Theold Cordilleran culture, also known as theCascade phase, is an ancient culture ofNative Americans that settled in thePacific Northwestern region ofNorth America that existed from 8000 or 9000 BC until about 3500 BC.
The Cascade phase may be even older, depending on when human beings first arrived in America. They originated inAlaska, and migrated to occupy a wide area as far asIdaho and the plateaus ofCalifornia, but they are generally not considered a maritime society. However, their spear points, or points bearing resemblance have been found as far south asMexico andSouth America.[1] This was the typical artifact of these people — a simple, bi-facial, leaf-shapedprojectile point which average about 6 cm (2.4 in) in length. These tools were used asspears ordarts, or alsoknives, indicating the importance of hunting, although they also fished and gathered for subsistence. However, the main dependence was on land hunting, mostly ofdeer,bison, and other large mammals.[2][3]
The culture possibly spoke a Macro-Penutian language (a hypothetical macrofamily which may includePenutian,Uto-Aztecan, and some other language families).[1] This culture also created the oldest attested examples of art in thePacific Northwest.[4]
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