Sinker Item Number: A16081 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Flattened, ovular stone with two faces carved into it, one facing toward each end. At top, between the two faces, is a round hole that goes through the rock.

Cultural Context

archaeological

Narrative

Said by Ross Brooks to have been found c. 1944 in a mound along the lower Fraser River. Brooks, who ran a curio shop in Vancouver, said he collected dozens of stone carvings from the mound. However the site location was never disclosed, or discovered by other archaeologists, before his death in 1946. After he died his widow sold his collection of carvings - commonly called 'Brooks heads'. The carvings have been controversial since their 'discovery', as some archaeologists argue they may have been created by Brooks and manipulated to appear old. (For example, see discussion in the journal article "A New Look at Northwest Coast Stone Bowls", in Archaeology of Coastal British Columbia, pp. 165-174, by Grant Keddie.)