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Pastimes : Kosovo -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brumar89 who wrote (9586)	5/23/1999 10:21:00 AM
From: D. Long	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 17770

Hello Bruce, thanks for the reply. I didnt mean to imply that the Souix systematically "cleansed" the Black Hills of other groups. From my understanding of the history of the region, local river bottom groups were "displaced" by the encroaching Souix. As to current NA and Amerind or otherwise ancestry, of course the tribal groups which developed on the continent would be descendents. What I was saying is that it is not necessarily cogent for say a Creek to claim an Paleoindian set of skeletal remains on Creek ancestral territory as his ancestor, because it does not follow necessarily. It is possible to trace such things, but it is not exact by any means. Such tracing relies upon forensic features such skull measurements, dentition, and other factors and without a comprehensive history of the tribes and prehistoric America, it can hardly be argued that remains of characteristic X belong to tribal group Y. If the newsweek article is correct, and the Americas were an even greater mixing pot than previously believed, then that task is even more vast. It may very well be that a Yamamamo in Brazil has a greater claim to those remains than Mr. Creek, for example. As to Cahokia, there is a large body of evidence that points in the direction of resource depletion as a contributor to Cahokian demise, as well as possibly general political or military fading. Ethnobotanic analysis of event horizons of the period at the close of the 13th century show a marked decrease in seeds and and other vegetative remains characteristic of woodland cover. Archaeologists today with the help of ethnobotanists can all but recreate the botany of a sites environment, the research I have read indicates the possibility of a massive deforestation over the peak of the Cahokia culture around 1200. Analysis of waste middens also indicates an increasing reliance upon a continued contraction in diet with a corresponding decrease in the evidence of animal consumption. There was a climate shift in the 13th century, and together with the archaeological evidence, indicates there is the possibility that Cahokia collapsed due to widespread deforestation, overhunting, and increasing reliance upon a narrow range of cultivated plants which couldnt be sustained for the large population under changed climactic conditions. In any event, research continues, one of my old field school buddies being amongst the researchers, he gives me the low down every once in a while. ;) Whatever the cause, Cahokia was abandoned by the 14th century. Again, thanks for the response. Its good to see so many people that are interested in this history and can contribute to a discussion. Maybe a group should be created for the purpose. :)

To: Brumar89 who wrote (9586)	5/23/1999 10:32:00 AM
From: James R. Barrett	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 17770

Mr. Brumar, The point I was trying to make about the Native Americans being very upset with the discovery of a 15,000 year old "European" skull in North Carolina is the fear of losing their "original inhabitant" status. If the Europeans were here 15,000 years ago the Native Americans would no longer be able to claim that the white Europeans "stole their land". If todays Native Americans are descendants of ancient Europeans, Polynesians and Asians then their reservation status of "Soverign Nation" should be dissolved and their lands should revert back to the Federal Government. They will then become ordinary citizens like the rest of us. Who knows, maybe the owner of that skull left a pregnant girl behind in Germany who might be your ancient grandmother, which makes you a Native American. Jim