DDeden Wrote:
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> Were tall carved logs vertically set, only common
> to pacific NW people, or were they constructed by
> any other people anywhere?

To the best of my knowledge, tall carved trees with images are unique only to that area.

The poles are interesting because they're not only totemic (household/clan markers) but they generally tell a story or refer to something historical. So it's not "gods" or "sacred things" but "important information."

An example: a "totem pole" would be similar to a tree carved with "Noah's Ark", with the ark and Noah and his family in the middle and fish below and sinners below that and over it all the figure of Jehovah.

Other areas have tall carvings and even wooden carvings (the Maori, for example, and other Polynesians) but the style and format of the Native American ones were unique.

> In nearby McKinleyville CA stands the worlds
> tallest totem pole 200', I think it was made by
> modern methods.

It was, and I believe it's pretty inauthentic.