The San Francisco call., 1904-08-08
Scientific Men of the Univer-
sity Find the Traces
of Former Civilization
TELL OF ANCESTORS
LAYERS in Shell Mound Show
How Primitive Beings
Lived in the Past Days
Berkeley Office San Francisco Call
214s Center Street. Aug. Z.


An account of the investigation of
the question Of the antiquity of man
now being made by the department Of
anthropology of the University Of Cali
fornia is for the first time made public
in a bulletin issued at the university
to-day There are already in the uni
versity museum number of relics Of
early man that have been declared by
their discoverers TO have been found
in the auriferous gravels. No scientist
Yet, however. has found such subjects
in stu and evidence such as this
can be accepted as proof of the asser-
tion that man existed in California ar
a period earlier than it has been proved
that he existed anywhere else in the
world.
The excavations of the old Indian
mounds at Shell Mound Park go far
TO bear out this theory of the exist
ence Of primitive man. DR.. Max Uhle
OF the anthropology department is pre-
pairing for publication a report on the
excavations and all that he found
there. The age of the mound is indi-
Gated by the fact that although its
summit rises twenty nine feet above
the surrounding plain. its original base
is three feet under ground and about
two feet below the level of the sea at
high tide. The sinking of the ground
is believed to have been a very slow
process, extending over thousands Of
years. The mound, DR.. Uhle believes,
was undoubtedly begun on low ground,
the immediate proximity of creek be-
ing one Of the principal reasons for the
selection Of the spot.
Some 500 specimens have been taken
from the mound. half of them being of
bone, the others mostly stone. Ten
skeletons were discovered in lower lay
ers Of the mound and all the evidence
points to gradual change in the bur-
ial methods as the layers of earth We're
piled UP higher and higher.
In the higher layers We're found un-
mistakable signs of the custom of
burning the dead. The interior of the
mound is visibly stratified in many
places by distinct layers of shells,
fishes and charcoal. There are un-
doubted signs of differences Of civil
ization among inhabitants of the
mound at various periods. The frag-
ments Of mortars and pestles were
found down to the lowest layer, but in
other respects ground objects of stone
were found only in the upper layers.
Well-shaped bone avis were discovered
in the higher layers. curious in
crease in the number OF implements of
/ bone Of finer workmanship, not repre-
sented in the upper layers, was visible
I IN the lowest layers SlBnlIylnS a ulI-
/ ferent use Of the natural resources
Of the region at different periods.
The fauna represented by the re-
markable number of bones found dur
/ ing the excavation corresponded Ia
Z that Of the present environment of the
bay. except that it included the beaver,
/ elk, bear, otter and numberless other
I large animals long since vanished from
! this part of California.
/ The SDpcfnenS taken from the mann Il
/ correspond in many cases to those
/ taken from the limestone caves OF
! Shasta County, which have yielded SO
many fossil remains to scientific re-
search. Rude implements found in
/ the Shasta caves indicate that prehis-
l toric man lived thousands of years
/ ago on this rim of the continent