The stone age in North America, vol. 2 of 2Moorehead, Warren K. (Warren King)
History
The stone age in North America, vol. 2 of 2
Moorehead, Warren K. (Warren King)
Indians of North America -- Antiquities; Stone age -- North America
It is unfortunate that Coronado, De Soto, Captain Smith, Hennepin,
Marquette, and the Pilgrim Fathers did not give us more detail about
stone-age times. When these explorers, or adventurers, or colonists came
here, many of the Indians were still in the stone age. One of the best
references that I have seen is that by Coronado’s historian, who states
that in the mountain region along the Colorado River there lived many
wild tribes who were barbarous; “eat human flesh, worship painted and
sculptured stones, and are much given to witchcraft and sorcery.” These
men represented savage and not barbaric stone-age times. They appear to
have been exceedingly fleet of foot, great hunters, very courageous, and
quite different from later Indians. The historian, speaking of one of
these tribes, says:
“The third language is that of the Acaxes, who are in possession of a
large part of the hilly country and all of the mountains. They go
hunting for men just as they hunt animals. They all eat human flesh, and
he who has the most human bones and skulls hung up around his house is
most feared and respected. They live in settlements and in very rough
country, avoiding the plains. In passing from one settlement to another,
there is always a ravine in the way which they cannot cross, although
they can talk together across it. At the slightest call five hundred men
collect, and on any pretext kill and eat one another. Thus it has been
very hard to subdue these people, on account of the roughness of the
country, which is very great.”
It has been known for many years that the Seri Indians living on an
island in the Gulf of California are still in the stone age. Professor W
J McGee, of the Bureau of Ethnology, visited these Indians and wrote a
long report concerning them.[32] This book should be read by students,
as it gives an insight into what prehistoric times must have been. McGee
states a number of interesting facts which I repeat, with some changes,
in condensed form.
The Seris are bitterly opposed to foreigners, and he considers “their
race sense is perhaps the strongest ever known.” This is due to their
living alone and apart on this small island away from other tribes. They
had bitter experiences with the cruel Spaniards nearly three centuries
ago, which was a contributing factor in bringing about this condition.
They use shells, with which the sea-front abounds, for knives, cups,
dishes, dippers, and other utensils.
The natural, water-worn pebbles need no chipping or fashioning to make
of them hammers and crushers. Occasionally some of these implements
exhibit a little work to bring them into better shape. The seacoast
abounded in thousands of water-worn stone objects, of such forms as made
them convenient for use by the Seri Indians.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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