OCR Text |
Show 96 BASIS OP AMERICAN HISTORY [ iSoo Washoan family. Weiispekan family. Wishoskan family. Yakonan family. Yanan family. Yukian family. Yuman family. Zunian family. It must not be supposed that the list given above is final, for it is quite possible that modifications will result from more complete linguistic knowledge; but it is evident to- day that such changes will not be fundamental, and the classification as it stands is a splendid achievement. The distribution of the families as shown by the map suggests several points of interest. It will be seen that in most cases the stocks occupy continuous areas, which argues strongly for the view that the Indians at the time of the arrival of the Europeans were mainly stationary; that is, were not nomadic, for of course movements and campaigns of greater or less extent were taking place constantly. On the other hand, such a dispersion as that exhibited by the Athapascan stock, with its two great bodies, one in the extreme north and the other on the Mexican border, indicates earlier migration of great magnitude: it could not have been recent, for there has been time for the dialects to become widely differentiated and for the cultures to change with the environments, until there are few phases to |