Deck 2: The Original Californians

Question 1

According to the textbook,the location of California Indian communities was determined mainly by

A)access to water for irrigation.
B)the availability of food.
C)strategic military considerations.
D)all of the above.

Answer 1

the availability of food.

Question 2

Archaeologists estimate that human beings first began living in California

A)two centuries before the arrival of the earliest Spanish settlers.
B)at the time the Roman Empire was founded in Europe.
C)at least 12,000 years ago.
D)around 150,000 years ago.

Answer 2

at least 12,000 years ago.

Question 3

The native people of northwestern California

A)are regarded as the most distinctly "Californian."
B)were most involved in the Kuksu cult.
C)had the greatest interest in acquiring wealth and property.
D)were the founders of the toloache or jimsonweed cult.

Answer 3

had the greatest interest in acquiring wealth and property.

Question 4

Prior to European contact,most California Indians had developed agriculture to replace original hunting,fishing,and gathering.

Question 5

Language barriers among California Indians

A)suggest a vast jumble of migrations in ancient times.
B)intensified isolation.
C)deepened parochialism.
D)all of the above.

Question 6

According to the textbook,geographical isolation of the California Indians had a major impact on their cultural development.

Question 7

The most spectacular rock paintings in California were created by the

A)Cahuilla.
B)Luiseno.
C)Chumash.
D)Yurok.

Question 8

Women in native California cultures

A)gathered and processed much of the food supply.
B)were elders who passed on knowledge necessary for the continued functioning of the tribal unit.
C)were responsible for constructing and maintaining food storage facilities.
D)all of the above.

Question 9

Basket-making was developed to a high level by many California Indians.

Question 10

The individual who exercised religious leadership among California Indians was the

A)saturn.
B)steward.
C)shaman.
D)"supreme culturalist."

Question 11

The California environment supported a much smaller number of Indians than did any other region of comparable size in North America north of Mexico.

Question 12

Political organization among most California Indians

A)revealed many tribes of several thousand people.
B)produced a strong and militant national consciousness.
C)usually extended no farther than the village community.
D)allowed for widespread and effective resistance to Spaniards and Anglo-Americans.

Question 13

According to the textbook,the survival of a Stone Age culture in California was the result of

A)geographic isolation.
B)heredity.
C)biological limitations.
D)all of the above

Question 14

California Indians managed their land resources by

A)burning the ground cover.
B)pruning plants and trees.
C)culling animal and insect populations.
D)all of the above

Question 15

According to the traditional beliefs of many of the state's native people,California Indians

A)descended from ancient peoples who crossed into North America from Asia over a land bridge.
B)were created and have lived forever in their ancestral homeland.
C)descended from Native American tribes of South America.
D)descended from Native American tribes of Canada.

Question 16

Most California Indians

A)were hunters and gatherers.
B)had the war club.
C)practiced agriculture.
D)lived in the extreme northern portion of the state.

Question 17

Most scholars today agree that differences of "race" are determined by culture and history rather than biology.

Question 18

Scholars now regard the notion of race as primarily a

A)genetic condition in which differences between people of different racial groups are far greater than between members of the same group.
B)biologically determined "fact of life."
C)factor of no historical consequence.
D)social and cultural concept.

Question 19

A raft made of reeds bound into a boat-like shape is called a

A)tomol.
B)birch-bark canoe.
C)tule balsa.
D)temescal.

Question 20

The toloache,or jimsonweed cult,was most prevalent among the people of the

A)southern culture area.
B)northwest culture area.
C)Great Basin culture area.
D)central culture area.

Question 21

The Yurok created the most spectacular standing-stone circles of any culture in what is now the United States.

Question 22

The California Indians had no system of writing and left no written records of their culture and thus were prehistoric peoples.

Question 23

Define the following terms: tule balsa,shaman,toloache,and tribelet.

Question 24

To what extent were the food,population,and material culture of the California Indians determined by the natural resources of the region?

Question 25

Most California Indians were highly skilled in pottery-making.

Question 26

Among the California Indians there was a great diversity of languages.

Question 27

Explain the various roles women played in native cultures of California.

Question 28

With few exceptions,the California Indians were generally more aggressive (or "warlike")than their neighbors elsewhere in the American Southwest.

Question 29

The role of women in most native cultures of California was greatly limited by traditional values and therefore generally insignificant.

Question 30

Describe briefly the traditional religious beliefs and practices of California Indians.

Question 31

The California Indians had difficulty organizing effective resistance to Spaniards and Anglo-Americans.

Question 32

Among most California Indians religious cults were virtually unknown.

Question 33

Assess the significance of geographical isolation in the development of California Indian culture.