First American Roots—Literally
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Volume 22, Number 1 ■ January, 2007 Center for the Study of the First Americans Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University 4352 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-4352 http://centerfirstamericans.org First American roots—literally The bulbs of these camas plants, which grow wild in large parts of the West and Northwest, have been a staple of American hunter-gatherers for more than 9,000 years because they found that the bulbs will keep for years if properly cooked. That means steaming them for 24 to 48 hours! What’s more, they found a simple way of cooking up a batch. It’s called an earth oven, a stone-lined depression like the one TAMU Anthropology professor Alston Thoms and his students are building here in the mid-1980s in the Calispell Valley, Washington, while Kalispel Indian advisors look on. After the rocks are fired red-hot, bulbs and vegetable matting are piled on and the bulbs are left to cook. A sediment-filled pit lined with fire- cracked rocks is the archaeological evidence of past cookouts. Dr. Thoms is investigating diet for its role in shaping the lifestyle of primitive cultures, and also for its possible effect on animal and human cranial morphology. His story starts on page 4. BOTH: ALSTON THOMS he Center for the Study of the First Americans fosters research and public T interest in the Peopling of the Americas. The Center, an integral part of the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M University, promotes interdisciplinary scholarly dialogue among physical, geological, biological and social scientists. The Mammoth Trumpet, news magazine of the Center, seeks to involve you in the peopling of the Americas by reporting on developments in all pertinent areas of knowledge. Volume 22, Number 1 Center for the Study of the First Americans Department of Anthropology January, 2007 Texas A&M University, 4352 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4352 ISSN 8755-6898 World Wide Web site http://centerfirstamericans.org and http://anthropology.tamu.edu Ted Goebel 4 A new subsistence strategy Second in command at CSFA With the disappearance of megafauna, early Americans had IVEN A SCIENTIST with Ted cialties.” Goebel’s experience in Siberia, Alaska, and the far western U.S. also nicely to find a new food source and Goebel’s impressive résumé, invent a way of cooking it. you’d expect a crusty, grizzled dovetails with Waters’s prodigious re- G search in the eastern and southern U.S. 7 Precisely dating the end of veteran, not a soft-spoken fellow who’s dis- armingly modest and the megamammals isn’t even graying at the Kelly and Ted at Glacier We have to revise our thinking National Park, August 2005. on when Ice Age animals died temples. Editor of Cur- out and how big a part human rent Research in the predators had in their demise. Pleistocene since 2004, Dr. Goebel (pronounced 10 Looking for Paleo immigrants Gable) recently joined on the Oregon coast Maybe not all First Americans Texas A&M University made the crossing on foot. as Associate Professor Perhaps some arrived in boats— of Anthropology and As- and explored up rivers, not down. sociate Director at the 13 Spirit Cave Man still in limbo Center for the Study of Court decision doesn’t fault BLM’s the First Americans. finding, only its procedures. When prodded, he admits his expertise in 14 A look at famous early South the study of stone tools American sites Ruth Gruhn concludes her guided complements the skills tour of the southern continent of CSFA Director Mike with a visit to sites that leave Waters. “My expertise Clovis-first boosters dazed. in archaeology has to do with lithic artifact analy- sis,” he explains. Since Goebel forfeited his executive di- Dr. Waters is first and rectorship of the Sundance Archaeo- foremost a geoarchae- logical Research Fund when he left ologist, “we approach the University of Nevada, Reno the problem of the peo- (UNR), to come to TAMU. Sundance pling of the Americas is one of five Archaeological Re- from different perspec- search Funds endowed by Joe tives and different spe- TED GOEBEL Cramer, a retired petroleum geolo- 2 Volume 22 ■ Number 1 gist, specifically to find new evidence of His determination and dedication are from UNR. When we spoke, he was pre- the first Americans (MT 18-1, “A Cam- unwavering, extending even to mar- paring to host a workshop at TAMU on paign to Find the First Americans). The riage. His wife is archaeologist Kelly the archaeology of the Bering Land area Sundance ARF is chartered to ex- Graf, who is a co-director of the research Bridge and northern Siberia. Colleagues plore is the Great Basin. As much as being done at the Bonneville Estates attending, drawn from Russia, Canada, Goebel enjoyed that position, he says the Rockshelter (MT 18-3, “A Beachfront Alaska, the lower 48 states, and