Black Sand: Prehistory in Northern Arizona by Colton, Harold Sellers (1881-1970) - 1960

viii+132 pages with frontispiece, illustrations, figures, diagrams, maps and bibliography. Octavo 9 1/2" x 6 1/4") issued in brown cloth with black lettering to spine and cover. 1st edition. This work centers around the eruption, near Flagstaff, of a cinder cone called Sunset Crater. This event not only spread black ash over a large section of the area but, about AD 1065, temporarily disrupted the prehistoric inhabitants of an 800 square mile area in northern Arizona. The layer of volcanic ash resulted in better farming conditions, however, and attracted not only the original inhabitants but people from all the peripheral areas as well. As a result of this geologic event, the region then became a temporary focal point of cultural contact in the Southwest. The work, of 16 relatively short chapters, begins with a description of the area, the eruption of the crater, and the archaeological work which was conducted to date the eruption, bringing in the early developments of dendrochronology. Following these introductory chapters, the longest chapter, in 18 well-illustrated pages, describes the culture history of the area. This is done mainly by breaking the sequence into periods of one to two hundred years in length. Although the Sinagua material is described in the great5est detail, some note is taken of changes in the culture of surrounding peoples. The remainder of the work covers individual topics, a description of the groups peripheral to the Sinagua, petroglyphs and their story, prehistoric northern Arizona farming, population and its movements, and a concluding statement. (AA:64:2:443) Condition: Some insect damage at back hinge edge else about very good lacking jacket.. First Edition. Original Cloth. About Very Good/ . Royal octavo.