The
Aboriginal
Culture
of
the
Cáhita
Indians.
By Ralph Beals.
(Ibero-Americana 19.) Berkeley (University of California
Press), 1943. Pp. x + 86; 3 pls., 7 figs., 1 map. $1.25.
This small volume is an ethnographic account of the pre-
Columbian culture of the Cáhita Indians of northwestern Mexi-
co. It is based on early documents, mostly written by mission-
aries at or shortly after the time of the first white contacts;
on field work among the surviving Cáhita group; and on dis-
tributional evidence, for "It may be assumed that traits of wide-
spread distribution in northern Mexico were also present among
the Cáhita, if they would fit into the known pattern of Cáhita
culture." p. vi.
This account is extremely brief and concise, but as complete
as could be expected of such a reconstruction at this late date.
Every phase of the culture is touched upon. The presentation is
entirely descriptive, with a one-page conclusion. The author
believes:
In general, the affiliations of the Cáhita suggest that they have been
influenced to some extent from the south, but that the closest similarities
are with the north. The nature of the parallels occurring may be inter-
preted either as the result of sporadic interchange over a long period of
time with peoples as widely separated as the Pueblo or Southern Cali-
fornians, or as evidence that all the peoples of the area have selectively
retained and developed elements from an old stratum of culture once exist-
ing over a wide area of the greater Southwest. To some extent both these
causes may have been operative, but on the whole the latter interpretation
seems the most plausible one. ... p. 71.
As companion volumes of wider scope, the author, who is
one of the leading authorities in this field, has written Compara
-
tive
Ethnology
of
Northern
Mexico
before
1750
(1932), and
Contemporary
Culture
of
the
Cáhita
Indians
(1944).
The University of Texas
Gilbert McAllister
How to cite:
"Aboriginal Culture of the Cáhita Indians", Volume 48, Number 2, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v048/n2/review_DIVL5208.html
[Accessed Tue Dec 2 14:04:49 CST 2008]
