Museum Curator Ilustrate Talk on Shell-Mounds - The Times San Mateo, California, 20 Feb 1936

Museum Curator Illustrate Talk On 'Shell-Mounds'

Stating that the Indians of North America are of the Mongoloid race, coming a million years ago from East Asia over Bering strait, and that the California Indians have been here a long time, Edward W. Gifford, curator of the anthropological museum at the University of California, gave an inspirational lecture on "California Indian Shell-Mounds" before the San Mateo County Historical association. Several junior college instructors, students, and school principals were in attendance last evening.

Shell Mound Maps

As he talked, Gifford showed slides, which made evident the remarkable scientific methods used by anthropologists and archaeologists in investigating and analyżing the contents of shell mounds, as to the proportion of human, animal, and ash residue found in them. Maps were shown of shell mounds in Marin San Mateo, and Alameda counties, along Humboldt bay, near Bakersfield, at Rancho La Brea, and at the Sacramento river delta.

Cross sections of mounds, and museum reconstructions of Indian life at Clear Lake made it plain that the Indians of thousands of years ago had a rather high culture, which included tools, ornaments, weapons, whistles, and mats, made of quartz, obsidian, bone, and tule grass.

Other lectures on the early history of San Mateo county will follow. These lectures are without an admission charge.

Museum Curator Ilustrate Talk on Shell-Mounds shellmound 20 Feb 1936, Thu The Times (San Mateo, California) Newspapers.com