W"»T GN 78/| C1M5 ^ •S> vo ^XiuoNVSOi^ %a3AiNfi]\\v^ ^c?Aavaani^ ^'fPAavnan-^^ •^/:»aaAiNn3V^^ -< ■SANCELfj^ >-" = ><^ ■^/^d3MNn-3V^ ^j^lllBRARYQ^ ^ILIBRARYO^^ %jnv3J0^ '^<!/ojnv3-jo'^ ^OFCALIFOfi'^i!^ ^OFCAllFOff^ "^^Aaviian-^^ ^<?Aavaani^ , , ^ o ,^WE•UNIVERS/A I- -'' <: , ^ ^ o C3 "^/sa^AiNnJwv ^lOSAMCEUr^ o ^iHAiNn-iW"^ ^UIBKARY<9/r ^K5/OJllV3JO^ ^.OFCAIIFO/?^ .avaan-^^'^ aWEUNIVERJ/a f ^WEUNIVERS/a o ^lOSANCElfx^ o %a3AiNa-3UV ^vj^lOSANCElfj^ o %a3AIN(13UV^ ^lUBRARYQ^ -^lllBRARY6>/r^ ^.OFCALIFO/?^^ ^OFCAllFOff^ v^_ ^oAHvaaiH^ ^(^Aavnaiii^ .vlOSAVCEL£x> %a3AiNn-3WV ^lOSANCEl£rx CO '^/^a3AiNn-3V^^ ^^^lUBRARYQf^ ^<!/0JnV3J0^ ^lUBRARYO/r. ^<?Aavaani^ ^\\£UKIVERS•/A , ^ ^ o <r?l33NV.S01^ ^OFCALIFOR^ ^OFCALIFOR^ ' ^^WE UNIVERJ/^ o ^lOSAKCElfj-^ o %a3AiNn3UV ^lOSANCEl£r^ o %a3AINn-3V\V UBRARYQ^^ ^0FCAUF0Ri5>, AHvaan-^^ 5X\El]NIVERS/A ^<!fOJnV3JO'^ ^J?13DNVS01^ ^\WEIiNIVER%. <f^DNVS01^ ^lOSANCEl^^ so I %a3AINn-3WV^ ^lOSANCEl£r>. '^/ia3AINIl-3WV^ ^tUBRARYQ^ ^lUBRARYQr^ ^OFCAllFOR^ ^OFCAUFOff^ or ^C>AHVHSn-^\^ Presented to the Members of the Fifteenth International Congress of Americanists with the Compliments of the Authors RECENT CAVE EXPLORATION IN CALIFORNIA BY JOHN C. MERRIAM EVIDENCE OF THE WORK OF MAN ON OBJECTS FROM QUATERNARY CAVES IN CALIFORNIA BY F. W. PUTNAM Reprinted from the Amkrican Anthropologist (n. s. ), Vol. 8, No. 2, April-June, 1906 Lancaster, Pa., (J. S. A. The New Era Printing Company 1906 SVJU I HERN BRANCm, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY, cos ANGELES, CALIF. n sou THE/-., . /..,..• i'VlVERSlTY OF CALIFORNIA, ?ARY, r.LES. CALIF. Ct Mb RECENT CAVE EXPLORATION IN CALIFORNIA' By JOHN C. MERRIAM Introduction During the last three years a series of investigations has been carried on by the Department of Anthropology of the University of California, with a view to determining, if possible, the time when man first appeared in this region. As cavern deposits have fur- nished some of the most important materials in the study of early man in other regions, it was considered desirable, as one of the phases of this work, to make a careful paleontological and archeolog- ical investigation of the numerous limestone caves of the state. In this study the effort has been made to obtain as complete a knowledge as possible of the mammalian faunas which have existed in this region between early Quaternary time and the present. Man is considered as a possible element of the fauna, and so far as his geographic or his geologic occurrence is concerned he must be subjected to investi- gations of much the same character as are used in the study of other organisms. Until the facts of this class are determined, it is difiR- cult to make a beginning on matters which are perhaps more defi- nitely anthropological. The discovery of human relics, apparently in association with remains belonging to a Quaternary fauna, in the extreme southern portion of South America leads one to suspect that an early migra- tion of the human type may have passed over North America into ' Read at the meeting of the American Anthropological Association, San Francisco, August 30, 1905. Including a partial report to the American Committee of the Archaeo- logical Institute of America on the explorations made under an appropriation by the com- mittee for the work in 1905. AM. ANTH., N. S. , 8-15 221 222 AMERICAiV ANTHROPOLOGIST [n. s., 8, 1906 South America. That other mammalian types came into America in fairly recent geological time we know, and there is no inherent improbability in the theory that man came with the other mam- mals. If his remains are found with a Quaternary fauna in the southern continent there is good reason why we should search for them here. Up to the present time only a few caves situated in Calaveras county and in Shasta county have been examined. Many other occurrences are known, but limitations of time have made it impos- sible to visit these localities. One would hardly be justified in stat- ing that as yet more than a beginning has been made on the pos- sible cave investigations of California. It is to be hoped that in time these studies, in connection with the other phases of this work, may give us some definite information regarding the date of man's appearance in the Pacific Coast region. Mercer's Cave In the summer of 1901 Professor F. W. Putnam and the writer examined several caves in the vicinity of Murphys, Calaveras county, and in 1902 Dr W. J. Sinclair visited a number of caverns in the same region. The most interesting remains encountered were those in the well-known Mercer's cave near Murphys. In this cavern there were found a number of bones of an extinct