[Part 2 - Continued from Part 1] >Part 3 highlights "The Web of Interconnectedness" that had begun to >manifest itself in aboriginal California between 2500 and 1500 B.C. >These chapters address some of the most enduring and intriguing >themes in California archaeology and prehistory, from acorns and >obsidian to shamanism and rock art. Chapter 6, "A Changing World," >provides a cultural overview of this era, with its expanding >population and increased reliance upon acorns as a dietary mainstay. >A lengthy introduction to the harvesting, processing, and >nutritional attributes of acorns adds significantly to earlier >discussions of the vital role that mobility and the exploitation of >seasonally available resources played in the subsistence strategies >of these societies. Other diagnostic features of this period >include a gendered division of labor, the emergence of increasingly >complex forms of social and political organization (tribelets and >chieftanship), and the long-distance exchange of prestige items that >signal the development of politico-economic alliances and a gradual >transition away from egalitarian, to ranked, society. "The >Seductive Stone" (chapter 7) focuses on obsidian as a trade good and >unparalleled material for the manufacture of razor-sharp blades. >Fagan also provides a very readable explanation of obsidian sourcing >and hydration techniques that can identify the stone's original >quarry site and the approximate timeframe during which it was >worked. Chapters 8 and 9 turn our attention to the realms of the >supernatural and the mysteries of rock art, respectively. The first >of these chapters speaks to a fundamental example of cultural >continuity in Native California--a rich tradition of animistic >beliefs, coupled with reliance upon the powerful figure of the >shaman to mediate between the human and spirit worlds. The >fragmentary nature of the archaeological record becomes more >apparent in these discussions of cosmology and expressive culture, >where related behaviors and beliefs are far more difficult to >confidently reconstruct, and where ethnohistorical data, >ethnographic analogy, and culture theory play more straightforward >and pivotal roles in the interpretive process. This is particularly >evident in chapter 9, "Art on the Rocks." The study of prehistoric >art in California, as well as the rest of the world, is animated by >conflicting and often controversial theories and interpretations. >Both this chapter and the one preceding it strengthen _Before >California_, not only because their subject matter makes for >important and fascinating reading, but also because Fagan is >forthright in his approach, introducing the various arguments, while >simultaneously allowing his readers to know that his own analytical >biases and interpretations inform his presentation of the material. > >Part 4, "A Crowded World," describes the period of 1500 B.C. to A.D. >1542. Five of the six chapters in this section detail distinctive >regional traditions still flourishing at the time of European >contact. These diverse traditions are grouped by chapter into broad >geographic categories: "The Northwest: Dugouts and Salmon," "San >Francisco Bay: A Landscape of Mounds," "Central Valley and >Foothills: Realm of the Rivers," "The South and Southeast: Coast, >Hinterland, and Desert," and "Santa Barbara Channel: The World of >the Tomol."[3] Fagan's literary style is at its best here, as he >interweaves a century of California archaeology with ethnographic >descriptions that make palpable these ancient voices, landscapes, >and life ways. The following passage sets the stage for chapter 11: >"A.D. 500. The falling afternoon tide leaves bubbling mud in its >train. A few reeds poke through the brown mire. Narrow fingers of >gravelly sand and boulders extend into the marsh. Densely packed >clam beds gleam in the sun. Three women and their children move >slowly in a line across the exposed beds, deftly prying fresh clams >from their resting places, throwing them into large baskets at their >feet" (p. 244). > >These opening scenes help readers to crystallize a human image of >the societies whose cultures are described in a more inanimate, >archaeological context throughout the remainder of each chapter. >Using cultural ecology as an explanatory framework, Fagan shows how >societies living within the same basic environment typically shared >a primary reliance upon a shared natural resource (or set of >resources) common to that region--such as acorns, salmon, or >cactus--yet developed their own distinctive technologies, social >institutions, languages, and customs. The same archaeologists and >sites introduced in earlier time periods and chapters are revisited >in this section, showing continuities and transformations from the >Paleo-Indian through the Late Prehistoric Periods, while also >highlighting the array of interdisciplinary scientific techniques >used in contemporary archaeology. Throughout the entire book, Fagan >employs the more familiar and unassuming first-person voice when >explaining highly technical material, like the analysis of deep-sea >cores to reconstruct the shifting California coastline or the >examination of skeletal pathologies as indices of dietary health or >human violence. Occasionally referring to his own web searches or >difficulty in making sense of specialized literature, he brings his >readers along as equals, on what is clearly his own voyage of >discovery. > >Part 4 includes the book's final chapter, "Entrada," which sets the >stage for European exploration and conquest. It also brings the >story of prehistoric California to a close, with just a glimpse at >the enormous devastation indigenous peoples and cultures would >suffer from the sixteenth through twentieth centuries.