BULL. 30] 



LINGUISTIC FAMILIES 



767 



time is sketclied in Powell's epoch-mark- 

 ing article, "Indian linguistic families" 

 (7th Rep. B. A. E., 1-142, 1891), with ac- 

 companying map, embodying the au- 

 thor's own researches and those of the 

 experts of the Bureau. Taking vocabu- 

 lary and dictionary as the factors of dis- 

 crimination, Powell recognized, n. of the 

 Mexican l)oundary, the following 58 

 "distinct linguistic families" or stocks: 

 Adaizan (since determined to be a part 

 of the Caddoan), Algonquian, Athapas- 

 can, Attacapan, Beothukan, Caddoan, 

 Chimakuan, Chimarikan, Chinniiesyan, 

 Chinookan, Chitimachan, Chumashan, 

 Coahuiltecan, Copehan, Costanoan, Eski- 

 mauan, Esselenian, Inxjuoian, Kala]>oo- 

 ian, Karankawan, Keresan, Kiowan, Kit- 

 unahan, Koluschan, Kulanapan, Kusan, 

 Lutuamian, Mariposan, Moquelumnan, 

 Muskhogean, Natchesan, Palaihnihan 

 (since consolidated with Shastan), Piman, 

 Pujunan, Quoratean, Salinan, Salishan, 

 Sastean (Shastan), Shahaptian, Shosho- 

 nean, Siouan, Skittagetan, Takilman, 

 Tanoan, Timuquanan, Tonikan, Tonka- 

 wan, Uchean, Waiilatpuan, AVakashan, 

 Washoan, Weitspekan, Wishoskan, Yako- 

 nan, Yanan, Yukian, Yuman, Zufiian. 

 This is the working list for students of 

 American languages, and, with minoi- 

 variations, will remain the authoritative 

 document on the classification of Ameri- 

 can linguistic stocks. (See Kroeber in 

 Am. Anthrop, vii, 570-93, 1905, where 

 modifiations are proposed. ) A revised 

 edition of the map, containing the results 

 of the latest investigations, appears in 

 this Handbook. 



A marked feature of the disti'ibution 

 of Indian linguistic families n. of Mex- 

 ico is the presence or former exist- 

 ence in what are now the states of Cali- 

 fornia and Oregon of more than one-third 

 of the total number, while some other 

 stocks (Algonquian, Athapascan, Siouan, 

 Shoshonean, Eskimauan) have a very 

 wide distribution. The Pacific coast con- 

 trasts with the Atlanticr by reason of the 

 multiplicity of its linguistic familiesas com- 

 pared with the few on the eastern littoral. 

 The distriljution of the Eskimauan family 

 along the whole Arctic coast from New- 

 foundland to Bering sea, and beyond it 

 in a portion of Asia, is remarkable. The 

 ITcheanand the extinct Beothukof New- 

 foundland are really the only small fam- 

 ilies of the Atlantic slope. The Catawba 

 and related tribes in the Carolinas prove 

 the earlier possession of that country by 

 the primitive Siouan, whose migrations 

 were generally westward. The Tuscarora 

 and related tribes of Virginia and south- 

 ward show the wanderings of the Iro- 

 quois, as do the Navaho and Apache 

 those of the Athapascans. 



In 1896 McGee (The Smithson. Inst., 

 1846-9(5, 377, 1897) estimated the num- 

 ber of tribes belonging to the various 

 linguistic families as follows: Algonquian 

 36, Athapascan 53, Attacapan 2, Beothu- 

 kan 1, Caddoan 9, Chimakuan 2, Chi- 

 marikan 2, Chimmesyan (Tsimshian) 8, 

 Chinookan 11, Chitimachan 1, Chuma- 

 shan 6, Coahuiltecan 22, Copehan 22, 

 Costanoan 5, Eskimauan 70, Esselenian 

 1, Iroquoian 13, Kalapooian 8, Karanka- 

 wan 1, Keresan 17, Kiowan 1, Kitunahan 

 4, Koluschan 12, Kulanapan 30, Kusan 4, 

 Lutuamian 4, Mariposan 24, ]\Ioquelum- 

 nan 35, Muskhogean 9, Nahuatlan ?, Na- 

 tchesan 2, Palaihnihan 8, Piman 7, Puju- 

 nan 26, Quoratean 3, Salinan 2, Salishan 

 64, Sastean 1, Serian 3, Shahaptian 7, 

 Shoshonean 12, Siouan 68, Skitttagetan 

 (Haida) 17, Takilman 1, Tanoan 14, Thnu- 

 quanan 60, Tonikan 3, Tonkawan 1, 

 Uchean 1, Waiilatpuan 2, Wakashan 

 (Kwakiutl-Nootka) 37, Washoan 1, Weit- 

 spekan 6, Wishoskan 3, Yakonan 4, Ya- 

 nan 1, Yukian 5, Yuman 9, Zufiian 1. 

 Of this large number of tribes, some are 

 of little iiBportance, while others may be 

 local divisions and not tribes in the proper 

 sense of the term. This is true, for exam- 

 ple, of two at least of the divisions of the 

 Kitunahan family, and of not a few of the 

 Algonquian "tribes." Some families, it 

 will be seen, consist of but a single tribe: 

 Beothukan, Chitimachan, Esselenian, 

 Karankawan, Kiowan, Takilman, Tonka- 

 wan, Uchean, Washoan, Yanan, Zufiian; 

 but of these a few ( such as Zufiian and Kio- 

 wan) are very important. The amount 

 of linguistic variation serving as an index 

 of tribal division varies consideral)ly, and 

 in many cases, especially with the older 

 writers, the delimitations are very imper- 

 fect. Researches now in progress will 

 doubtless elucidate some of these points. 



Besides the classification noted above, 

 based on vocabulary, certain others are 

 possible which take into consideration 

 grammatical peculiarities, etc., common 

 to several linguistic families. Thus, 

 groups may be distinguished within the 

 56 families of speech, embracing two or 

 more of them which seem to j)e gram- 

 matically or syntactically related, or in 

 I)Oth these respects, while in nowise re- 

 sembling each other in lexical content. 

 From considerations of this sort Boas finds 

 resemblances between several of the n. w. 

 Pacific coast families. Grammatically, 

 the Koluschan (Tlingit) and Skittagetan 

 (Haida) and the Athapascan seem to be 

 distantly related, and some lexical coin- 

 cidences have been noted. The occurrence 

 of pronominal gender in the Salishan and 

 Chimakuan stocks is thought by Boas to 

 be of great importance as suggesting rela- 

 tionship between these two families. The 



