What he looked like, we have no idea; but he was apparently a nomadic hunter and follower of game. Because he followed game is probably the main reason he arrived here from Asia in late Pleistocene times—15 to 25,000 years ago. He hunted the now extinct bison (_antiquus_), two species of the American horse (_Equus fraternus_ and _E. complicatus_), a rare four-horned antelope (_Tetrameryx_), the California condor, camel, ground sloth, and a muskox or caribou-like animal (_Bootherium_ sp.). Undoubtedly these old ones utilized plants for food too. It is safe to assume that he dressed in skins, if he dressed at all. Whether caves were used as shelter we do not know; but quite probably they were, as the climate was pluvial. The method of projection for the point mentioned likely was done either via a lance or the atlatl (spearthrower and dart). The latter is nothing more than a stick with a nock for the dart on one end. It extends and gives more leverage to the arm for throwing. Where did he go? Some call him Folsom man; others say he is of the Cochise complex. He may have stayed where his descendants later became what we now call the “Basketmakers.” THE CARLSBAD BASKETMAKERS [Illustration: Human head] The true occupants of Carlsbad Caverns National Park were a group of Indians known as “Basketmakers.” They may have been descendants of the early people, or perhaps a new and distinct group. This name was applied because these people made excellent baskets and other woven objects, and had some similarity in culture traits to the San Juan Basketmakers or Anasazi of the Four Corners area. Moreover, there is some similarity in culture traits to the Big Bend Basketmakers of Texas and the Ozark Bluff Dwellers. Perhaps the name best suited for this group would be “cave dwellers,” as they used caves of all sizes, from small overhangs to those of huge proportions, for shelter. Yet, it must be remembered that seasonally they lived in the open. However, to avoid later confusion, we shall refer to them as the Carlsbad Basketmakers. The Carlsbad Basketmakers were an unusual group only “here and there adopting a few cultural traits from their neighbors, but essentially remaining food gatherers and hunters,” a rather simple state of culture as compared to their contemporaries. Our group was in contact with the Mogollon people to the west before 900 A.D., and possibly 600 years earlier. Pottery found here indicates this as well as other contacts. (See Map.) Pottery is somewhat like a fingerprint. There are certain features about it which are peculiar to only one particular area, and that is the area within which it was made. Consequently, pottery can show time, trade, contact, and movement of ceramic-making prehistoric peoples. At about this same time, social intercourse was also being carried on with the Hueco Basketmakers to the west and the Big Bend Basketmakers to the south.