Our Website's Bookstore

  This page has books on every topic surrounding the Native American Indian's  
  way of life that we could think of, from artifacts, to petroglyphs, to lifestyles.  
  We hope you find it interesting. By clicking on the link above the author's    
  name, you can view the particulars about each book without being obligated to  
  purchase it. If there is no "best price" listed under the author's name, the book  
  is temporarily out of stock.  
     
  *** A WORD OF CAUTION ABOUT ORDERING BOOKS ON-LINE ***  
     
I have seen THE SAME book listed with prices ranging from 3.00 to more
than 70.00... with no "great" difference in the condition of the book... so...
shop wisely, and if a price seems to be unreasonable, have patience... sooner 
or later it WILL be offered at a reasonable price, since these books are offered
by different sources throughout the United States. Also, don't neglect to use
the "feedback" link on each book's description page, in order to see what
others have said about the book... it often helps when trying to decide if a
book is worth purchasing or not. And finally, don't shy away from the "Used" links,
often brand NEW books will be listed under this category at bargain prices !
.
Book Store Index:
How to find Arrowheads and other artifacts
How to "date" and classify Arrowheads and relics
How to detect fake and altered Indian artifacts
Artifact related book listings
Petroglyphs (Indian "Rock Art")
Native American Indians' way of life
Basketry
BOOK REVIEW - OUR opinion on certain books

Books on how to find Indian Arrowheads:

  Arrowheads & Stone Artifacts: A Practical Guide for the Amateur  
  Archaeologist by C.G.Yeager  
  This one is a MUST HAVE... it's the ABSOLUTE BEST guide for  
  finding ancient arrowheads and artifacts. The reason I like this one best  
  is because it first educates the reader about all sorts of artifacts, with  
  lots of photos; it explains what they look like and what they were used  
  for, etc... just so you'll know "what" to look for out in the field. It then  
  goes on to give information about the types of ancient sites, AND how  
  to locate them ! (I also like it because it's VERY inexpensive, for the  
  information it imparts.)  
  Click on the Blue Link below the book to view or purchase this book.    
  By clicking on the Blue Link button below the books, you will NOT be  
  obligated to purchase the book, and you can view all of the information  
  about the book before making a decision.  
  Hint: Check out the table of contents !  
 
  The second book I recommend for pointers on how to find ancient artifacts is shown below; This one is not as "light" of a reading as the book above, and definitely has a HEAVY Archaeological "slant" with an emphasis on conducting organized and documented excavations (even of burials)... so it's intended as a "primer" for the serious Archaeology student. It has a few GREAT features, one being, it covers in more detail how to locate potential Archaeological sites for excavation and covers the incorporation of topology maps in your search. The 5 appendixes are VERY useful, as they list information by each state for Archaeological sites open to the public (and visiting these sites is one of my personal hunting techniques, as it provides insight as to what sort of terrain and land features you should be on the lookout for when searching for your own sites), Archaeological societies which you can join, listed again by state, a good listing of museums, etc. It has both photographs and professionally drawn pictures of artifacts and sites and even covers recording methods as well as artifact preservation techniques. Although most of the information in this book is "timeless", meaning that it still applies in this day and age, it was copyrighted in 1965, so the information given on museums and societies may no longer apply. Still a great read !  
 
   
     
  Books on how to classify Indian artifacts:  
     
  Okey... now that you've used the guides above, and have come back  
  with buckets of Arrowheads... it might be nice to be able to "classify"  
  them, as to "type name", age and value... here is a link to what has  
  often been called "The Arrowhead Collectors' Bible"... It is the   
  Overstreet Identification and price guide to Indian Arrowheads by  
  Robert M. Overstreet... this too is a "MUST HAVE"... and covers  
  EVERY angle imaginable about Arrowheads, from the flaking styles, to  
  grading and much much more... it contains photographs of EVERY  
  known type of Arrowhead throughout the ENTIRE United States and  
  even includes Alaska... just to give an idea of how much information  
  this book contains, it is 1-5/8" thick, and is comprised of about 90%  
  photographs !!!  
 
     
  Other artifact related books:  
     
  And here are more books on Indian Artifacts available through  
  Amazon.com: I've listed the many books written by Lar Hothem first,  
  as his publications tend to be very consistent and are usually packed  
  with page after page of mostly black & white photos with pricing and  
  minimal text, although he did tend to focus mainly on the mid-western  
  states. The exception to this is his book on "Paleo Indian Artifacts",  
  the first one shown below, which is in ALL COLOR and a MUST  
  HAVE for Paleo collectors everywhere with literally TONS of photos   
  of some great Paleo material ! (Amazing, when this book first came  
  out, it was priced at 30.00 PLUS shipping ! Now it's priced around  
  14.00... a real bargain !)  
     