ground-sloth, which has recently been described by Dr Sinclair as the type of a new species, Megalonyx sierrcnsis} The bones of this animal were cov- ered with a deposit of stalagmite, ranging from a few millimeters to about half an inch in thickness. From their situation it appeared that the body of the animal had fallen into the main chute of the cave, and in the process of decay the remains had been scattered for a considerable distance along the passageway. In the same cavern, although not in close proximity to the Megalonyx remains, there were found a number of human bones bearing a very thin calcareous incrustation. It appears that in this region it has been at some time the custom of the aborigines to throw the bodies of their dead into such caverns as this, and in places great numbers of skeletons ' Wm. J. Sinclair, New Mammalia from the Quaternary Caves of California, Publ. Univ. Calif., Geology, vol. 4, no. 7, p. 155. MERRIAM] RECENT CAVE EXPLORATION IN CALIFORNIA 223 have accumulated. The human bones found in this cave were in such position as to indicate that they had been thrown into the first chamber through the small opening above, while the Megalonyx remains had fallen some distance below this chamber. While it is exceedingly difficult to form any estimate of the relative ages of the human bones and the Megalonyx remains, such evidence as we have seems to indicate that the remains of man are the younger, as they are nearer the opening and are covered with a much thinner layer of stalagmitic material. The human bones are, however, probably many years old. While the relative thickness of the covering of stalagmite is in itself no absolute criterion as to the age of the en- closed material, as it may accumulate very rapidly in one place and very slowly in another place, it is probable that the thinner layer on the human bones means a shorter period of entombment. Potter Creek Cave The most extensive investigations of the caverns have been car- ried on in Shasta county. In this region two large caves have been very carefully explored and the principal deposits almost completely worked over. These are Potter Creek cave, on the McCloud river, near Baird, and the Samwel cave, on the same river, fifteen miles above Baird. Potter Creek cave was the first to be the subject of careful in- vestigation. It was discovered in 1878 by Mr J. A. Richardson, and by him several specimens of fossil bones were sent to Professor E. D. Cope. In the summer of 1902 Mr E. L. Furlong explored the cave again, without knowing that it was the one discovered by Mr Richardson. Large deposits of fossil remains were found, and excavation work was carried on by him and by Dr Sinclair through that season. Throughout the whole of the summer of 1903 the work was in charge of Dr Sinclair, whose excellent report ' on this work has already been published. The floor of the cave was care- fully surveyed and all specimens taken out were labeled with refer- ence to their position in the strata. The deposits were excavated to a depth of 25 feet, below which there seemed to be little but an ^ Publ. Univ. Calif., North Amer. Archaeol. and Ethnol., vol. 2, no. i. 224 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [n. s., 8, 1906 accumulation of stalagmite-covered bowlders. The exploration work furnished several thousand bones and fragments, of which between 4,000 and 5,000 were determinable specimens. The re- mains include those of many extinct animals, and furnish the most satisfactory representation of the Quaternary fauna of California that has yet been obtained in any one locality. Fifty-two species were listed by Dr Sinclair, of which at least twent>'-one were found to be extinct. Associated with the remains of the Quaternary fauna in Potter Creek cave there were many broken, splintered, and polished bones, which were carefully investigated by Dr Sinclair, having been con- sidered as possibly representing the work of man. The presence of the splintered bones is yet to be thoroughly satisfactorily explained, though there are many w^ays in which they might have been formed or introduced. In the caves of Europe such splintered bones are in part due to the splintering of long-bones of large mammals by man, and in part to the crushing of such bones by the larger car- nivores. The character of the pointed and polished bones figured by Dr Sinclair in his paper is also difficult to determine with certainty. These polished fragments strongly resemble many of the roughest implements found in the deposits of the shell-mounds of the Pacific coast. Possibly they have been rough bone splinters, used by man until they attained the