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What is a friend9
Pahrump Valley Gazette, Thursday, September 25, 1997 17
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Nevadtt-then and now
Spirit cave man focus of new publication
by Phillip I. Earl
Nevada Historical Society
.
given over to a series of
papers on Holocene burial sites
presented at the Twenty-Fifth Great
Basin Anthropological Confer-
ence, October 10-12, 1996. Edited
by Donald R. Touhy and Amy
Dansie of the Anthropology De-
partment of the Nevada State Mu-
seum, Carson City, this issue is
available at a cost of $12 at the
Nevada Historical Society, 1650
North Virginia Street, Reno,
89503; the Nevada State Museum,
600 N. Carson Street, Carson City,
89710; or the Lost City Museum,
721 S. Highway 169, Overton,
89040. For mail orders, add $2
postage and handling. For further
information, call (702) 688-1191.
Intended for professionals as
well as readers with a general in-
terest in our native heritage, this
n pursuit of the antiquity of human occupation of the Great Basin and
the northwestern section of the present-day State of Nevada, the
Spring 1997 issue of the "Nevada Historical Society Quarterly" is
I
A rendering of the Spirit Man burial by Denise Sins, Nevada State Museum.
Nevada Historical Society Photo
issue of the Quarterly includes new research on Wizards Beach on the
northwest end of Pyramid Lake, Spirit 2ave east of Fallon and Hidden Cave
and Grimes Point in the same area. Of special importance is S. M. Wheeler's
1940 account of the discovery and excavation of Spirit Cave Man he
conducted with his wife, Georgia. Also included is a long interview with her
in Nashville, Tenn. conducted by Diane Lynne Winslow and Jeffrey R.
Wedding last summer.
The editors summarize current legal and social issues relating to the
protection of archaeological resources and America's prehistoric heritage.
They also deal with the issue of Native American spirituality, present-day
affiliation of ancient peoples and the sensitive political climate surround-
ing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. As
scientists, they also make a strong case for continuing scientific inquiry.
The focus of the majority of
articles is on "Spirit Cave Man,"
the 9,500-year-old mummy
housed at the Nevada State Mu-
seum that has recently been in
the national press. Recent ad-
vances in radiocarbon dating
technology have made possible
more precise dates on very old
materials. When this sample was
re-examined at the University
of California, Riverside, much
a
older date than ever before be-
lieved was indicated.
Perhaps even more fascinat-
ing, and certainly more contro-
versial, is the work of R. L .
Jantz of the University of Ten-
nessee and Douglas W. Owsley
of the Smithsonian Institution.
In studying the shape of the skull
of Spirit Cave Man, they have
concluded that he is not related to various ancestors of modern Native
Americans whose remains have survived. Rather, they are calling him a
"Proto-caucausoid" and suggest he looks more like the ancient Ainu
inhabitants of Japan, or even the ancient Norse. Kennewick Man, who was
found in Washington State a few years ago and is almost as old, is another
example of"proto-cancausoid." Without doubt the findings reported in this
issue of the "Nevada Historical Society Quarterly" have raised important
issues that will not be settled for a long time.
Readers interested in ancient peoples of the Great Basin should not let
this opportunity pass.
