Page:American Anthropologist NS vol. 22.djvu/182

 I7O AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 22, 1920

quian peoples constituted a generalized rather than a highly special- ized group, consisting of numerous tribes of unusually nomadic habits. They appear to have been present at one time or another in practically every habitable part of the area, but developed no well-defined centers of localization. Under such conditions it would not be particularly difficult for a highly specialized people, as the Fort Ancient or the Hopewell, to gain and maintain a footing within their territory, regardless as to whether or not their action might encounter opposition. An actual instance of such a move- ment is that of the Iroquoians who, from their early home to the southward, penetrated the territory of the Algonquian family which, amoeba-like, drew back upon itself and proceeded to sur- round the invaders, but was unable to absorb them. That the main body of Algonquians, despite their long residence in the area, failed to reach as high a plane of development as did some others is no anthropologic anomaly; moreover, it would not be illogical to suggest that one or more of the advanced groups, as the Adena and even the Hopewell, may have been progressive offshoots of the Algonquian stock. Popular belief in the greater age of the so-called mound-builders is very persistent; but recognition of the fact that as a rule a ruder stage may be supposed to have preceded a more highly developed status of culture, favors Algonquian precedence of occupation.

As to the late disappearance of this group, the evidence again is both historical and archaeological. The historical evidence need not be repeated. The archaeological indications are comprised in the fact that on a number of habitation sites of the Fort Ancient culture there are to be found numerous relics of later occupation by Algonquians. This is well illustrated in the case of the Feurt village site, in Scioto county, where many typical Algonquian relics, such as grooved axes, bell-shaped pestles and large deep-notched flint spear-points, were collected from the surface prior to its ex- ploration. None of the types in question were found in the graves and refuse heaps of the site proper, nor do they occur, except intru- sively, in other examined sites of the culture.

Fort Ancient and Hopewell. Contemporaneity of these groups

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