North American Indians of the plains / by Clark Wissler.

  • Clark Wissler
Date:
1912
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: North American Indians of the plains / by Clark Wissler. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    including the Yuma, Mohave, and Pima of the South¬ west, the Iroquois and most Algonkin of the Woodland Area. As to head form, the moderately long head of the Plains does not hold for the Osage and Wichita of the south and the Nez Perce of the northwest, but extends over into the Plateau area on the west and into the Woodland area of the east. Hence, in a general way, the tall, somewhat long-headed tribes seem to extend eastward into the Woodlands through Indiana, Ohio, and New York. Possibly this represents the influence of some older parent group whose blood gradually worked its way along through many lan¬ guages and several varieties of culture. On the other hand, the shorter, less long-headed tribes were massed around the Plains in the Southwest, the Plateaus, and part of the Woodlands almost engulfing the taller group. Now, while it seems clear that migrations of blood are in evidence, there is, as yet, no satisfactory means of determining the point of origin and the direction of movement for these types. Turning from physical type to language, we have several large masses impinging upon the Plains and while it seems most likely that the parent speech for each stock arose somewhere outside the Plains, we are not yet clear as to the impossibility of their arising in the Plains and spreading to other cultures. It does not seem probable that all of them would arise within this small area, but, on the other hand, it is impossible to give satisfactory proof for any particular tribe. Thus, language gives us but a presumption in favor of migrations into the