Book Reviews: Thinking About Cultural Resource Management: Essays From the Edge

The Guru of Section 106 has just compiled a book of essays that every CRM professional, archeologist, anthropologist, historic preservationist, environmentalist (have I covered all the pertinent “ists”?), and Native Americans concerned with preserving, protecting, and managing historic properties should read. There is even a nifty glossary of terms for those readers who may not be familiar with the compliance lingo that goes along with Section 106, the National Environmental Protection Act, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, and the whole host of other federal laws related to historic preservation

Peyoteism and the Origins of Caddo Religious Thought

The Caddo Indians practiced a vibrant peyote religion long before John Wilson (Moonhead) or Quanah Parker re-ignited the Native American Church. Moreover, research has show the importance of the peyote plant to the Caddo long before any European contact. The peyote religion at the time of the Spanish mission in Texas was full of songs and dances in honor of one known today as (Aah-hi-u kuu-i\u27-ha) or Father Above, translated to mean home where God lives. Although Swanton proposes that the Hasinai medicine men used peyote at the beginning of the eighteenth century (a reference to Friar Hidalgo\u27s Spanish account) how long had they been using this plant before any written records

Review of \u3ci\u3eLand of the Tejas: Native American Identity and Interaction in Texas, A.D. 1300 to 1700. \u3c/i\u3eBy John Wesley Arnn III. Foreword by Tom D. Dillehay.

This tremendously enjoyable, thought-provoking book should be read by anyone interested in the history of the state of Texas, the archeology of the Plains, and the past social and cultural interactions among peoples living within this region during this time period. Arnn provides a concise framework for his theme in his introduction: This book presents a model of late prehistoric and early historic Texas that was also extremely dynamic and diverse and suggests that as early as A.D. 1300 aboriginal peoples living in this region may have also recognized a broader sociocultural identity. ... Overall, Arnn does a fine job explaining the intricacies of the archeology of Central Texas, the Southern Plains, and the Classic Toyah Culture Area

A Rediscovery of Caddo Heritage: The W. T. Scott Collection at the American Museum of Natural History

Back in August 1997, the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma had submitted a Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) claim for a cranium that had been obtained by the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City in 1877. Very little information was known about these remains, other than it had been obtained as a purchase/gift to the museum by Charles C, Jones Jr. and was found in a mound somewhere near the Shreveport vicinity in Caddo or Bossier Parish, Louisiana. Based on the presence of artificial cranial deformation, the museum dated these human remains to a period of between A.D. 800 and the contact period. Because of the cranial deformation, and the archeological investigations that had taken place in the past in Louisiana, the museum had determined that the remains were culturally affiliated to the Caddo Nation. Through consultation with the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma and the Cultural Resources Office staff at the AMNH, in February 200 l the Notice of Inventory Completion was published for these human remains in the Federal Register