 
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
 
 
   
     
  How to detect fake and altered Indian artifacts:  
     
And... I am VERY sorry to say... there ARE FAKE arrowheads and
  artifacts out there which some unscrupulous people try to sell as being  
  authentic... The Book below, written by Jim Bennett, is the single best  
  resource for being able to tell the "Real Deal" from junk created by  
  modern Arti-fakers: Jim has a most refreshing writing style and explains  
  every "feature" to look for, when judging an item to be authentic or  
  fake and has A LOT of color photographs as examples of these  
  features. Without using technical (and boring) terms, Jim imparts a lot  
  of knowledge, not only on how to determine reproduction (fake)  
  artifacts, but more importantly, how to determine if an ancient artifact  
  has been "altered" in modern times... when I first bought Jim's book, I  
  couldn't put it down until I had read the entire book... and then, I  
  immediately re-read it !... it's that interesting !...  
   (To quote Eddy Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop, Trust me !)  
 
     
  Books on Petroglyphs (Indian "Rock Art"):  
     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
     
  Native American Indians' way of life:  
     
   
 
     
  Basketry:  
     
   
   
   

 

Book Review  
  Our candid opinions on books we've read  
     
  Artifact Related  
    Arrowheads and Stone Artifacts by C.G. Yeager  
    This is the very first book I recommend to everyone who is interested in hunting for artifacts on their own. Highly recommended.  
     
    The Amateur Archaeologist’s Handbook by Maurice Robbins  
    This is the second book which I recommend to artifact hunters to help them in their quest... it's a little bit more scientific than "Arrowheads and Stone Artifacts" and covers MANY more and diverse topics, but it does center around "digging" and all of the necessary steps to organize, carry out and record an archaeological dig. Still, it's an inexpensive book, and has a lot to offer. The examples given in how to use a Topology map to locate potential hunting sites alone make this book worth it's price.  
 

  Overstreet Identification and price guide to Indian Arrowheads by Robert M. Overstreet

