CIBACHROME PRINTS 

By Pete Bostrom

WHAT IS A CIBACHROME PRINT? 

   The Cibachrome process of printing from slides and transparencies was developed by the Ciba-Geigy Corporation of Switzerland and introduced in 1963. Since then the name was changed to Ilfochrome Classic when Ilford purchased the Cibachrome manufacturing facility and was then, in turn, purchased by International Paper. Both names are still being used.
      Cibachrome prints have been used in museums for displaying images and everywhere else that high quality archival prints are needed. They are considered one of the most stable fade-resistant and affordable color prints available. In fact, they are made on the most fade resistant material currently available. Unlike normal color prints that have the pigment on the surface of the paper, the color pigment in these prints are built into the paper. The dyes are called AZO dyes and they are known for their exceptional stability and color purity.
 
   The surface of the prints have a diamond like sparkle unlike any other print on the market today and the colors are brilliant! The photographs on this page are four of my personal favorites. Each one represents a different cultural tradition in North America. The mounted prints are double laminated and could be hung on the wall as-is without any further framing.
Peter A. Bostrom

Salon mounted cibachrome print of hand held Ross blade. 
11X14 INCH PRINTS ARE AVAILABLE AS:
SALON MOUNTED ON 16X20 INCH GATORFOAM & DOUBLE LAMINATED
"OR" 
11X14 INCH CIBACHROME PRINT ONLY
(CLICK HERE FOR ORDERING PAGE & PRICES)


CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGE IMAGE OF ARTIFACTS
IMPORTANT CLOVIS ARTIFACTS
CLOVIS CULTURE
APPROX. 14,000 YEARS AGO
WESTERN UNITED STATES

   This picture was taken on 8x10 film with a large format camera. It shows some of the most important Clovis artifacts ever discovered. Artifacts from five different mammoth kill sites are represented. These are Blackwater Draw, Colby, Domebo, Lange/Ferguson and Murray Springs. The Clovis culture is the oldest recognized cultural tradition in North America.
   The artifacts in this picture were borrowed from some of the largest and most important collections in the country. The Drake cache is in the Smithsonian Institution's collection, the Anzick cache from the Montana Historical Society, the Colby mammoth kill site points from the University of Wyoming, the Domebo mammoth kill site points from the Plains Museum, etc.


CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGE IMAGE OF ARTIFACTS
BIRDMAN TABLET & CAHOKIA POINTS
MISSISSIPPIAN CULTURE
1,200 TO 500 YEARS AGO
CAHOKIA MOUNDS STATE HISTORIC SITE

   Many of the Mississippian sites such as Moundville, Etowah or Spiro have singular artifacts that become almost a logo for that particular site. The focal point of this picture is the Birdman Tablet which is the Cahokia Mound site's most famous artifact and the single most recognizable image for this site. The "Birdman" image has even been placed on nearby bridges on the interstate highway system. The Birdman Tablet was found during excavation on the east ramp of the 103 foot high Monks Mound at Cahokia.
   The arrow points surrounding the tablet are Cahokia points. The four largest points were excavated several years ago from mound 72 where approximately 1200 other points were discovered. The other 20 Cahokia points were surface collected in plowed fields around the mounds.


CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGE IMAGE OF ARTIFACTS
ARCHAIC ARTIFACTS
ARCHAIC PERIOD
10,500 TO 3,000 YEARS AGO
MISSOURI & ILLINOIS
FLOYD RITTER COLLECTION

    This picture centers around a large Sloan Dalton point.  The lighting highlights the very uniform pressure flaking along the edge. Dalton points that exceed 10 inches in length are very rare. This example measures 10 1/4 inches long and represents only a handful that have been recorded of this size. This Dalton point is so skillfully flaked that there is currently no one that could make one just like it. This type of flaking is called "hollow ground" flaking which is a manufacturing technique unique to the Dalton Culture in the United States. The edge is very thin but the center is thick and "rounded".  The flakes travel in to the thick center where they smoothly curled up and around with no step fracturing.
   All the artifacts in this picture belong to the Archaic cultural tradition. This period was the longest lasting cultural tradition in the eastern United States. These people hunted with spears thrown with throwing sticks called atlatls. The three orange and red quartz objects in this picture are Bannerstones that were once attached to throwing sticks. This picture shows several good examples of artifacts that date from the Early Archaic to the Late Archaic period.
 


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ROSS POINT
WOODLAND PERIOD (HOPEWELL CULTURE)

2,000 TO 1,600 YEARS AGO
ORANGE TRANSLUCENT KAOLIN CHERT
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
BOB ONKEN COLLECTION

   This is a magnificent example of a Ross point. It measures 8 1/8 inches long and is made of semi-translucent orange Kaolin chert from southern Illinois. It's the "classic" style with a diamond base. This one has two stylish points that stick out on each side of the base that adds to the overall artistic look. It is thin and very skillfully flaked.
   Ross points were made during the Middle Woodland Period as non utilitarian ceremonial objects. They were named by James B. Griffin for examples found in Hopewell mounds in Ross County, Ohio. These types of blades were ceremonially used by the Middle Woodland Hopewell people who placed them in burial mounds along with other skillfully crafted artifacts. There are several different styles but the diamond base variety is the "classic". They seem to have been made as skillfully and artistically as the craftsman could make them. Not only were they the largest flaked stone artifacts that the Hopewell people produced they were also made of the most exotic raw materials. Although the culture that made them lived east of the Mississippi River some of these points were made of obsidian from the Yellowstone Park area thousands of miles away. The Hopewell culture developed extensive trade routes that brought in raw materials from across the country.


CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGE IMAGE
DALTON POINT
OLIVE BRANCH SITE
ALEXANDER COUNTY, ILLINOIS

EARLY ARCHAIC PERIOD
9,000 TO 10,500 YEARS AGO
MAURY MEADOWS COLLECTION

AVAILABLE IN 8X10 CIBACHROME PRINT ONLY

   This Dalton point was found several years ago on the Olive Branch site in southern Illinois. It was found in a cache of 13 similar Dalton points but this one is probably the best example. It has very uniform pressure flaking on both sides. The Early Archaic period in North America produced some of the best examples of pressure flaked spear and knife points ever found. All 13 Dalton points in this cache were made of white Burlington chert.

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