Pre-Columbian Peoples of California

In this unit, kids explore how the California Indians were alike and different. In the early topics, kids gain a conceptual framework for understanding and interpreting information about the peoples living in each region: What was the center of social life in the community? What kinds of homes did people build? Were their communities stationary or mobile? Then, kids visit each region and explore the lives, rituals, religions, and customs of the California Indians there – the Northern Coastal Region, the Southern Coastal Region, the Central Valley and Mountains Region, and the Desert Region. Here is where kids explore the tremendous variation of groups living throughout the region.

Gamers will enjoy learning about the games California Indian kids in the Central Valley and Mountains Region played. Some, like tag and hide-and-seek, will be familiar; others, like the ring-and-dart game, come with a description detailed enough for modern kids to give it a try. Young artisans will want to try following the instructions for making clay pots in the ways of desert craftspeople. At the same time, aspiring chefs may want to follow the people from the Central Valley Region and try out their recipe for making acorn flour. All is possible right here.