THE KUMEYAAY PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA by Your Name (boldface) ANTH 100: Non-Western Cultures and the Western Tradition Instructor: Dr. Steven R. James Nov. 10, 2014 INTRODUCTION In my quest to study the life of the ancient California inhabitants, I visited the San Diego Museum of Man which is an anthropological museum situated in Balboa Park, San Diego, California. The museum was established in the year 1915 as a result of the Panama-California Exposition where several exhibits were displayed with ‘The Story of Man through Ages’ being the first. At the culmination of the exposition, San Diego Museum Association sought to retain the available collection and start a permanent museum. As a result, the collection was named Museum of Man in …show more content…
Among the artifacts available on the second floor of the museum there are bows and arrows. Moreover, a visitor can see sharp stones in the collection of artifacts; these are familiar to those that were used in the Stone Age. Most of the stones resemble the Oldowan tools that were found in Lokalalei in Kenya; some other also resemble the Hand axe found in Bose in China. In display were other wooden domestic equipment such as wooden pestle and mortar, a spade and a spear. Pottery was not left out of the exhibition as there were several pots, weaving was represented by the skin thread and a hat. Finally, necklaces and other valuable ornaments were in this part of the museum too. 3) Lifeway of the Kumeyaay People a) Hunters and gatherers In this section, I will analyze the culture of the Kumeyaay people taking into regard the artifacts available in the museum. To begin with, the bow and arrows could have been used for two main reasons. The first is for hunting wild game. Wild game was a source of food to many ancient communities around the world. On one of the printouts in the museum, I read that the Kumeyaay used to hunt along the coast as well as in the inland and rabbit was their main source of meat. The arrows were made from cane and straightened in soap stone. Secondly, bows and arrows were most likely used for protection purposes. The two tools are occasionally made from wood and have been in use for a long period of
First, In Document #3 the Iroquois used a deer horn to stab animals for their meat. Secondly, In Document #4 they used their natural resources to make air guns and arrows. The arrow and air gun was made of floss of the thistle. The floss of the thistle was throughout the arrow and it was used for bird shooting. Thirdly, in Document #5 it states that the Iroquois made snowshoes. The snowshoes were made internally out of hickory. The snowshoes were a tool for getting around in the snow. Fourthly, throughout Document #6 the document communicates that they used many tools for making food. All of these tools were from using what is around them. For example, this tool, kernel scraper was used to prepare the corn. This tool was made from a deer’s jaw. Another example of a tool is a mealing stone used for grinding corn. This tool was made from rock which was also a tool used to prepare corn. Lastly, the canoes were a huge part and key tool of transportation. The canoes were made from dugout trees and from bark which could have been extra from the longhouses. The canoes not only made transportation easier but also they were used for fishing and finding food on the
Swords, axes, bows and arrows, weapons that never before seen the light of day was brought out, handed out to inexperienced, shaking hands.
The Paiutes are a Native American Indian tribe “made up of several bands throughout the western part of the United States, also known as the Great Basin region” (Ruby 222). The Northern Paiutes populated areas of Oregon, California, Nevada, and Idaho; and inquiries as to how the environment might have affected their interactions, migration, and social behavior is a topic of great interest in Oregon archeology. The Northern Paiutes “who practiced the ancestral lifeway well into the 19th century, were heirs to an extremely ancient cultural tradition” (Aikens 13). Historical archeological studies found that these groups often “made tools, gathered plants, and hunted animals of similar if not identical kinds” (Aikens 13). Through these similar identities,
The African exhibit had pieces from mostly from modern day. The oldest piece I saw was a
The museum focuses on teaching and making visitors aware of the local culture that once was. Its main exhibits are farming tools and items you would see and use on a working
Ceramic making is still a popular tradition today in the Americas, especially on Native Indian Reservations, like in Western, North Carolina. The use of ceramics, however, is quite different than the way it was used by the natives during the Middle Woodland Period. Today, pottery is mainly made for decoration or art purposes by modern day Americans, but according to Wallis (2011), about 3,000 years ago the use of pottery became a very common use and practiced tradition among the native people who lived during that time period. The Swift Creek culture and the Cherokee Indians had very similar methods in formulating ceramics. The archaeological findings of these artifacts states that one group had been more advanced designs on their vessels. This reason is most likely because of the materials that one group was able to access in their area that the other group did not have available. One group was also more traditional and spiritual in making their vessels, which caused them to create more complex designs and methods while designing their ceramics (Block 2005). By looking at the similarities of both groups pottery styles, archaeologists were able to determine the minor but very distinctive differences, that one group processed in their art, than the other. By comparing each group’s ceramics by looking at
The native americans also made special tools to help them live!Here are some examples of some tools the cahuilla and the mojave made and how they made them.They made spades out of flint, stone or iron.They also made bows and arrows out of plant stems that grew on trees, stone or iron to make the arrow head, tied the arrow head onto a stick, and
This essay will aim to cover several archaeology techniques and methodologies that would have been used during excavation of archeological sites, in particular the New Kinord site. These methods will provide an insight into a wide range of information that I am interested in discovering. These include what the inhabitants of the site did for a living, their diet and how the term of occupation can be determined.
