Fig. 31. Sub-culture-areas of native California, as part of the major culture-areas of western North America. A, culture of Northwestern California; B, Central California; C, Southern California; D, Lower Colorado River.
The table on the opposite page gives a brief characterization of these four sub-culture-areas.
153. The Shaping of a Problem
So far we have been discriminating, that is, looking for characteristic differences. On the other hand, there has always existed a consensus of impression, among experienced as well as hasty observers, that a certain likeness runs through the culture of most the tribes of California, northern, central, and southern. With scarcely an exception they were unwarlike; nearly all of them made excellent baskets, but were deficient in wood-working. Obviously it is necessary to reconcile these uniformities with the peculiarities that distinguish the four regional types or sub-culture-areas, as well as to account for the peculiarities.
Let us simplify the problem by considering only one aspect of the four native cultures instead of the whole cultures. In this way there will be more likelihood of making a substantial beginning; any results obtained from the example can be subsequently checked from other aspects of the cultures to see if the findings are broadly representative. Further, let us arrange the items of information that are available on this one aspect of culture, not haphazardly, nor mechanically as under an alphabetic classification, nor in the sequence in which authors have published their observations, but naturally, or according to some principle that is likely to work out into an interpretation. Since part of the problem is the relation of the uniform features to the peculiar ones, a promising order will be to put at one end of the line or series of data the most universal features, and at the other the most particular or localized ones.
Let us select religion as that part of native culture to be examined, and limit this still farther by eliminating from consideration, for the time being, all forms of religion except public rituals, which among Indians are frequently accompanied or signalized by sacred dances. We may forget, for the moment, private rites, individual sacrifices, superstitions and taboos, medicine men, myths, and the like, and direct attention to dances made by groups of people, or the obvious equivalents of such dances, and ritual acts definitely associated with the dances or the common weal.
| Northwestern California (North Pacific Coast) | Central California (California-Great Basin) | Southern California (Southwest) | Lower Colorado River (Southwest) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houses | Planks | Earth or thatch | Earth or thatch | Earth |
| Sweat-houses | Planks | Earth | Earth | None |
| Head-gear | Women’s caps | Men’s head-nets | Women’s caps | None |
| Foot-wear | Moccasins | None | Sandals or moccasins | Sandals |
| Women’s skirts | Deer-skin | Deer-skin or fibers | Fibers | Fibers |
| Basketry | Twined | Twined and coiled | Mostly coiled | Almost absent |
| Pottery | None | None | Undecorated | Decorated |
| Boats | Dug-out canoes | Rush rafts | Joined planks | Rush rafts |
| Paddles | Single-bladed | Single-bladed | Double-bladed | Poles |
| Staple food | Salmon | Acorns | Acorns and fish | Maize |
| Ring-and-pin game | Salmon vertebræ | Deer vertebræ | Acorn cups | Pumpkin rind |
| Shell money | Dentalia | Clam disks | Clam disks | Almost none |
| Bows | Sinew-backed | Sinew-backed | Plain | Plain |
| War clubs | Edged stone | None | Knobbed wood | Knobbed wood |
| Social divisions | None | Dual | Dual and multiple | Multiple |
| Shamans | Women | Men | Men | Men |
| Origin legend | Previous race | Creator | Birth from Earth | Birth from Earth |
| Religious society | None | Kuksu | Jimsonweed | None |
| Dances | Wealth displays | Spirit impersonations | Simple dances | Dream singings |