degree of polish which we find upon them. On the other hand it is noted that in nearly all shell-mound frag- ments the polish is mainly upon the pointed portion of the imple- ment, while fhe portions not used for active work may be almost without smoothing or polish. In the specimens from the caves the polish is almost perfectly even over the whole surface in every case. The evenness of this polish seems to indicate that, if these objects were used as implements, special pains must have been taken to polish those portions which would in the course of ordinary use be left rough. Such smoothing as we see here may perhaps be as readily explained by the action of water as by any other means, the fragments being rubbed on all sides and evenly polished. In other bone fragments, peculiar perforations and notches have been noted which are not easily explained by the operation of MERRIAM] RECENT CAVE EXPLORATION IN CALIFORNIA 22 S natural processes, but which could be accounted for by perforation through human agency. Of all the evidence which has been advanced in favor of the influence of man in the production of implement-like objects found in the Shasta caves, the evidence of perforation seems probably the strongest. A serious doubt must exist, however, as to whether the presence of only a few somewhat indefinite perforations in a very small number out of several thousand of these fragments should be considered proof of the presence of man. Had a large percentage of the fragments been formed and used by man, evidence of a more definite character ought to be present in abundance. While it is probably true that as yet no unequivocal evidence of the agency of man in the fashioning of the bone fragments from this cave has been presented, in all fairness to those who may undertake from the study of such materials to give .us something of the earliest history of the human race, we should not forget that, at the very period where the discrimination between artifacts and natural objects is most important it becomes most difficult. In the early stages of the development of man, such implements as were used by him were probably in many cases simply special forms of natural objects which were, in their original form, well adapted to meet his primitive needs. The earliest true artifacts were objects of this class showing only a little modification. A more detailed discussion of the peculiarly marked bone fragments from the California caves is presented by Professor F. W. Putnam in a paper on this subject appearing also in this number of the A7>ierican Aiitliropologist. Samwel Cave The exploration of the Samwel cave, in the Shasta region, has been carried on by Mr E. L. Furlong through parts of the seasons 1903, 1904, and 1905.' This cave is somewhat larger than the one at Potter creek and contains several chambers of considerable size. The largest chamber had not been entered previous to 1903, when it was explored by Mr Furlong and the writer. iThe explorations during the season of 1905 were carried on under an appropriation from the Archaeological Institute of America for the '♦ Exploration of Caves in Northern California under the supervision of F. \V. Putnam." 226 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [n. s., 8, 1906 Opening into one of the passageways about 100 feet from the entrance is a fissure containing a small alluvial fan, which opens out on the floor of the chamber. This deposit appears to have accumulated through the entrance of material from the upper part of the fissure. The entrance is now closed with a stalagmite growth, and no clue to its position has yet been obtained from the study of the surface of the rock outside. In small pockets on the sides of the fissure, and in the deposit below, there have been found large numbers of bone fragments representing a Quaternary fauna. These include remains of extinct species ' of Equus, Elephas, and Ursus ; also remains o( Eucerathcriinu,- a recently described sheep- like un- gulate found in these caves, and bones of a ground-sloth somewhat similar to forms found in the caves of Brazil.