SS Ch 3 Lesson 2 Notes

Social Studies Ch 3, Lesson 2

Using the Land

Early California Indians got their food, clothing, shelter, & tools from their environment.
Geography & climate affected what California Indians ate, wore, & what kinds of shelters they built.

Northern Coastal - Pomo
more than 70 villages
Lived in small, bowl-shaped shelters
- in rainy season (winter/spring) lived in villages
- built on the side of a hill to stay safe from floods
- after the rains they would burn their shelters & move
closer to a river, lake, or ocean
Tools: nets, spears, & traps for fishing, bow & arrow for hunting: birds, deer
Expert basket makers, baskets were used for gathering, storing,
& cooking food

North Central - Maidu
built villages on high ground to see strangers coming
Homes:
for cold weather - several families lived together, homes kept them warm in the winter, they were big round mound of earth with a hole in the top for a doorway, the floor was lower than the outside ground, log poles held up the roof
for warm weather - open-air shelters to let the breeze through, branches supported the rood of sticks, grass or dirt
Clothing: mocasins, animal skins & deer skins were used to keep them warm
Tools: flint knives & arrowheads
Food: hunted for bears, deer, elk, rabbits, birds
     fished for salmon, trout, & eels
    gathered plants, seeds, roots, insects, acorns, berries

Southern Coast - Gabrielino (where we live!)
built strong plank boats to carry people & goods to islands
Food: fished for swordfish, seals, & sharks
   hunted - rabbits, squirrels, deer & ducks
   acorn mush, pine nuts, seeds & fruits
Expert basket makers - baskets could carry water & cook liquids
Clothing: women made skirts of tule grass
Homes: made of tule mats & tree saplings

Desert - Mojave
Food: farmers near Colorado River - planted corn, beans & pumpkins
   gathered: wild plants, seeds & roots
   fished with traps & nets in the Colorado River
   trapped small animals (rabbits, skunks, beavers)
Clothes: for hot weather Men - cloth tied around the hips
   Women - knee length skirts of willow bark, shirts of beaver & rabbit skin in winter
Homes: no villages, built near good soil for farming, made from willow poles covered with grasses
Made: clay pots & wove baskets to cook & store food in

Summary:
Pomo - hunted & fished
Maidu - built lodges & gathered acorns
Gabrielino - built boats & cooked in baskets
Mojave - grew crops & made clay pots