Stone axes are made from steel. Knives are made from sharpened stone , particularly flint , chert, and obsidian. Bone and copper is last resorts , if used at all if is for crafts and and kitchen utensils for preparing food . Armor and shields size and construction were round in shape and about 3 feet in diameter and made of wood covered in layers of hardened rawhide. Rawhide is a hide or animal skin that hasn’t been exposed to tanning , this is skin usually comes from buffalo, deer, elk , and cattle . Rawhide originates is prepared by removing all fur, meat , and fat from a animal. These shields are designed to deflect arrows and other missile types of weapons. Rod armor is made out of interlocking wooden plates and rods (native-languages.org/weapons).
To start off, a Natural History Museum is usually a place where the public can visit to obtain knowledge on the history of the earth and its inhabitants. Much about people’s culture and customs is found in a Natural History museum, especially people that have made a difference or played a role in history that we learn today. Therefore, the Indigenous peoples are represented in these precise museums. The indigenous people have various amount of customs that are even used today, however, the fact that many of their descriptions are led by the word “histor” or “ancient” almost makes the guests at museums believe that these indigenous people are no longer alive, and that is incorrect. The key objective for a Natural History museum is to simply help connect the understanding of human beings, connections based on culture, communities, to the earth and to each other. Precisely, The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles does not fully represent in depth the qualities that made the indigenous people so innovative, intelligent, and powerful; Therefore, the importance of the indigenous people is almost overshadowed by everything else that is presented at the museum. Overall, the indigenous people are represented here because of their
The axes were made from ground igneous, which are rocks crystallized by molten magma. Most arrowheads and knives were made of flaked flint. Medicine shields were sacred because it reflected the power of the warrior and was meant to give him spiritual protection. The war shield was made out of hide from the neck of a buffalo, which was smoked with glue made from bison hoofs. The war clubs were wooden and had knife blades protruding out of them.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Mandan." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 10 May 2011. Web. 04 Apr.
Upon initial research of the rich heritage of California the two minority groups that stood out as especially influential in historic California and today’s society are the Native Americans and Hispanic Americans. To better understand and identify with these minority groups we must identify the common themes within their day to day life. By researching each culture’s common family traditions, religious beliefs, arts & entertainment, and language one can gain a greater appreciation of many different kinds of people, and in turn have more effective relationships in a multicultural society.
I had an opportunity to visit the oriental institute museum . During my visit to the museum I was made aware of its location and the importance of it to chicago. The museum housed many exhibits of historical value dating civilization back to the paleolithic period of 2,500,000-100,000 B.C. Below you'll find examples of mans rise through the use of tools and refined skills from cave living to structured living throughout evolution. This is an experience that has grounded me to a new interest in structures that we have devised to become the homes we use today for the rest of my life.
At Sibudu Cave, archeologists have found many complex tools made of both stone and bone and have analyzed the pattern in the animals living in the area from when the HP transitioned to the post-HP. Stone and bone points, as well some projectile weapons, have been found at the site. Also, with regard to the animal patterns, “small game such as molerat, hyrax, and hare occur[ed] more commonly in the HP while large grazing animals are more frequent in the post-HP MSA” (Clark 2011).