EARLY CULTURES IN NORTH AMERICA
The fact that skeletons of primitive forms of man have so far not been
discovered in the Western Hemisphere does not mean that ancestral forms
preceding modern man did not migrate to the New World in remote times.
It is that erroneous idea which has caused some persons to reason that
man arrived here only in the final glacial stage. Good evidence has been
presented to suggest that the sites he would have been most likely to
inhabit might be submerged at present or may have been especially
vulnerable to destruction by erosion.
Certain primitive peoples of the New World (in South America) do no
boiling of foods and do not have the dog, indicating very early
immigration from the Old World. Dr. Sauer suggests a date during the
third glacial stage, the Kansan, about 300,000 years ago instead of the
Wisconsin Glacial Stage of 15,000 or 25,000 years ago as some have
contended.
At the present level of archeological and paleontological knowledge of
prehistoric man in North America, Sauer recognizes five basic early
cultures. These are listed below in the order of their apparent
appearances in the New World.
The most primitive and oldest culture of man recognized to date is very
difficult to detect, for its evidences were of a fragile nature. Few
traces of it remain to be seen today. This first culture known in North
America lacks both stone weapon points and grinding stones. These items
were also found lacking in the cultures of some isolated contemporary
peoples of both North and South America.
The second oldest culture in North America was that of the Ancient Food
Grinders which appears to have been widespread in the rather rainy
climate of the Mississippi and Pacific regions of North America. These
people built fireplaces or hearths—beds of collected stones. They used a
grinding slab of stone on which a handstone was rubbed to crush hard
seeds. This indicates a greater variety of foods than used in the
earlier culture. A number of crude pounding tools such as choppers and
scrapers were employed as were a few rude knives of stone. It is of
interest and significance that use of the grinder and grinding slab
disappeared completely from most or all of this area later. The well
known metate and mano grinding devices of the Southwest were introduced
much later, along with the growing of corn or maize, from the Central
American region. Coiled basketry appears to be identified with this
second culture too, such articles being essential as containers for
collection of seeds, winnowing, et cetera. Studies of the evidence in
the field show also that these peoples were sedentary to the extent of
developing refuse mounds or middens. The fact that this culture is not
found in Europe or in Asia indicates that it developed in the Western
Hemisphere.
About 35,000 years ago the third culture appears to have developed. It
was one in which hunting was of major importance. These hunters were not
nomads, however, for the building of hearths, accumulations of
artifacts, and also the general use of seed grinding stones, all
indicate rather sedentary habits. This culture is characterized by the
presence of dart or spear throwers, an invention of European origin.
This indicates more recent migrations from the Old World. These darts
were stone tipped and propelled with a spear thrower or atlatl, making
hunting of animal food much more effective than in the case of earlier
cultures.
The fourth culture is that known by the names Folsom and Yuma. In these
people interest in plant foods and fibers was slight, for this was
primarily a mobile hunting culture. The people were not sedentary, but
moved around.
Well after the disappearance of the glaciers of the Ice Age, late comers
from the Old World brought a fifth culture to the Americas. These people
used the bow and arrow with its small and finely worked stone point.
Fish hooks were used and many stone implements were well polished. This
too is the first culture of the New World with which the dog was
associated.
In Eastern North America, and particularly well known in the Southwest,
are abundant archeological evidences from easily recognized prehistoric
living sites. These reveal a succession of more recent cultures and
changes within cultures, as well as movement of early peoples. In
contrast there are relatively few recognized prehistoric sites in
California which tell much about early customs and material culture of
aboriginal man. Some productive areas which have been found are notably
the following: The Farmington Reservoir area of Stanislaus County more
than 4,000 years old—possibly much older, Kingsley Cave, the Santa
Barbara area, and the off-shore islands to the southwest of it. There
are also a few shell mounds in the Los Angeles—Ventura area and more
numerous and extensive ones in the San Francisco Bay vicinity. Of the
latter shell mounds A. L. Kroeber writes:
[Illustration: AREAS AND SUBAREAS OF CULTURES IN AND ABOUT
CALIFORNIA
after A. L. Kroeber]
NORTHWESTERN CALIF.
NORTH PACIFIC COAST AREA
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
PLATEAU AREA
PLAINS AREA
CALIFORNIA-GREAT BASIN AREA
SOUTHWEST AREA
LOWER COLORADO
“... all the classes of objects (shells, refuse, mortars, pestles,
obsidian, charmstones, and bone awls) in question occur at the bottom,
middle, and top of the mounds, and ... they occur with substantially
the same frequency. In other words, the natives of the San Francisco
region traded the same materials from the same localities one, two, or
three thousand years ago as when they were discovered at the end of
the eighteenth century. They ate the same food, in nearly the same
proportions (only mammalian bones became more abundant in higher
levels), prepared it in substantially the same manner, and sewed
skins, rush mats, and coiled baskets similarly to their recent
descendants. Even their religion was conservative, since the identical
charms seem to have been regarded potent. In a word, the basis of
culture remained identical during the whole of the shell-mound period.
“When it is remembered that ... the beginning of this period
(occurred) more than 3,000 years ago, it is clear that we are here
confronted by a historical fact of extraordinary importance. It means
that at the time when Troy was besieged and Solomon was building the
temple, at a period when even Greek civilization had not yet taken on
the traits that we regard as characteristic, when only a few
scattering foundations of specific modern culture were being laid and
our own northern ancestors dwelled in unmitigated barbarism, the
native Californian already lived in all essentials like his descendant
of today. In Europe and Asia, change succeeded change of the
profoundest type. On this far shore of the Pacific, civilization, such
as it was, remained immutable in all fundamentals.
“... The permanence of Californian culture ... is of far more than
local interest. It is a fact of significance in the history of
civilization.”
Successive intrusions of different peoples and the isolation of the
resultant developing Indian tribes, century after century, gave rise to
many diverse languages. Although some were mere dialects, there were
about 750 different North American Indian languages.