even opportunities at TAMU are broader and Getaway in Nevada”). “We get to do field France, share an interest in discovering more challenging. work together and spend time together how and when the north of Asia and during the summer,” says Goebel. eventually Alaska and the Yukon Terri- Back to First Americans research “We’re not separated like a lot of archae- tory were colonized. Goebel excitedly His move to TAMU brings him back to ologists and their spouses.” expanded on the 4-day symposium, de- his roots of specialization. As a graduate Things are still “in a state of flux” for liberately kept small (about 40 people) to student he studied Peopling of the Goebel, who is busy tying up loose ends encourage focused discussion. “The Americas archaeology in Alaska and Si- beria. After receiving his Ph.D. in An- thropology from the University of Alaska–Fairbanks in 1993, Goebel was an assistant professor at Southern Or- egon University from 1994 to 1998. He then moved to the University of Nevada. For 14 years his work has focused on the western U.S. He found himself gradually drifting away from Bering Land Bridge archaeology, noting it has become in- creasingly difficult over the last several The Mammoth Trumpet (ISSN 8755-6898) is published quarterly by the Center for the Study of the First Americans, Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, years to get to Alaska or Siberia to do College Station, TX 77843-4352. Phone (979) 845-4046; fax (979) 845-4070; e-mail research. He is excited to focus again on [email protected]. Periodical postage paid at College Station, TX 77843-4352 and at the question of the origins of the first additional mailing offices. Americans, “the kind of research I ini- POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: tially set out to do when my career Mammoth Trumpet started 20 years ago.” Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University Time off from Beringian archaeology 4352 TAMU wasn’t wasted time. “I’ve learned a lot College Station, TX 77843-4352 working in the Great Basin and Nevada,” Copyright © 2007 Center for the Study of the First Americans. Permission is hereby Goebel tells us, “and really enjoy that given to any non-profit or educational organization or institution to reproduce without country and will never quit working cost any materials from the Mammoth Trumpet so long as they are then distributed at there. But I will have more freedom to do no more than actual cost. The Center further requests that notification of reproduction the other archaeology that I was initially of materials under these conditions be sent to the Center. Address correspondence to the trained to do back in the old days when I editor of Mammoth Trumpet, 2122 Scout Road, Lenoir, NC 28645. was just a young pup. I have a good Michael R. Waters Director and General Editor while before I’m old enough to retire, so e-mail: [email protected] I have lots of years to spend working on James M. Chandler Editor, Mammoth Trumpet these problems.” e-mail: [email protected] Ted Goebel Editor, Current Research in the Pleistocene A focused career and lifestyle Laurie Lind Office Manager In graduate school, Goebel learned to C & C Wordsmiths Layout and Design read Russian. He says it is more a re- World Wide Web site http://centerfirstamericans.org search tool than a measure of his linguis- The Center for the Study of the First Americans is a non-profit organization. Sub- tic ability. Although he admits being scription to the Mammoth Trumpet is by membership in the Center. fairly fluent in matters related to archae- ology, he isn’t confident of his ability to Mammoth Trumpet, Statement of Our Policy speak or compose a paper in Russian. He Many years may pass between the time an important discovery is made and the acceptance of research dismisses his language skills with the results by the scientific community. To facilitate communication among all parties interested in staying bland statement that “it’s something abreast of breaking news in First Americans studies, the Mammoth Trumpet, a science news magazine, you’ve got to do when you are working in provides a forum for reporting and discussing new and potentially controversial information important to understanding the peopling of the Americas. We encourage submission of articles to the Managing an international context. You have to bite Editor and letters to the Editor. Views published in the Mammoth Trumpet are the views of the bullet and learn the language of the contributors, and do not reflect the views of the editor or Center personnel. region you are interested in.” –Michael R. Waters, Director January ■ 2007 3 goal is first of all to get everybody up to exposed as a fraud when a major Japa- Now that we have him captive, we can speed on what we know about the ar- nese television network hid cameras hold him to his promise to keep Mam- chaeology of Beringia,” he explains.