 
    This is a must have, if you're a moderate to serious collector of Arrowheads. It's the arrowhead collectors' "Bible", and no other works can compare to the thoroughness of this one.  
    Authenticating ancient Indian artifacts: how to recognize reproduction and altered artifacts by Jim Bennett  
    If you regularly buy arrowheads on Ebay, or buy artifacts from artifact shows, this one is a MUST HAVE... in order to keep from getting cheated. The writer has an excellent and entertaining style, and for the topics he covers, no other book out there is it's equal for determining if an artifact is genuine and not modernly altered.  
    Indian & Eskimo Artifacts of North America by Charles Miles  
    All I can say is "I'M IMPRESSED !!!". If there is a single item that the Native American Indians made which isn't pictured in this book, I have no idea what it could possibly be. This book contains TONS of (Black & White) photos of everything imaginable, from bows and arrows to baskets, hunting utilities, food processing relics, footwear and clothing, adornments, gaming and more. Although it doesn't cover "types of Arrowheads" like Overstreet's book covers, for the breadth of artifacts covered in this publication, Charles did a VERY thorough job !... If you've ever held an artifact in your hand and asked yourself "What the heck is it ?", then this book's for you ! A GREAT book to learn more about all of the different types of relics created and used by the Native Americans in the pre-Columbian days ! (Better, still... I was able to get my copy for only 2.99, plus shipping... a solid bargain !)  
    ALL of Lar Hothem's Books  
    I can wholeheartedly and without reservation recommend ALL of Lar Hothem's books. Lar was very consistent with his "style", and I would suggest purchasing one, to see what his style truly is, and then judge from there whether to buy more or not. Basically his publications have page after page of black & white artifact photos, organized by Period (Paleo, Archaic, etc.) which is very helpful in determining which artifacts were "diagnostic" for any given period. He did tend to favor mid-western material, but he also covered topics which are not to be found in any other publications. The "average" price for his books SHOULD BE between 15.00 to 20.00, and if a particular book is listed for more, I think I'd play the waiting game to get a better price. One which is definitely UNDERPRICED (currently around 14.00) is his book on "Paleo Indian Artifacts"... this is a hard-bound book just LOADED with TONS of FULL COLOR photographs of Paleo "Arrowheads" and tools. (More than 340 pages worth !!!) Definitely a book to drool over. One of his lesser publications, "Arrowheads and Projectile Points" doesn't follow his "large book" format, but is still a decent buy, currently listed around 2.95.  
    The Who's Who Series  
    These are a series of hard-bound books featuring many of the old-time and high-end collectors' collections in full color. I consider these to be a "boredom buy", (and an expensive one at that)... although I don't own any of these myself, I've seen other people's copies, and I'm just luke-warm to this series as they do tend to be pricey, without offering significant educational value.  
  California Archaeology by Michael J. Moratto  
    This is a MUST HAVE IF you live in California, and intend to hunt for artifacts in California... otherwise, this one's not for you. It lists EVERY registered and documented Native American Indian site recorded in the state, and offers an abundance of GREAT knowledge coupled with good black & white photographs, maps and scientific analysis. The original printings are being offered at this time for as high as 300.00, but there is no reason to pay this ridiculous price, as the book was FINALLY re-printed recently, and I believe a "fair price" for the reprint (which is identical to the original) is around 40.00. My main complaint on this one is, it doesn't have very many photographs at all... it IS scientifically oriented, and can be somewhat of a "dry read"... again, if you're hunting in California, this one's for you, otherwise, spend your money on something else.  
    Stone Age On The Columbia River by Emory Strong  
    If you're into Columbia River items, this is a must have. Emory has a very entertaining writing style, and covers a lot of Lewis and Clark's expedition on the Great Columbia River. It alternates between notes from this expedition and more recent times and finds from this area. A GREAT read !  
    Stone Age In The Great Basin by Emory Strong  
    The same applies to Emory Strong's second book. A great read with many photographs IF you're into material from the Great Basin.  
  The Amateur Archaeologist in the Great Basin by L.J. Ettinger  
  Frankly, I was disappointed with this one. It's a small paperback, having only 116 pages. The author covers some boring topics, such as the migration of early man and climate changes, and, although he does list "sites" in the Great Basin, he doesn't go into any depth in covering specific sites at all. He does cover the laws surrounding our hobby, but basically I don't think that he offers any information in this book which couldn't be readily found on the internet today. A boredom buy at best. (I've removed it's listing from our Artifact books section)  
    Stone age spear and arrow points of California and the Great Basin by Noel D. Justice  
    This is a book with a "different slant" on how to "classify" arrowheads and projectile points in the Great Basin area. It starts out strong, with 8 full-color plates of arrowheads (NOT the best examples, by the way), and quickly goes downhill from there. It's main strength is in introducing a simplified method of classifying arrowheads into related groups termed "Clusters". It introduces these "Clusters" (groups of related "arrowheads") and goes into GREAT DEPTH in describing their distribution as well as a LOT of other scientifically oriented stuff... in all fairness, it does have a fair amount of professional diagrams of the different artifact types, and isn't half bad as a secondary resource for arrowhead classification from this area, but honestly, if you were to try to read this one, cover to cover... it would probably take you at least 10 years... a GREAT CURE for insomnia !!!  
    Stone age spear and arrow points of the Midcontinental and Eastern United States by Noel D. Justice  
    This one has a completely IDENTICAL description as it's sister publication above (Stone age spear and arrow points of California and the Great Basin) only geared to the mid-west... A GREAT CURE for insomnia !!!  
    Ancient tribes of the Klamath Country by Carrol Howe  
    This one is for "Columbia River" collectors... it's a paper-back having a fair number of black & white photographs, and a lot of text. Not a bad purchase for around 12.00... news flash... currently this one is listed on Amazon.com for 8.95 all the way up to 250.96 !!!, come on now... GIVE ME A BREAK !!!... this is a dinky little paper-back book... 250.00 dollars ?!?!?!... shop carefully, my friends !  
    Silent Arrows, Indian Lore and Artifact Hunting by Earl F. Moore  
  This one reads like Earl's own private diary, of visiting sites and having great successes "back in the day"... He's an old time hunter, and a brave one at that, who has a casual and somewhat entertaining writing style. This book has A LOT of black and white photos to drool over, many of them taken "out in the field". He does mention specific sites and shows his personal finds from these sites, although he doesn't provide useful maps to get there, still an entertaining read.  
  Petroglyphs - Rock Art  
    My apologies, since Petroglyphs are outside of my area of expertise, I can offer no opinion on the petroglyph books.  
  Native American Indians Way Of Life  
    The Ohlone Way  
    This one's a GREAT book if you live in California or have any interest in the Ohlone tribe from California.  
  Basketry  
    My apologies, since basketry is outside of my area of expertise, I can offer no opinion on the basketry books.  
  Books NOT TO BUY  
    How to find Indian relics of different types, and how and where to sell them by James L Hill  
    This one can't even be called a book... it's more of a pamphlet having just a tad over 50 pages and is very amateurish. Although I'm sure that the author was well-meaning in his efforts to share his knowledge, he falls way short in the department of professional thoroughness. The section regarding where to look for artifacts fills less than half a page and although it does have a few good photographs, I wouldn't pay more than 3 or 4 dollars for this one, and that INCLUDES postage !  
  And, since the "bookstore" is new to our website, please let me know if I "steered you right", or if you have any comments on the books we've recommended... it IS appreciated, since it's "people" who make our website so special ! Email: tbaxter99@msn.com with your comments.  

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