anthropological studies in california.

It is not the intention of this paper to enter into a systematic discussion of California chaology and ethnology, but rather to present such materials as I have been fortunate enough to acquire during a short period of exploration, chiefly in the central part of the State .^ The work was carried out under the auspices of the Bureau of American Ethnology, and the writer was accompanied during the greater part of the journey by Dr. Despite the great diversity of languages, there is a marked uniformity in the physical characters of the population and the culture in general. is diversified only in details.

The mortar and pestle are the most prominent features of coastal household clothing, and yet, . in one form or another, present in many parts of America, are nowhere so widespread and so varied in form. The most notable feature of the art of the region is the rarity of earthenware, which for some undisclosed reason was never used, except for the production of crude kiln-fired balls for use in slings and sporadic attempts at making of dishes. The rude pottery found in the Tulare region and elsewhere is probably mostly of recent origin, and the practice of the art by the mission tribes of the South is doubtless a late Shoshone transfer from the Colorado Valley.

. the north has been markedly affected b}" further north, but the south has hardly felt the influence of the more advanced tribes of the Colorado Valley.

164 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 19()0

VICINITY OF NEVADA CITY, NEVADA COUNTY

166 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1900

VICINITY OF FOREST HILL. PLACER COUNTY

It was soon learned that the oreat Dardanelles mine, owned and worked by Mr. Clark, about 1 mile south of the village, and in his company immediately visited the place. The mine is located several hundred feet down a slope that descends into Middle Fork Canyon and on a narrow spit called Oro Flat. Here. the outlet margin of the gravel deposits of the Tertiary river channel is exposed in a heavy deposit 200 to 400 feet thick.

Approaching from above, we descended to the flat and stopped on a rounded section of surface overlooking the edge of the mine. Here was a small farm, and a field immediately above the deepest part of the mine was quite bare, though apparently it had not been worked for some years. It was noted that the outer margin of the .. site on b}^ the mine had been exceeded and perhaps a third or half of it had been destroyed.

Conical mortar basins were also found on the edge of the mine, working in the surface of large bowls and projecting rocks.

168 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1900

This food was not unpalatable at all, as it had been deprived of the slight taste of the acorn by leaching. By long l)aro-5iin- . ing and insisting that we could obtain half a dozen examples of the good woman's handiwork. They are typical specimens of the basketry of this section of California, and seem to combine some of the features of the basketry of the surrounding tribes.

We were shown one feather-decorated piece, said to have been made b}" an aunt of the young woman of the household at a distant point. A very interesting dining outfit was encountered on the mound a])()ve the residence and near the edge of the mine. It had been abandoned for some time, but the poles of the shelter were still in place.

At the bottom of the mine, 200 feet below the site occupied by the dining-place just described, we found a large stone with a deep conical mortar on one side.

TUOLUMNE TABLE MOUNTAIN REGION

Near Columbia, which was a great mining center in early days, is a large granite outcrop showing a considerable group of mortars of the usual form sunk into the surface. The route}^ from Jamestown to Murph^^s and Angels gave us the 0})portunit3" of crossing the Stanislaus Valley at two points. It descends on well-made roads, but the route is long and often precipitous , and the scenery is.

Near Murphys a visit was made to Mercer's cave, which is entered b}'^ a contracted irregular opening which descends almost vertically and expands into a series of irregular fissure-like chambers, the result of the solution of a particular layer of limestone by underground waters. They were not old and were not covered with lime, because they were only buried for a short time in the loose earth that fell in from the opening. One of these skulls was given to the U. S. National Museum l)y Mr. Mercer presented, and the result of an investigation 1)}^ Dr.

At a considerable depth, and not immediately below the opening, we were shown parts of the skeleton of a large animal.

1Y2 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1900

In the picture below (plate 12h), the woman is busy throwing the meal into the fan basket, separating the husks and wiping them aside. A partially worked ))basket of flour can be seen to her right. In the picture above (Plate 13), the meal and the basket container have been almost completely cleaned. There used to be a considerable group of millstones, but at the time of our visit the shelter had been removed and the mill had evidently been neglected for some time.

The lower view, plate 8, shows one of the brush sheds or cottages under which the family sits and most of the domestic work is done.