^ The largest chamber of the Samwel cave is at a lower level than the entrance and the fissure deposit. It was entered from above through a long chimney. In this chamber there was found a large deposit of fossil remains, including numerous extinct species. Among these were Eticei-atheriuvi, Preptoceras * (another new sheep- like form), and a ground-sloth. It seemed improbable that the remains in this lower chamber had come in through the passage by which we first obtained entrance, and a careful search revealed the presence of an alluvial fan coming in from one side of the cavern. Excavations into this indicated that it reached out toward the sur- face, and during the last season a passageway was cut through it to an outer grotto on the side of a small canon near by. The lower chamber was originally reached by a passageway leading from a large shelter cave now represented by the grotto. A part of the roof of the original shelter has broken down, and is represented by several large blocks which have fallen from the cliff above. In the Samwel cave numerous splintered and polished bone frag- ments have been obtained, and the problems with relation to man are practically the same as those of Potter Creek cave. In addition to these objects, there was found in the chamber near the fissure de- ^ See E. L. Furlong in Science, n. s., vol. 20, p. 53. * Sinclair and Furlong, Univ. Calif. Publ., Geology, vol. 3, no. 20. 3 Sinclair, New Mammalia, op. cit., p. 153. *E. L. Furlong, Univ. Calif. Ptibl., Geology, vol. 4, no. 8. MERRiAM] RECENT CAVE EXPLORATION IN CALIEORNIA 22/ posit, a chipped fragment of basaltic lava, which appeared to have come from a point six inches below the surface of the stalagmite. Also in the excavation of the outer grotto of the largest chamber, a chipped obsidian fragment was brought up in the bucket from a depth of eleven feet, at which level bones resembling those of an extinct species have been obtained. In neither case, however, was the chipped fragment actually seen in place, and both must be set aside, for the present, as merely suggesting the presence of man. Stone Man Cave A third cavern in the Shasta region, which has been partly explored, is the Stone Man cave about one mile northeast of Baird. It was visited by Mr Furlong and the writer in 1903. In one of the uppermost chambers a number of bone fragments were found in the stalagmite. These were, however, too imperfect for specific determination, and the age of the deposit has not been determined. In one of the lower galleries, a portion of a human skeleton was found imbedded in the stalagmite. The greater num- ber of the bones had been removed before our visit, but enough was left to show that a considerable fraction of an inch of stalagmite has accumulated on the skeleton. Mr J. A. Richardson kindly gave us a vertebra which he obtained here when the cave was first explored. It seems to have lost practically all of the organic matter, and the cavities in the bone are largely filled with calcite cr>'stals. In this cave there is unfortunately nothing to fix the age of the skeleton definitely. It might easily be many centuries old, or might have come to its present location at a comparatively recent date, though evidence rather favors a considerable antiquity. Age of the Cave Deposits The faunas of both the Potter Creek and the Samwel cave indicate Quaternary age. As far as is now known, the fauna of Samwel cave contains the larger percentage of recent species and is proba- bly the younger. In addition to this evidence, the situation of the two caverns gives considerable information regarding their relative ages. Potter Creek cave is situated at a height of 800 feet above the level of McCloud river, and just below an ancient terrace level 228 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [n. s., 8, 1906 of the river. The Samwel cave is situated just below a terrace 350 feet above the McCloud. The lowest chamber of this cave opens at a point not more than 200 feet above the river. Both caverns were evidently formed at a time when McCloud river was near the level of the terraces above them. Both received their principal deposits when the river was a short distance below them, and it is evident that the time which has elapsed since the formation of the deposits in Potter Creek cave is much greater than that since the formation of similar beds in the Samwel cave. The evidence of physiography appar- ently corroborates that obtained from the study of the fauna. The fauna of Potter Creek cave is considered by Dr Sinclair to represent the middle or later Quaternary. The fauna of Samwel cave is certainly Quaternary, but is evidently later than that of Potter Creek. The age of Potter Creek cave is, according to com- monly accepted correlations, not far from that of the earliest deposits containing human remains in Europe. Though a reasonable doubt might arise as to whether man could have reached America as early as the date of the Potter Creek deposits, the age of Samwel cave appears to be within the period of man's existence in the old world. From the evidence at hand it seems that both Mercer's cave and Stone Man cave were in existence in Quaternary time, and in all