Anthropology 131CA, Spring 2015 University of California, Santa Barbara

California Indians

John R. Johnson

Adjunct Professor of Anthropology

Email:

Course Website: http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/classes/anth131ca

Mondays & Wednesdays 12:30-1:45—HSSB 1173

Office Hours: Mon. 2:00-4:30, HSSB 2057 or by appt. at SB Museum of Natural History. Telephone: 682-4711, ext. 139 (SBMNH)

Course Description

This course explores the diversity of California Indians societies, comparing patterns of social organization, economy, material culture, and ideology. Origins are traced based on the distributions of native languages, archaeological evidence, and genetic data. The changes wrought by colonization and subsequent nineteenth and twentieth century histories are explored through ethnohistoric sources. The course will emphasize indigenous peoples of central and southern California.

Purpose

  1. Provide a basic knowledge of the variety of cultural patterns within California.
  2. Introduce the student to anthropological literature and principle research questions pertaining to California Indians.
  3. Impart an understanding of the California Indian experience since the arrival of Europeans.

Texts

R. F. Heizer and A. B. Elsasser, The Natural World of the California Indians (NWCI).

K. G. Lightfoot and O. Parrish, California Indians and Their Environment (CITE)

K. G. Lightfoot, Indians, Missionaries, and Merchants (IMM)

Course reader (available at SB Printer.com, 6549 Pardall #C, Isla Vista, tel. 699-6342)

Requirements

  • Regular attendance
  • Map Homework due April 8
  • Research Paper proposal due by April 29 (see below for details)
  • Mid-Term Exam, May 4 (25%)
  • Research Paper, 8-page minimum, due on June 8 (see below for details) (35%)
  • Final Exam, Tuesday, June 9, 12 noon-3 p.m. (40%) based on lectures and readings

Lecture Schedule

Any changes to this schedule will be announced in class.

Date
/
Lecture Topic
/
Readings
Week 1
Mar. 30 / Introduction to the Course &
Journey from Spirit Mountain (documentary film) / NWCI chap. 1-2; CITE: pp. 2-36, 72-85
Apr. 1 / Origins: Paleoenvironmental & Archaeological Evidence / CITE, pp. 38-49; Erlandson 2012; Jones & Kennett 2012
Week 2
Apr. 6 / California Indian Languages / Golla 2011 & Golla 2007 (in course reader)
Apr. 8 / Genetic Prehistory
(Map homework due) / Johnson et al. 2012 (in course reader)
Week 3
Apr. 13 / Prehistoric Cultural Change / NWCI chap. 7-8; CITE, pp. 85-93; Glassow 1996; Johnson 2000
Apr. 15 / Subsistence & Material Culture / NWCI chap. 3-6; CITE, pp. 124-151
Week 4
Apr. 20 / Field trip to S.B. Museum of Natural History / Timbrook 1984; McLendon 1992
Apr. 22 / Social Organization / CITE, pp. 79-81; Kunkel 1976
Week 5
Apr. 27 / Political Organization & Intergroup Conflict / McCorkle 1978
Apr. 29 / Religion & World View
(Research proposal due) / NWCI chap. 9; Bean & Vane 1978
Week 6
May 4 / Mid-term Exam
May 6 / Ishi: The Last Yahi (documentary film) / Kroeber [1912]; Perry 2003; Luthin and Hinton 2003
Week 7
May 11 / Indian-White Relations: First Contacts / Kelsey 1985; Simmons & Lightfoot 1998; Crespí [1769]
May 13 / Colonial Period: Missionaries and Merchants / IMM chap. 1, 3-6; Geiger 1970; Blackburn 1975
Week 8
May 18 / Comparative Mission Experience / IMM chap. 7-8; Johnson 1993
May 20 / 6 Generations (documentary film) / Callaghan 1975; De Soto 1994
Week 9
May 25 / Memorial Day (no class)
May 27 / Treaties, Laws, & Government Policies / Phillips 1981
Week 10
Jun. 1 / Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Today (guest presentation)
Jun. 3 / 20th Century Legal Struggles & Contemporary Issues / Stewart 1978; Castillo 1978
Jun. 5 / Course Review Session (optional)
Deadlines
Jun. 8 / Research Paper due
Jun. 9 / Final Exam, 12 noon-3 p.m.

Research Paper

A short research paper taking a comparative approach is required. A proposal for the paper topic, not to exceed one-page in length, should be completed no later than April 29. The student’s proposal should include a statement regarding the research topic and an initial selection of which California Indian societies will be studied. Workshops will be scheduled outside of the regular class to discuss research approaches and what sources should be consulted as references.

Following approval of the proposal, the paper should be written based on research regarding particular California Indian tribes contained in the Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 8 “California,” the UC Anthropological Records, the UC Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, HRAF (Human Relations Area Files), or other ethnographic sources. The final paper is due on June 4.

Either of the following approaches may be taken:

1)  An aspect of Native culture (e.g., intergroup conflict, dispute resolution, settlement pattern, social organization, world view) can be compared and contrasted between no fewer than four groups, selected from among tribal peoples who resided within the current state boundaries of California or along the Baja California peninsula. Groups should be selected that represent different cultural subregions within Alta or Baja California.

2)  A research problem pertaining to California Indians may be examined cross-culturally through comparison with tribal societies located outside the region.

Anthropological References Pertaining to California Indians (on Reserve in the Library)

Bean, Lowell John, and Thomas Blackburn (eds.). 1976. Native Californians: A Theoretical Retrospective. Socorro, NM: Ballena Press.

Bettinger, Robert L. 2015. Orderly Anarchy: Sociopolitical Evolution in Aboriginal California. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Golla, Victor. 2011. California Indian Languages. 2011. Berkeley: U.C. Press.

Heizer, Robert F. (ed.). 1978. California. Vol. 8. Handbook of North American Indians. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.

Jones, Terry L., and Jennifer E. Perry (eds.). 2012. Contemporary Issues in California Archaeology. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.

Kroeber, Albert L. 1953. Handbook of the Indians of California. Berkeley: California Book Company.

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