[4] > >_Before California_ is a welcome addition to the popular literature >on California history and culture. It fills an obvious gap on the >shelves of public libraries, bookstores, secondary schools, and >museum gift shops. With supplementary readings drawn from more >scholarly sources, it is also suitable as a core text for college >and university courses in California Studies, Native American >Studies, and Archaeology. However, instructors who adopt the book >for such use will have to run a certain amount of interference to >correct imbalances and errors. > >The book strongly favors Southern California, both its inland and >coastal cultures, but particularly the latter. The Chumash and >their ancestors receive the lion's share of attention--a fact that >is hardly surprising, given that this is Fagan's home turf. Still, >two areas of the state seem especially neglected by comparison and >yet both boast a long history of significant archaeological >investigation. One of these under-discussed areas includes those >portions of the Great Basin that lie within the geopolitical >boundary of California. Fagan rarely touches upon this tradition, >except in his discussion of rock art. Perhaps he was bowing to the >anthropological convention that separates the California and Great >Basin "culture areas," but general readers will be completely >unaware that much of the territory on the eastern side of the Sierra >Nevada falls within another corpus of scholarly research and >literature. And while his treatment of Northern California is >weaker overall by comparison to the southern reaches of the state, >Northeastern and North Central California are given particularly >slim coverage. These problems seem slight by comparison to other >errors that plague this first edition. The most unfortunate of these >involves Cora Du Bois, ethnographer of the Wintu and the Ghost Dance >of 1870. Her name appears in the text, notes, and index as >"Charles" Du Bois. Cora Du Bois conducted ethnographic research in >the early 1930s under Kroeber's supervision at Berkeley, before >moving on to Harvard, where she became the first woman >anthropologist in her department to be tenured. Another important >contributor to California anthropology is Carobeth Laird, whose name >appears on page 330 as "Caroline Beard" and whose book about her >marriage to J. P. Harrington, _Encounter with an Angry God_, >receives no citation whatsoever in the entire text.[5] The >discussion of Central California archaeology and Sacramento City >College needs to note that Robert Heizer not only visited and >excavated sites in the Cosumnes River Valley while he was at >Berkeley, but that "the start of his illustrious career" (p. 273) in >California archaeology was at Sacramento City College where he >completed much of his undergraduate anthropology work; he already >knew intimately both Lillard and the shell mounds along the >Sacramento Valley's riparian corridors, when "news of the Windmiller >discoveries reached [him at] Berkeley" (p. 273).[6] Numerous >typographical and related errors are also found throughout the book, >such as "Shasha" (p. 277) rather than Shasta; "Columnes" (p. 281) >rather than Cosumnes; "Carrillo" (p. 292) instead of Cabrillo; and a >textual reference to box 9.1 (p. 202) that should refer, it seems, >to box 9.2, "Sally's Rock and a Shaman's Quest" (p. 205). Perhaps >some of these problems can be corrected before publication of the >paperback version. Such an effort would greatly enhance the value >of _Before California_ for both the general reading public and the >many students of California archaeology who will be drawn, by this >introductory text, into the scholarly ranks of the next generation. > >Notes > >[1]. Scholarly syntheses and edited volumes on Native California >prehistory and/or society include Michael J. Moratto, _California >Archaeology_ (Orlando: Academic Press, 1984); Joseph L. Chartkoff >and Kerry Kona Chartkoff, _The Archaeology of California_ (Stanford: >Stanford University Press, 1984); Robert F. Heizer, ed., _Handbook >of North American Indians_, vol. 8, _California_ (Washington: >Smithsonian Institution, 1978); and Alfred L. Kroeber, _Handbook of >the Indians of California_ (Washington: Bureau of American >Ethnology, 1925). > >[2]. The author notes that he is writing from a western scientific >perspective that privileges a linear construction of history and >often conflicts with the origin stories of Native California. > >[3]. "Tomol" is the Chumash word for planked canoe. > >[4]. On p. 359, Fagan refers to the brass plate found at Drake's Bay >in 1934 and its "questionable authenticity." While this book was in >press, an article by E. Von der Porten, R. Aker, R. W. Allen, and J. >M. Spitze, "Who Made Drake's Plate of Brass?" appeared in >_California History_ 81(2): pp. 116-133. It describes the >elaborate hoax that fooled historians and scientists for over forty >years; scholarly references to this plate can now be laid fully to >rest. > >[5]. Carobeth Laird, _Encounter with an Angry God_ (Banning: Malki >Museum Press, 1975). > >[6]. Arlean H. Towne, _A History of Central California Archaeology, >1880-1940_ (Salinas: Coyote Press, 1984). > > > Copyright (c) 2003 by H-Net, all rights reserved. H-Net permits > the redistribution and reprinting of this work for nonprofit, > educational purposes, with full and accurate attribution to the > author, web location, date of publication, originating list, and > H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online. For other uses > contact the Reviews editorial staff: [email protected] Carol De Priest <mailto:[email protected]> Honest Intellectual Inquiry <http://www.dakotacom.net/~depriest>