probability some of the deposits in both caverns were formed in that period. University of California, Berkeley. EVIDENCE OF THE WORK OF MAN ON OBJECTS FROM QUATERNARY CAVES IN CALIFORNIA^ By F. W. PUTNAM In the investigations of the Quaternary caves of California which have been carried on by the Department of Anthropology of the University of California during the last few years, there have been discovered a considerable number of bone and several stone frag- ments apparently indicating the work of man. If these specimens are actually the evidence of man's work, it is of the utmost impor- tance to have the facts brought out, as the objects in question have been found associated with a fauna which represents an epoch con- siderably antedating the end of the Quaternary period, and would indicate human occupancy of this portion of the continent at a very remote period.^ The specimens that seem to exhibit evidence of human handi- work of the Quaternary period include a number of polished and pointed bone fragments in most respects similar to the rougher instruments from the shell-mounds, and several other fragments with perforations of such a character that it seems impossible to explain their presence excepting by the agency of man. With these more definite evidences of man's presence there are found in the same strata large numbers of splintered bones, such as else- where form a considerable part of the deposits in caves or in shell- mounds that have served as places of human habitation in prehis- toric time. Another class of objects from the caves, which must be consid- ered in connection with the bone specimens, consists of stone frag- ments exhibiting the undoubted work of man and showing some evidence of having been buried in strata containing the remains of extinct animals. 1 Read at the meeting of the American Anthropological Association, San Francisco, August 29, 1905. 2 For a description of these caves and a discussion of their geological age, sec the preceding paper by Dr J. C. Merriam. 229 230 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [n. s., 8, 1906 Of the first class of objects three are figured by Dr Sinclair in his paper on the exploration of Potter Creek cave.' Two figures of one of these bones are reproduced here (pi. xvii, figs, i, 2). This specimen (no. 3894) exhibits quite remarkable oblique beveled edges. The inner side of the specimen shows this very clearly, while the sharp edge produced is shown in the outer view. It is difficult to understand how, by any natural process, beveling and smoothing of this character could have been produced, working from two edges to a terminal point. Moreover, the bevehng ex- tends from the softer inner portion of the bone to the denser outer layers, producing the sharp edge where it is most useful. At the end opposite to the beveled portion of this specimen is a distinct notch, quite different from the ordinary reentrant angles in flaked or broken bone. Its appearance on the same fragment with the extraordinary bevel-edge point, giving evidence of the action of two quite different influences on the bone, makes both the beveled end and the notch appear all the more remarkable.^ Of the fragments showing perforations there are two that have been made the subject of special study. The first of these, no. 3959 (pi. XV, figs. 1-4; pi. XVI, figs. 3, 4), is a thick fragment of bone showing several notches or perforations that do not appear to have been formed in any natural way. It was found by Mr Sin- clair between 70 and 80 inches below the surface in section 7 of the deposits in Potter Creek cave. Possible explanations of the occur- rence of the foramina in this specimen are that they are natural ; that they have been formed by the gnawing of rodents or the bor- ing of insects ; or that they have been produced by heavy, angular bodies falling upon them, the rough edges afterward being smoothed by water action. In order to test these suggestions as carefully as possible, every effort has been made to determine the particular bone 1 Univeisity of California Publications, American Archaeology and Ethnology, vol. 2, no. I. 2 The plate in Mr Sinclair's paper contains for comparison the figures of two un- questionable bone implements from the ancient shell-heap at Emeryville, and any one familiar with the pointed and cutting implements made of splinters of bone, which are so abundant in shell-heaps and other accumulations of human debris, will readily accept these pointed and perforated bone splinters from the caves as implements of the same character. