PLS 147 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Ceanothus Integerrimus, Herbaceous Plant, Understory
Taming the Wild
Pre-European California
California: Land of Great Cultural Diversity
●500-600 tribes
●100 languages
●population as many as 1 million, but 310,000 is the accepted estimate
○Population density for hunter gatherers highest in the world (16.5
people/sq. miles)
●in other places, around 6 people
●Time-depth 12-15k years
●Today: 109 federally recognized tribes, 78 unrecognized
California's Flora: Many Lifeforms are useful. Rich Variety of Cultural Uses for
California's Native Plants
●foundation of material culture of tribes
●chewing gum, baskets, burn spots on mushrooms for medicine, adhesives,
boats, ceremonial items, clothing, dyes, furniture, weapons, utensils, tools,
traps, toys, structures, snares, poisons, games, musical instruments, nets,
ornamentation
○all made from young growth that comes after a fire
○"first year regrowth" of redbud, dogwood, sourberry, deerbrush
(shrubs and trees) used to make baskets etc
○controlled intentional burning MANAGEMENT!
■adventitious roots and buds rapidly elongate throughout the
year
○the old growth looks very different, crooked, hard to split
●herbaceous plants, ferns, vines, sedges and rushes, grasses, shrubs, trees
○most biodiversity in medicines and foods
The California Indian World View that Dictates their Relationship with Plants
●all life is kin
○Norma Turner Behill (Mono/Durma) baskets are like her children
○plants are sentient, have a spirit, older than us
●humans are a part of nature
●gathering, tending, and use are good for the plants
○if you keep using and caring about plants, they will make more and
more. if the plants are not being used, they just fade away. (people are
like that too) -- Lawrence Bill
(Mono/Choinumni/Dumna/Kechayi/Gashowu)
California Indians Gathered Native Plants in Every Plant Community Type
