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Show REVIEWS Games of the North American Indians Volume 1: Games of Chance, and Games of the North American Indians Volume 2: Games Of Skill, by Steward Culin. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln. 1992. 382 pages and 464 pages. $13.95 each. Reviewed by: Robert B. Kohl Jennifer Jack-Dixie Chapter Utah Statewide Archaeological Society P. O. Box 1865 St. George, UT 84771-1865 These two volumes, now published in paperback, are reprints of the 1907 edition, originally published in the Twenty-fourth annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1902-1903. In his introduction, Dennis Tedlock writes, "When it comes to sports and games that are deeply rooted in this very continent, by which I mean games that were played here well before a certain European mariner tried to sail the wrong way around to India, there is no source as broad and rich as this one". Tedlock, known as the translator of the Mayan Popol Vuh, is a professor of English at State University of New York at Buffalo. He adds to the original text his own follow-up investigation of Indian games, showing that those described in detail by Culin are still played today. Culin was able to show that the games of North American tribes were remarkably similar in method and purpose, even in the styles of gaming paraphernalia which had apparently been passed down through the ages from prehistoric peoples. In Volume 1, Culin found that games using dice of various materials-wood, cane, bone, animal teeth, fruit stones-existed among 130 tribes belonging to 30 linguistic groups. They are described in detail and include the popular guessing games using sticks and wooden disks and involving hidden objects. The games, more appropriately termed gambling, went on for hours and sometimes for days without intermission. In Volume 2, Culin describes the practice of archery and games like snow snake, in which darts or javelins were hurled over snow or ice. Played throughout the continent north of Mexico were the hoop and pole game and its miniature and solitaire version called ring and pin. Culin discusses ball games, including racket, shinny and football, and includes minor amusements such as shuttlecock, tip cat, quoits, pop gun, bean shooter, and cat's cradle. The latter ~ weaving of cordage between the fingers of two hands ~ is not a "white man's" game, but was apparently invented independently by Indian peoples of centuries past. It was not only an interesting pastime for child and adult alike, but a religious significance was added to some of the early string figures. Both volumes are lavishly illustrated with drawings of museum specimens including collection numbers and accession data. Thus the reader gets a peek into the curation sanctuaries of many of the nation's museums. Along with provenance data, the books include the field reports of the collectors, many dating to the early 1800s. While the books offer fascinating casual reading they are a storehouse of information for the professional archaeologist. For example, an incised bone gaming piece recovered from a southwestern excavation assumes an entirely new perspective with the consultation of Volume 1 Games of Chance. The excavator can learn how the game was played, how it was counted, what prizes went to the winner, and how it matched with games played in far-flung corners of the nation. Moreover, the format of both volumes is sectioned according to tribes. In the greater west and southwest these include Hopi, Navajo, Apache, Keres, Porno, Pima, Papago, Paiute, Shoshone, Tewa, Maricopa, Mojave, and Zuni, but the volumes cover tribal games from coast to coast and into Alaska. These volumes are highly recommended as a stellar example of great readability and archaeological research. |