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST N. S., VOL. 8, PL. XV BONE FRAGMENT FROM POTTER CREEK CAVE (Department of Anthropology . University of California. No. 3950. Natural size) I, Outer surface, showing semicircular notch near the pointed end. 2, Outer surface, left side, showing circular perforation and probable cutting at ends. 3, 4, Inner surface. (In fiKurc 4 the bristle passes through the small hole at the edge of the bone.) PUTNAM] QUATERNARY MAN IN CALIFORNIA 23 1 or part of bone which this fragment represents. After having passed through the hands of Mr Sinclair, who did not reach a defin- ite conclusion as to its character, the specimen was examined by a number of eminent comparative anatomists, including Dr G. H. Parker, Dr W. D. Mathews, Mr J. W. Gidley, Mr F. A. Lucas, Dr A. Hrdlicka, and Dr F. W. True, all of whom agree that the per- forations are not natural. Messrs Mathews and Gidley have kindly expressed their opinion in the following statement : ** Specimen (no. 3959) from Pleistocene cave deposit of Potter creek, California, submitted for examination by Professor Putnam. " The specimen is a fragment of a shaft of a limb-bone of some mam- mal. It is too much worn and uncharacteristic for positive identification, but appears to be part of the humerus of a ruminant, probably from the external side near the distal end of the shaft, and compares most nearly with Ovibos. It is pierced by a complete circular hole and deeply notched by a much larger oval hole of which the outer side is broken away. These are not like the natural foramina of bones in the appearance of their edges, nor is there any possible identification of the fragment in question which would give them the position and size of naturally occurring for- amina. " They are not the work of water acting by solution, as shown by the uniform diameter and regularly circular form of the smaller one, and the beveled, not rounded, edges of the larger one. " They are not the work of insects or of boring molluscs, as is proved by the slight beveling of the external and rounding of the internal mar- gin of the smaller hole, and by the strong and irregular beveling of the larger one, as well as by other features of position, direction, etc. "They are not the work of rodents : this explanation is out of the question for the smaller hole, and must be rejected for the larger one from the absence of any marks of gnawing teeth around the margin of the hole, its form, the thickness of the bone at the part pierced, and other consid- erations. Parts of the edges of the fragment bear the marks of gnawing teeth very clearly defined ; this gnawing must have occurred after the fragment was broken to its present form, while the larger hole was made when it was more complete than it now is. "These holes could not have been punctured by the teeth of carniv- ora, the beveling of the edges of the larger hole, and the small size and uniform diameter of the smaller one forbidding it. " The only alternative of which we can conceive, and in our view the 232 AMERICAy ANTHROPOLOGIST [n. s., 8, 1906 only possible explanation of these holes is that they are the work of man . The end of the fragment has also tv\-o or more slight notches, the margin of which is like that of the incomplete hole mentioned. These also are probably of artificial origin and can hardly be explained by natural splin- tering of the bone, or as the work of carnivora or rodents. " We therefore endorse without question Professor Putnam's view that this bone certainly shows the handiwork of man, and we take pleas- ure in expressing our acknowledgments for the privilege of examining it. [Signed] " W. D. M\tthew, J. W. Gidlev. " American Museum of Natural History, February second, igoj. ' ' As the musk-ox is unknown in the Shasta cave fauna it is not probable that this specimen represents a bone of one of these animals. There were, however, in these caves abundant remains of the new genus Eiiceraiheriujii, a. large sheep-like animal related to the musk-ox and possessing bones quite similar in form and size. Eiice7'atJicnni)i was one of the more common ungulates at the period when the cave deposit was forming and would have served as one of the principal food supplies for early man if he were living in this region at the time. The form of this fragment agrees as closely with that of the distal end of the humerus of Eucerathcrhim as it does with that of Ovibos, and there is good reason for believing that it represents that bone. In the humerus oi Euceratheriiivi the fora- mina are similar to those in Ovibos, and there are no natural openings that correspond to the perforations seen here. The smaller completely enclosed perforation in the specimen (pi. XV, figs. 2, 3, 4; pi. XVI, fig. 4) is almost circular in outline, is nearly normal to the surface of the bone, and is slightly beveled on the margins. The cutting of the hole and the beveling are not accompanied by much cutting of the natural canals of the bone, but the form and direction of the holes are not comparable with those of ordinary natural foramina. Close to the smaller perforation is an exceedingly small open- ing, about half a millimeter in diameter, indicated in the illustra- tions (pi. XV, fig. 4 ; pi. XVI, fig. 4) by a bristle. It may represent a natural foramen or it may be artificial ; it is difificult to determine its true nature. