History and Prehistory in the National Park System and the National Historic Landmarks Program 1987 HISTORY AND PREHISTORY IN THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM AND THE NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARKS PROGRAM History Division National Park Service Washington, D.C. 1987 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, DC 20402 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction i-ii I. The Thematic Framework 1-1 to 1-23 II. Thematic Representation: Units of the National Park System II-l to 11-28 III. Thematic Representation: National Historic Landmarks III-l to 111-73 INTRODUCTION This thematic framework is a revision of "History and Prehistory in the National Park System and the National Historic Landmarks Program," 1982. Thematic classi­ fication of the United States' historic resources is much older, however. It was urged in 1929 by the Committee on the Study of Educational Problems in National Parks, the predecessor of the National Park System Advisory Board. The first theme outline was adopted by the Board in 1936. It was well understood by the scholarly community represented on these bodies, that classification of resources is intrinsic to an understanding of a body of knowledge about those resources and is fundamental to the comparative analysis necessary in making judgments of rela­ tive significance. The outline is used to show the extent to which units and cultural resources of the National Park System, affiliated areas, and National Historic Landmarks reflect the Nation's past. Parks and Landmarks are assigned to all themes, subthemes, and facets in which they are found to be nationally significant. By this process the comprehensiveness of the Survey of National Historic Landmarks and the representativeness of the National Park System can be gauged and planning for further study guided. The framework guides those involved in historical survey at national, regional, state, park, or local levels, since the theme structure is a comprehensive outline of United States history, prehistory, and cultural endeavors, rather than a structure biased by existing or estimated numbers and concentrations of Landmarks and other historic resources. The purpose is to cover all areas of United States history without excessive detail and minutiae. To that end, the 1982 framework has been changed in some important ways. Some theme titles like "VII. America at Work," "VIII. The Contemplative Society," and "IX. Society and Social Conscience" were judged not to be adequately meaningful and were discarded. In their place, the subject titles previously subordinated to them, such as architecture, engineering, and conservation, were raised to the theme level. This brings those and other major fields of endeavor more into balance with the more traditional themes of political and military history and westward expansion. The Major American Wars and Political and Military Affairs themes were not necessarily exclusive of each other and are easily merged into one larger, essentially chronological theme. This covers, in essence, American governmental history along with the Nation's major military conflicts. While the number of themes has therefore been increased from 9 to 34, the latter number is roughly equal to the previous number of subthemes and does not represent new areas for study. By raising previous subthemes to theme level, the lowest echelon, the subfacets, are eliminated leaving only three levels to consider theme, subtheme, and facet. An example of the three levels is as follows: XIII. SCIENCE (Theme Level) A. Physical Sciences (Subtheme Level) 1. Astronomy (Facet Level) i To cover more thoroughly the various aspects of United States history, the subtheme Transportation and Communication, for example, has been separated into its two individual components while the Science and Invention subtheme was newly arranged so that Science becomes a separate entity and Invention was combined with the Engineering subtheme to form a new expanded theme under the new heading of Technology. Other subthemes have been added and facets raised to the subtheme level so that more important components of certain historical themes receive greater recognition. The facet levels have been refined, condensed, or enlarged where needed, so that more precise and signifi­ cant coverage of all aspects of the subthemes is provided. There is a significant change in Theme I, previously entitled, The Original Inhabitants. This outline, traditionally understood to cover archeological sites, has been expanded to reflect greater detail and currency in archeology and to provide a broader range for ethnohistory. Revised assignments of National Park System Units and National Historic Landmarks to categories within this theme is absent from the outline (pp. II-l and III-l). These are being prepared and are expected to appear in a supplement which will be incorporated into a later edition of this publication. It was not thought worthwhile to reproduce the assignments of the previous (1982) outline in this theme. In the previous (1982) edition, many subthemes specifically excluded aspects covered in other subthemes. Under this scheme, western mining in the 19th century was excluded from Commerce and Industry, even though no one doubts that resources of national significance relate to both areas. These exclusions have been eliminated. The dates given for various themes or subthemes will bracket specific times, as is the case for wars, or with other classifications that are accepted by the professional community, such as architectural periods. There are, however, precursors and later phenomena to be found outside of any given time frame. Therefore, the dates given in this document are not meant to be rigidly imposed, but to be used as general guides to placement. With the above changes, it is hoped that the users of this revised theme structure will find that it offers them greater flexibility, clarity, and direction in classification and survey, thus, making it more convenient to use. This thematic outline is an evolving framework; it will change as our under­ standing of history and prehistory changes and National Historic Landmarks are designated and de-designated. Readers are invited to comment on this publication so that it might receive continuous review for successive revision. Edwin C. Bearss Chief Historian History Division June, 1987 i I I THE THEMATIC FRAMEWORK I. CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS: INDIGENOUS AMERICAN POPULATIONS A. The Earliest Inhabitants This subtheme deals with the earliest prehistoric inhabitants of areas now making up the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. possessions who subsisted by various methods of hunting, fishing, and gathering. In general, the subtheme covers the earliest entry of humans into these areas when previously unoccupied, any subsequent migrations that may have taken place, and later social, economic, and other cultural developments. The period began in many areas with early hunters and gatherers, and includes later peoples who practiced more variation in their hunting, fishing, and gathering techniques. Agriculture was unknown or not intensively practiced, and pottery making appeared only toward the end of the period. The New World was settled prior to 12,000 years ago—when, exactly, is not certain. The first inhabitants are believed to have entered North America from Asia via a land connection that once existed between the two continents. The populating of more southerly sections of North America and the islands of the Pacific and Caribbean occurred later (the Hawaiian Islands of the Pacific, for example, are believed to have been first settled within the last two millenla). Some of the early hunters and gatherers in North America hunted a variety of big game animals, many of which are now extinct. This hunting pattern continued to approximately 8,000 years ago. The peoples that followed were oriented to a more diversified subsistence base, still using large game animals when available, but often engaging in special­ ised fishing, small mammal hunting, and plant collecting activities as well. This period, referred to in many regions as the Archaic, continued to approximately 3000 years ago, but in some areas persisted into historic times. It was during the later stages of the Archaic that the shift to cultivation of agricultural crops began, and the expanded development of sedentary commurri ties. The f o 1 lowing facets are in tended to cover a maj ority of pre- Archaic and Archaic cultural developments and adaptations: i. The Early Peopling of North America 2. The Early Peopling of the Pacific 3. The Early Peopling of the Caribbean 4. Archaic Adaptations of the Arctic 3. Archaic Adaptations of the Subarctic 6. Archaic Adaptations of the Northwest Coast 7. Western Archaic Adaptations (California Area) 8. Plateau (Columbi a/Colorado) Archaic Adaptations 9. Archaic Adaptations of the Great Basin 10. Archaic Adaptations of the Southwest 11. Archai c Adaptations of the Plains 12. Archaic Adaptations of the Mississippi Valley Region 13. Archaic Adaptations of the Southeast (including the Cumberland Region) 1-1 14. Archaic Adaptations of the Caribbean 15. Archaic Adaptations of the Northeast (Including the Ohio Valley Region) 16. Archaic Adaptations in Montane Regions 17. Archaic Adaptations in Arid Lands 18. Archaic Adaptations in Riverine Zones 19. Early Man and Late Pleistocene Environmental Adaptations 20. Human Factors in Terminal Pleistocene Faunal Extinctions 21. The Big Game Hunters 22. Human Osteological Evidence