ABSTRACT
California (Fig. 7.1) is a region of substantial natural diversity, containing high mountains, deserts, extensive river and lake systems, and coastlines, all coupled with a mild climate. As such, California has always been a popular place to live. Ethnographically, California is characterized by its enormous cultural diversity (some 100 different native groups were recorded at contact), acorn economies, shell bead money, extensive trading systems, large populations, complex sociopolitical organizations, and a general absence of pottery and agriculture (e.g., Kroeber 1925; Heizer and Whipple 1971; Lightfoot and Parrish 2009). California is the only culture area given the same name as the political state, although their borders are not the same (see Fig. 7.1). Parts of the state of California fall within the Great Basin (see Chapter 8) while other areas lie within the Southwest (see Chapter 9) The Handbook of North American Indians included Baja California within the Southwest, but for the purposes of this book, it is considered part of California.
