Stone by Stone: Exploring Ancient Sites on the Canadian Plains

In Stone by Stone, Liz Bryan explores today’s Canadian short-grass prairies in search of these tangible relics. She finds ancient villages still marked by the circles of stone that held down their tipi homes, larger circles that archaeologists call “ceremonial” for want of a proven purpose, buffalo jumps, vision-quest sites, enigmatic cairns and medicine wheels (no two alike), and the great puzzles of the effigies, figures of men and beasts laid out on hilltops. And there are rock-art sites where the ancients inscribed the pictures and symbols of their world, allowing us to see, however briefly and imperfectly, into their lives. The stones are hard and evocative evidence of ancient lives as compelling as any Old World monument-and in some cases, far older. Many of these sites can be visited today. Stone by Stone is a guidebook to these places, with directions and explanations. While it examines the historic past of the First Nations, the book also celebrates their vibrant present, for many are eager to share their legends and traditions. Native interpreters bring the past-their past-to life.