Anthropological Records, Vol. 16, No. 6

Colonial Expeditions to the Interior of California Central Valley, 1800-1820

The general anthropology and history of the California natives has been exhaustively studied, in particular their archaeology and ethnography. Much is also known concerning the vicissitudes of their existence since the coming of the white man. The mission experience has been thoroughly explored and is admirably documented. The period of the Mexican War and the gold rush has been the subject of hundreds of books and articles. Students interested in problems of human biology, ecology, and sociology centering on the indigenous population of California have readily available certain important sources of information. First, there is a wealth of archaeological datamaterials deposited in museums, many archaeological sites which are in their original position, reports, and monographs. Second should be mentioned the long series of ethnographic investigations carried on by various agencies over half a century and based primarily upon the word of living informants. Third are the general historical and mission records, which display the relation between the Spanish-Mexican civilization and the native. These merge into the fourth source of knowledge, the official documents, letters, memoirs, diaries, and contemporary newspaper accounts which give us an exceedingly detailed picture of the Indian during the period of first exploitation by the Americans. The fifth category includes the documentary records since approximately 1855: the reports of the Indian Service and of Army Officers, correspondence of all sorts among Federal and State functionaries, and investigations by Congressional or Legislative Committees. These documents, most of which are to be found in libraries and public archives, bring the student down to the present time. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 36387
Author: Cook, Sherburne Friend
Release Date: Jun 12, 2011
Format: eBook
Language: English