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST N. 8., VOL. e, PL. XVI BONE FRAGMENTS FROM POTTER CREEK CAVE (Department of Antliropology, University of California. Natural size) I, Inner side of splintered fragment (in the upper end there is a nearly circular perforation): No. 3756. 2, Outer side of the same fragment. 3, .\nother view of specimen 3959, shown in Plate xv. 4, Inner view of the same. PUTNAM] QUATERNARY MAN IX CALIFORNIA 233 The second specimen, no. 3756 (pi. xvi, figs, i, 2), represents a large fragment splintered from a heavy limb bone. It was ob- tained 40-50 inches below the surface in section 6 of the Potter Creek cave. One end is pointed and somewhat beveled by splint- ering, the other is slightly worn and has been much gnawed by rodents. In the rough end of the fragment is a nearly circular hole, about 3 mm. in diameter, cutting the bone along a line nearly normal to its outer surface. The hole is quite sharply cut, and the edges, both at the outer and the inner ends of the aperture are very little worn. Viewed from the inner side by means of a hand lens one can see that the coarser canals of the bone are distinctly cut across by this perforation. Although I am not able to determine with certainty the bone from which this fragment came, it is prob- ably a splinter of a leg bone of one of the large ungulates. The opening appears quite different from a natural foramen, as the edges are sharp and the canals of the bone are crossed in an unnatural manner. The course of the opening, moreover, is transverse to the axis of the bone, whereas most foramina in bones of this char- acter enter at an angle of less than 90 degrees. It should be noted in connection with the study of this speci- men that the end in which the perforation occurs is somewhat worn and that the opposite end is splintered in such a way as to form a natural bevel on both sides, coming to a point somewhat as in specimen no. 3894 described above. While I do not wish to assert positively that this opening was made by the hand of man, I cannot conceive of any natural way in which such a perforation could be produced, and certainly the present evidence points to man as the active agent in its production. The polished and perforated specimens mentioned above are found in association with a large number of splintered bone frag- ments derived largely from the breaking up of long-bones of large ungulates. Of these there are many hundreds of specimens occur- ring in nearly all layers of the deposits. On only a few of the splinters are there marks such as would be made by the teeth of carnivora in crushing the bones. In the absence of definite evidence of the fracture of these bones by large carnivora, one is forced to suspect that man has been the active agent here as in the shell- 234 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [n. s., 8, 1906 mounds, where the numerous fractured and spHntered bones are unanimously attributed to the work of man. Of the stone fragments mentioned above as occurring in these cave deposits, two were found in Samwel cave. In these two speci- mens there is no doubt of the handiwork of man. The first speci- men, no. 1 00 1 2 (pi. XVII, figs. 5, 6), was obtained by Mr E. L. Furlong, in 1904, in the fissure deposit of the upper chamber of Samwel cave. It was found six inches beneath the loosened sta- lagmite layer after a blast to break up the dense rock. The speci- men is a distinctly chipped basalt fragment. It seemed to belong to the loosened earth in which it was found. Its surface is par- tially covered with a thin calcareous coating. In and on the stalag- mite above it numerous remains of extinct animals were obtained. The second specimen,^ no. looii (pi. xvii, figs. 3, 4), is a dis- tinctly chipped obsidian flake obtained from a shaft sunk into the deposits filling the old entrance of the large lower chamber of Sam- wel cave. This specimen was not seen in place, but was brought up in a bucket filled with moist earth from the