California indigenous peoples used strings of shells to serve as money. Their value was set by st... more California indigenous peoples used strings of shells to serve as money. Their value was set by standards based on length, measured by tattoos on the arms of men of noble rank. The chapter discusses the history of shells and tattoos among the Hupa and Yurok of northern California, and the Cahuilla and Chumash in the south. In the south, only clan leaders, and not all man of noble rank, possessed tattoos. Where in the north shells were associated with the pursuit of individual gain and wealth questing, in the south, they had ceremonial functions and were associated with social hierarchy and prestige. Tattoos were thus records in the flesh of value, but different values.
Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 1992
Author(s): Gamble, Lynn H | Abstract: Archaeological Investigations at CA-SBA-1809, A Protohistor... more Author(s): Gamble, Lynn H | Abstract: Archaeological Investigations at CA-SBA-1809, A Protohistoric Settlement, Goleta, Santa Barbara County, California. Jerry D. Moore and Michael H. Imwalle. Salinas, CA: Coyote Press Archives of California Prehistory No. 19, 1988, vi + 69 pp., 7 figs., 13 tables, $6.20 (paper).
Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology as Historical …, 2011
Page 241. Structural Transformation and Innovation in Emergent Political Economies of Southern Ca... more Page 241. Structural Transformation and Innovation in Emergent Political Economies of Southern California Lynn H. Gamble The Chumash populations of southern California differed from many societies discussed in this volume in that they lacked monumental architecture. ...
Power was manifested in a variety of realms among California Indian societies, with some individu... more Power was manifested in a variety of realms among California Indian societies, with some individuals having greater access to wealth, knowledge, and privilege than others. While taking an historical approach to an examination of power and authority in California, I focus on cultural practices in two distinct geographic regions: one involving the riverine communities in central California and the other· the maritime groups along the Santa Barbara Channel coast. The California Indians in both areas shared numerous traits associated with power, as they did with some other California Indian groups, such as the Pomo and Valley Yokuts. They all had the ability to acquire and store large quantities of food that in turn allowed them to maintain dense populations. Chiefs, usually males who inherited their power and often had multiple wives, were responsible for the hosting of large feasts that often involved a redistribution of beads and food. Chiefs, along with other elite members of societ...
This article emerged as the human species collectively have been experiencing the worst global pa... more This article emerged as the human species collectively have been experiencing the worst global pandemic in a century. With a long view of the ecological, economic, social, and political factors that promote the emergence and spread of infectious disease, archaeologists are well positioned to examine the antecedents of the present crisis. In this article, we bring together a variety of perspectives on the issues surrounding the emergence, spread, and effects of disease in both the Americas and Afro-Eurasian contexts. Recognizing that human populations most severely impacted by COVID-19 are typically descendants of marginalized groups, we investigate pre- and postcontact disease vectors among Indigenous and Black communities in North America, outlining the systemic impacts of diseases and the conditions that exacerbate their spread. We look at how material culture both reflects and changes as a result of social transformations brought about by disease, the insights that paleopathology...
California indigenous peoples used strings of shells to serve as money. Their value was set by st... more California indigenous peoples used strings of shells to serve as money. Their value was set by standards based on length, measured by tattoos on the arms of men of noble rank. The chapter discusses the history of shells and tattoos among the Hupa and Yurok of northern California, and the Cahuilla and Chumash in the south. In the south, only clan leaders, and not all man of noble rank, possessed tattoos. Where in the north shells were associated with the pursuit of individual gain and wealth questing, in the south, they had ceremonial functions and were associated with social hierarchy and prestige. Tattoos were thus records in the flesh of value, but different values.
Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 1992
Author(s): Gamble, Lynn H | Abstract: Archaeological Investigations at CA-SBA-1809, A Protohistor... more Author(s): Gamble, Lynn H | Abstract: Archaeological Investigations at CA-SBA-1809, A Protohistoric Settlement, Goleta, Santa Barbara County, California. Jerry D. Moore and Michael H. Imwalle. Salinas, CA: Coyote Press Archives of California Prehistory No. 19, 1988, vi + 69 pp., 7 figs., 13 tables, $6.20 (paper).
Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology as Historical …, 2011
Page 241. Structural Transformation and Innovation in Emergent Political Economies of Southern Ca... more Page 241. Structural Transformation and Innovation in Emergent Political Economies of Southern California Lynn H. Gamble The Chumash populations of southern California differed from many societies discussed in this volume in that they lacked monumental architecture. ...
Power was manifested in a variety of realms among California Indian societies, with some individu... more Power was manifested in a variety of realms among California Indian societies, with some individuals having greater access to wealth, knowledge, and privilege than others. While taking an historical approach to an examination of power and authority in California, I focus on cultural practices in two distinct geographic regions: one involving the riverine communities in central California and the other· the maritime groups along the Santa Barbara Channel coast. The California Indians in both areas shared numerous traits associated with power, as they did with some other California Indian groups, such as the Pomo and Valley Yokuts. They all had the ability to acquire and store large quantities of food that in turn allowed them to maintain dense populations. Chiefs, usually males who inherited their power and often had multiple wives, were responsible for the hosting of large feasts that often involved a redistribution of beads and food. Chiefs, along with other elite members of societ...
This article emerged as the human species collectively have been experiencing the worst global pa... more This article emerged as the human species collectively have been experiencing the worst global pandemic in a century. With a long view of the ecological, economic, social, and political factors that promote the emergence and spread of infectious disease, archaeologists are well positioned to examine the antecedents of the present crisis. In this article, we bring together a variety of perspectives on the issues surrounding the emergence, spread, and effects of disease in both the Americas and Afro-Eurasian contexts. Recognizing that human populations most severely impacted by COVID-19 are typically descendants of marginalized groups, we investigate pre- and postcontact disease vectors among Indigenous and Black communities in North America, outlining the systemic impacts of diseases and the conditions that exacerbate their spread. We look at how material culture both reflects and changes as a result of social transformations brought about by disease, the insights that paleopathology...
When Spanish explorers and missionaries came onto Southern California's shores in 1769, they enco... more When Spanish explorers and missionaries came onto Southern California's shores in 1769, they encountered the large towns and villages of the Chumash, a people who at that time were among the most advanced hunter-gatherer societies in the world. The Spanish were entertained and fed at lavish feasts hosted by chiefs who ruled over the settlements and who participated in extensive social and economic networks. In this first modern synthesis of data from the Chumash heartland, Lynn H. Gamble weaves together multiple sources of evidence to re-create the rich tapestry of Chumash society. Drawing from archaeology, historical documents, ethnography, and ecology, she describes daily life in the large mainland towns, focusing on Chumash culture, household organization, politics, economy, warfare, and more.
Report submitted to the California Department of Parks and Recreation by the Office of Public Archaeology, University of California, Santa Barbara., 1982
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