California Natives

Even in the 20th century, people had attitudes towards indians. Navajo thought CA indians were bad. What it does to people, is to make views towards them degrading and worthless. Salves had the concsious of pple who came into CA murdered indians and indian hunting was an actual sport. Destoryed their land and slayed their children.

The earliest settler ideas depend on one's own view of what reality is. Native American Indians were viewed as most primitive of the North American indians and Infereiors of the better known.

California lacks the tendecey to understand the importance of native Indians and their valuable culture. Some historians describe them as prehistoric, savage and stone age. This is imperialicaly wrong. In the last 25 yrs, anthropologists have become more sophistacted in their views towards them. They have restored them to rightful place historically, because they truly were a dynamic culture.

In 50,000 bc-15,000 bc ancerestors of native americans, also known as Indians, migrated across ice or land bridges that expand the barring straight. They migrated south for purposes of hunting and seeking large animals. By 12000 bc, these new people penetrated to most of North and South America. In 9000bc some found their way to CA. Groups that made it to CA got there by hunting with spears. They were nomadic and had the tendency to travel in small groups. By 6000-3000 bc, ice age end, rainfall increase and vegetation. Ca indians did good job to adopt to changes of environment,indians survvied by fishin hunting and gathering. And is a reasonbale way of adoption. Gathering wild plants.

More diverse food supply, popu grows, settle in villages, develop social systems, and ecosystems. Devote to art and religion. By 1000 bc, cultures emerging, similar to what exploreres discovered. Had complex socityby europenas explorees met them. Transfomred from nomads to villagers. Onset of Euro colonization, devel various tribelecs. Each group had indep economic life. 75 diff languagues. And Spoke diff dialects of those languages. Great diversity among ca natives, unmathced in N america. Umnathced was also size of population, which was very large. Overall density Ð... person per sq mile. 300000-1 mil about pple.

Ca very large native pop undermines traditional view that euro colonization consisted of virgin land. Argument: bc not virgin and pple all over behind every tree.

Little of land were untouched by indians, little land was unharvested.

Europena colonization was not walking into an empty land, there was conquering land and ppple. There was culture and society already existing. Maj or CA groups practiced economyof hunting and gathering. Eurp ansence of higher industry and agri. So exists bias. Outsiders believed they wre unintelligent. CA indians seen as lazy, midlessly picking food nature provides. Rain rarly fell in growing season, hard for CA indians to do regular agriculture. Hunting and gathering economy was systemized, based on emense environmental knowledge. Adaption is very very diff but emense.

Harvested hundresds plants and minerals for food and building materials. Acorns were center piece of food life for indians. Ten diff kinds of oats, with 10 diff acorns, don't require cultiation acorn trees and harvested efficitenly. And needed to have have background info in order to eat. High in topic acid and learned how to removethe acid. Elaborate acorn chemnisty from even trial and error, need to be knowledgable. Processing tech develop by women. Culture have surplus and taken care of for winter.

Indians aplly acorn chem to other plants. Learn to leach poison out of plants. Use as medicinal cures also. Argue that acorn story demonstrates somethin not visible

to eye of Euro settlers, and couldn't understand ir leaching acid from acorns THEN eating it.

Cultural change and diffusion takin place in natural environ. Resonisble for what came to booming CA tribal life.

Fully devel native pop. Some tribes not organzied acron but fishery, along rivers, ie Chumash, invented ocean going canoes. Harested fish, otters, beached whales- for food and blubber, and also indians on offshore islands ie catalina island, harvested Kelpt beds for health benefits.

Chumash tribe combince acron harvesting and fishing.

Along San faran bay, coastinowens grouips gather shell fish, canoes, sea oriented diet.

S deserts harvesting scew beans

Harsh places like palm springs, develp agric to some degree and couldn't live comnformably