Exhibit item:
Stockton Curves
Collection of the Hearst Museum of Anthropology
University of California, Berkeley

Found in the San Joaquin Delta and made almost exclusively from obsidian, Stockton curves date from A.D. 700 - 1100 to 1500 and later.

There are several opinions as to their purpose, none a certainty. Miwok Indians, from the lower San Joaquin River Valley, suggest the use of Stockton Curves as articifical claws by dancers or religious performers impersonating bears.

Ishi, the last survivor of his people, replicated several curves while working in the Hearst Museum of Anthropology.