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Bibliography

Demographics

  • 1990 U.S. census: 9,215 Shoshone Indians

  • What is left of the ancestors of the Coso people, live in and around the Mojave desert.

  • Timbisha and Panamint Shoshone Native American tribes arrived to the Coso region around 900-1000 C.E.

Benson, Alvin K. "Death Valley Historic Site." Salem Press Encyclopedia (2016):

Research Starters. Web. 15 May 2016.

Dutcher, B. H. “Piñon Gathering among the Panamint Indians.” American

Anthropologist 6.4 (1893): 377-80. JSTOR Journals. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

Goldsmith, Paul. Talking Stone: Rock Art of the Cosos. SRJC Library Catalog.

Kanopy Streaming, 2015. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

Hoagstrom, Carl W. "Shoshone." Salem Press Encyclopedia (2015): Research

Starters. Web. 15 May 2016.

"Native American Architecture—Plateau." Salem Press Encyclopedia (2016):

Research Starters. Web. 15 May 2016.

"Numic Languages." Britannica Online (n.d.): Britannica Online. Web. 15

May2016.

Ritter, Eric W. “A Historic Aboriginal Structure and its Associations, Panamint

Mountains, California.” Journal of California & Great Basin Anthropology 2.1

(1980): 97-113. America: History and Life with Full Text. Web. 2 May 2016.

Ross, John Alan. "Great Basin Culture Area." Salem Press Encyclopedia (2016):

Research Starters. Web. 15 May 2016.

Sutton, Mark Q. “Warfare and Expansion: An Ethnohistoric Perspective on the

Numic Spread.” Journal of California & Great Basin Anthropology 8.1 (1986): 65-82. America: History and Life with Full Text. Web. 3 May 2016.

Expressive Culture

Panamint Women

  • They wove baskets, told stories about the history of the world and held religious dances for healing the sick and influencing weather.

Belief System

The Rock Art of the Coso Range

  • Believed to have a supernatural connection to the spirits of ancestors
  • The art could have been a way for the Coso people to express bad dreams. Or it could express their creation mythology.
  • Only shamans are allowed to look at the art, regular tribe members could die from looking at the engravings.
  • The big horn sheep appears often in the rock art because it was considered a sacred, supernatural being.
  • Petroglyphs associated with women were small cupoules carved into the rocks. The powder from the stone was considered magical, and was used for fertility.

Cupules in the coso range

  • They had an individualistic belief system, however collective rituals were common at certain times of the year in order to bring world renewal, resources, and peace within the tribe.

  • People believed that ghosts should be avoided and their spirits should be placated.

  • The afterlife was believed to be a place where people could enjoy themselves dancing, gaming, and not having to worry about resources/food.

Social System

  • Highly mobile and flexible social structure
  • Nonlineal and bi-lateral-based families
  • Temporary leadership, usually based on skill
  • The headman encouraged cooperation and tranquility within the tribe.
  • The tribes of the Coso region formed close social groups. They had group hunts, dances, and games.
  • Warfare was used against non-Numic tribes in order for some groups to spread out into the Plains.
  • Contemporary societal problems in Native Americans of the Coso Region: lack of education, poverty, lack of oppurtunity for jobs, and threats to their land/culture.

Geographic Distribution

  • The Coso people lived throughout the Mojave Desert in California. This area is also the Southwestern part of the Great Basin region.
  • Plants found in the area include piñon pine, juniper, sagebrush, Anderson thornbrush, mountain joint fir, cactus, and birdsbeak.

Shoshone Family

Kawaiiasu Family

Language

Economics/Mode of Livelihood

  • Central Numic Language, spoken by the Great Basin Indians
  • The Numic languages are part of the Northern division of Uto-aztecan language family.
  • The Uto-Aztecan is one of the oldest and largest language families, consisting of 8 branches.

  • Panamint, Shoshone, and Kuwaiisu tribes lived like their Coso ancestors; in a male-dominated hunter-gatherer society.
  • Obsidian was an important resource because it was abundant and often used for trade.
  • Major diet staples: piñon pine nuts and mesquite beans
  • They followed a seasonal migration to harvest different fruits, seeds, and plants.
  • The men hunted bighorn sheep, rabbits, deer, gophers, snakes, mice, hens, and insects. The women gathered wild potatoes, onion, lettuce, spinach, and a variety of seeds and berries.

Pinyon PIne Tree

The coso people: An Ethnography

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