California and Intermountain Seed Gatherers
Diet and Agriculture
The California area was rich in natural resources. The main foods included wild plants, seeds, and nuts. The people also ate grasshoppers, caterpillars, and grubs. The California tribes were hunters and gatherers. The men fished, trapped, and hunted. The women gathered food. The men caught fish with hooks and spears. The people who lived in the coastal regions ate shellfish, dolphins, porpoises, and whales.
The California tribes used acorns. They ground them into flour and then washed away the bitter acid. The flour was mixed with clean water and cooked over hot rocks to make mush. The mush was eaten alone or mixed with berries. Sometimes, it was molded into a cake and baked.
Food was scarce in the Great Basin area. Few animals lived there because it was too dry for most wild plants. The Indigenous people moved about in small bands to search for food. They hunted antelope, birds, and deer. They also ate rats, snakes, grasshoppers, lizards, grubs, and roots.
Cultural Practices
This group of Indigenous people feared the spirits of the dead. No one spoke the name of a dead person in case the spirit might think someone was calling it back to the earth. They burned a dead person’s house, body, and belongings so that the ghost could not use them.
Tools, Weapons, and Utensils
The California tribes made money by breaking shells into small, rounded beads. They strung the beads in groups. The baskets were woven so tightly that water could be carried in them. The Pomo tribe was the most skilled at weaving the baskets.
Art and Craftsmanship
The California tribes were known for their beautiful baskets, which were used as traps, tools, cradles, gifts, and storage containers. Both men and women wove the baskets using various techniques and patterns. The baskets were decorated with beads, shells, and tiny feathers.
Student Created Basket
Chumash Village Drawing