COLLECTIONS IN SAN FRANCISCO AND VICINITY

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POMO RESERVATION, MENDOCINO COUNTY

ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDIES IN CALIFORNIA. 175

NAT MUS 1900 12

17() REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1900

STOCKTON DISTRICT

ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDIES IN CALIFORNIA. 177

TULARE RESERVATION, TULARE COUNTY

Possibly from the depressions. Generally there were potholes worn by the falling waters of the falls, but all are now clearly artificial in outline. These ma}" be the group of mortars referred to by Powers, who says that "in remote times they were accustomed to rub their acorns with flour, on a stone slightly hollow, like the Mexican metate, which is a suggestion of the mouse was, l> these days they ram them into holes on top of big bowlers, which was a suggestion of the pointer Co3" note. On a ball in Coarse Gold Gulch I counted 86 of these acre holes, showing that they was not used.. My own feeling on this matter is that the metate is a late rather than an early form of the millstone, as these large groups of mortar pits must be very old, and the mortars used on excavated to considerable depths in this valley as well as elsewhere, are generally spherical.

I. He was particularly interested in observing that the Tulares knew the process of shaping stone by pecking with hammers. Some specimens show the recent work and inquiry of Mr. flamesAlta challenged the statement that women fashioned mortars and pestles in this way, using "poking and pecking". Plate 30 shows a man threshing with a whisk, the women are seen separating the grain from the husks ])X fanning in shallow baskets.

The large, round mortar shown in Plate 31 was used by one of the women, but we are told that this piece was found at a depth of several feet while digging an irrigation ditch. AtoiuMuarginna platform is built a shelter of bushes or reeds, in which a man with nooses hides.

180 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1900

For a dice tablet they weave a medium-sized, fine basket-tray, almost disheveled, and ornamented with devices woven in black or brown, mostly rude imitations of trees and geometrical figures. The speed at which the game moves forward is amazing, and the players seem completely oblivious to all things in the world outside.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

182 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, KOO

These places were explored by Schumacher many years ago, and the rich collections obtained b}^ himare. In fact, do no more in this place than briefly record my observations and impressions regarding these places. On a pearly morning in November, the trip went on horseback with Mexican Joe as guide to the Og soapstone quarries about 10 miles to the northwest.

We ascended the steep slopes of Avalon, skirted the high jagged peaks of the island, passed over the shoulder of Black Jack—a mountain rising nearly 1,800 feet above the sea—and descended into Potts Valley, which, if my identification is correct, opens down to this season. thenorthoftheridge. There were shallow excavations and heaps of rubbish surrounded by fragments of partially formed vessels and the rude stone picks, hammers and chisels with which ({uarring and shaping were carried out. Near the site of the pin (|uary reported by Schumacher there have been some recent quarries by white settlers, but fortunately the outcrop from which the aborigines cut so many pots remains undisturbed.

At the head of the shallow amphitheater of Potts Valle}^, which falls to the shore half a mile or more below, some great masses of rugged rock rise. A heavy growth of cactus plants covers the lower part of the exposure, but there is still enough in view to tell of the former business. The arenas left by the workmen extend over 100 or 500 square feet of the steep faces of the stony mass, and the views shown in Plate46 reveal scars and chisel marks to excellent advantage.

The work of removing the rounded masses of stone from which the vessels were to be formed was identical in character with that observed in many soapstone quarries in Eastern countries, but as far as the marks left on the snow show, the cutting was more skilful and does not appear to be bad })al)le that the work in the examples illustrated was done with metal tools. It is reasonable to suppose that the trade in soapstone pots, which was extensive among the islanders and inland tribes, flourished for a considerable time after the arrival of the white man, and the latest work required the use of iron picks and spades. .

184 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1900

185 Mr.E. L.Doran, of Avalon, who kindly conveyed me in his oil launch, Mr. owning the island, have begun extensive improvements, altering the appearance of the place and destroying the old cemetery. The houses in the overview are located on the village location that was so carefully designed by Dr. Paul Schumacher has been investigated and reported by him in a number of publications. It also appears that it was inhabited at the time of the arrival of the whites and for a considerable period afterwards, as the graves contain many iron objects. glass.

Many interesting details concerning the ancient remains of the island are given in the charming little publication published by Mr. CharlesF. Holder, who has adopted the island as a home, and amapi are featured in his work locating many village sites, cemeteries and shell piles. The evidences of occupation are so numerous and extensive that, as with the other islands of the group, there must have previously been a great ])opidation, but not essentially differing in blood or culture from the people of the mainland. Although soapstone was much used on the islands and carried in large quantities to the mainland, other stones were not neglected, and sandstones were especially used.