bottom of the shaft, then eleven feet deep. The earth around the mouth of the shaft was quite dry, and if the fragment did not come from the layers below, it must have fallen into the shaft in the course of the work- ings and have been buried in the moist earth below. The surface of the specimen was partly covered with a thin calcareous incru.sta- tion. The layer exposed at the bottom of the pit at this time underlies strata containing remains of an extinct ground-sloth. While we cannot state definitely that either of the stone frag- ments actually occurred in the Quaternary deposits, there is at least strong presumptive evidence in favor of their having been derived from these beds, and that they were the work of men ex- isting in this region before the Quaternary fauna became extinct. In concluding this brief statement relating to the supposed evi- dence of man's handiwork in the Shasta caves, it seems to me that the two perforated bones here illustrated are sufficiently important to warrant the belief that man inhabited the vicinity of the caves at least as early as the latter half of the Quaternaiy period. At all 'This specimen was obtained in the summer of 1905, during the progress of the work carried on under an appropriation by the Archaeological Institute of America. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST N. 8., VOL. 8. PL. Xvll BONE AND STONE FRAGMENTS FROM POTTER CREEK AND SAMWEL CAVES (Department of Anthropology, University of C alifornia. Natural size) I, Inner side of polished bone fragment from Potter Creek cave (No. 3894). The upper end is beveled at both edges. A shallow notch is seen at the lower end. 2, Outer side of the same. 3, 4, Opposite sides of a chipped obsidian flake from Samwel cave 1 No. looii). 5, 6, Opposite sides of a chipped basalt fragment from Samwtl cave (No 10012) PUTNAM] QUATERNARY OF MAN IN CALIFORNIA 235 events, until it is proved that the peiforations and the beveHng of the points on some of these bone splinters were made without man's agency, archeologists will, I think, accept the specimens here described as primitive forms of bone implements. The fact that only a few pointed bones with perforations were found is in conformity with our experience in the explorations of shell-heaps and village sites, wliere hundreds of simple pointed implements made from splinters of bone have been found, but seldom one with a perforation. The very large number of splinters of long-bones of various mammals, found in the caves, is of importance in this investiga- tion, since they are of the same character as splinters of marrow- bones that are found on so many ancient sites of man's occupancy. The very small number of splinters showing marks of the teeth of carnivora, and the difficulty of accounting for such large numbers of bone splinters otherwise than by man's agency, should also be given due consideration. The exploration of other caves in this vicinity will probably bring to light much of importance in relation to early man in Cali- fornia. It is with pleasure that I acknowledge my great indebted- ness to Dr J. C. Merriam for his hearty cooperation in these ex- plorations, in which his knowledge of geology and paleontology has been of the first importance, as shown by his exceedingly conserva- tive paper on this subject, in which he gives a general review of the researches that have thus far been carried on by the University of California. Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley. i^^lVFRSn Y OF CALIFOfif^li^ LiaRARY, LOS ANGCLE3. CALiF. i^^ <rii33Kvsoi^ "^/sajMNnawv^ >&Aavaan-^v> ^^Aavaan^- ^j^uonvsoi^ .^ <^\mmo/: <^\MmO/:^ ^ So ^<yojnvDjo^ AWEUNIVERS/a o ^lOSANCElfXx o B li %a3AINn3WV ^^tUBRARYac^ \. ju ^OFCAllFOff^ ^OFCAIIFO^^ ^^WE UNIVERi/^ ^^AHvaan-i^ ^<?Aavaan-i^ <r?iDNYsci^ %3LMN'.Tmv ^OFCAUFOff^ -''^AoVHc.n Tx^ ^WEUNIVER5-//v £o i*-i ^TilJONVSOV^^ vvlOSANCEl£r^ o = .< ^\t-LlBRARYQ^ A>SUIBRAftY<9/: ^'^'.i/OJIlVDJO'^ ^(ifOjnvDjo'^ ^W£•liWVE!v•a7^ ^ c <Cn30KVS01^ \WEUNIVERS'/A <^1]0NVS01'<" vjclOSAVCElij> o ^OFCALIFOff^ ^OFCAIIFO/?^ ^<?Aavaani'^ ^^Aavaaiii^ ^\\EUf^lVERS•//>. <ril30KVS01^ r^ ^lUDRARY^^ -s^lUBRARYQ^ r^ ^OFCAllFOff^ r— 0= [V / -^ A ?^ ><.0FCAL1F(%^ ^^ '^^AHVJiani^ ^WEUNIVER5/A ^lOSANCEl^^ o ^(JOdnVDJO'^ ^IJDNVSOV^^ "^ilHAINrt-JWV^ ^.JOJIIVJJO^ ^^WEUN(VER% >- ^•lOSANCEl^^ ^^AavaaiH^ <j^i3onvsoi^ "^/^ajAiNamv^ ^tUBRARYQ^ ^OFCALIFOfti^ ^<?Aavaan-i^ ?^ ^^WEUNIVERS•/^ ^lOSANCEl^^ ^5WEUNlVER5/yj^ ^10SANCE1£> ^TTlJONYSOl^ ^t-UBRARYQr ^t-UBRARYd?^ ^"^ ^J^20NVS01^ %iHAINn3WV^ ^OJIIVDJO^ ^OFCAUFORij^ ^OFCAUFOB^ ^^Anvaanx^ ^5X\EUNIVER%. <if?13DNVS01^ ^\V\EUNIVERS5jt ^<?Aava8ni^ <r?i30NVsoi^ V£?OUTHERNREGlOfJAi I D 000889025'