics, especially in regard to its provenience and composition. The Lava Mountains area was apparently rich in seed food products and this vessel, in its functional state, no doubt served as a storage container, perhaps employed by groups either from the south, or with southern connections, who were utilizing the area seasonally (cf. USDI 1976). It should be clear from the above review that the quality of regional basketry data is uneven and ambiguous, thus difficult to integrate. Hopefully, the description of this basket fragment from the Lava Mountains will add meaningfully to the data base.