The Recent Past
Much of the spectacular archaeology we see today in Crooks Canyon consists of the remains of houses, camps, and villages occupied within the last 500 to 600 years, many of them within the last few centuries. Conversely, habitation sites and features (hearths, storage pits, and the like) dating to before this time are relatively rare. Why did Native peoples feel the need to place their encampments in the inaccessible volcanic ramparts overlooking South Fork Pit River Valley? The evidence at hand suggests that, long before the arrival of General Crook, these rugged canyons and tablelands provided refuge from invaders and raiders.
The last 500 years of prehistoric occupation at Crooks Canyon and the South Fork Pit River Valley was a time of cultural and social upheaval. Desert-oriented peoples, such as the Northern Paiute, were expanding into the northern Great Basin and across the Modoc Plateau. Along with a distinct language and culture, the Northern Paiute brought with them different ways of gathering food and building settlements, all of which may have increased tensions with the Achumawi. While it is unclear to what extent the Northern Paiute visited or made use of the South Fork Pit River Valley, it is clear that they had frequent encounters with the Achumawi and that these encounters were often marked by conflict and warfare. Oral traditions and ethnohistoric accounts suggest similar tensions between the local people and their northern neighbors, the Modoc and Klamath, especially after these groups acquired horses. It was during this time that the ancestors of the Achumawi began to locate many of their base camps up the rugged canyons and ridges fronting the Pit River and its tributaries, and perhaps when Infernal Caverns began to see use as a protective refuge.
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Pit River and neighboring tribal territories, circa 1850. |
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Archaeologists generally mark the beginning of the Protohistoric Period by the identification of artifacts of Euro-american origin in otherwise Native American settings. At Crooks Canyon, these include 19th Century glass trade beads manufactured in Italy and other European localities, found in Native house structures. As initial exploration gave way to an influx of ranchers, miners, and other settlers in the mid-1800s, Euro-american items became more widely available. Bottle glass, buttons, bullet shell casings, nails, wire, and clothing hardware appear in increasing frequency in Native archaeological components. By the late 1800s, many native foods, hunting and food-processing tools, apparel, and household items had been largely supplanted by Euro-american goods. Native American archaeological sites reflect this transition: historic items and debris predominate, while stone tools and other traditional artifacts are increasingly rare. |
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