Shoshone
Shoshone groups were found throughout the Great Basin area. They were located in modern-day Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and California. The material technology of the Shoshone was subsistence oriented and simple. Basketry implements involving seed collection, winnowing, parching, and boiling were developed, as well as metates for grinding. Like their technology, Shoshone life was mainly about survival in the harsh environments in which they resided. The major food sources utilized by the Shoshone were pinyon nuts, seeds, roots, and small game. Large game was occasionally hunted, such as antelope and big horn sheep, however these resources were scarce throughout the majority of the Shoshone territory.
The fall in the Great Basin was a time of relative abundance (the pinyon nut harvest and communal hunts), therefore the social interaction could reach beyond the family level. One such communal hunt that brought larger groups together was the annual rabbit drive. However, due to environmental factors, Shoshonean society was limited to family level integration.
Shoshone society lacked internal political control, had flux in populations, and a lack of land ownership as well. The horse allowed for larger and more successful hunting territories, which in turn led to larger and more frequent aggregations of people. The further enhancement of war-like tendencies among the Shoshone was a negative impact brought about by the inception of horses from contact with Euro-American settlers (Steward, 1939a), (Steward, 1939b), (Steward, 1937).
Photos: A typical Shoshone camp encountered by post European encroachment (Left). Typical conditions encountered in the harsh environment of the Great Basin (Right).
Back to Great Basin Indians page.
References Cited
Steward, Julian H.
1939a Changes in Shoshonean Indian Culture. The Scientific Monthly 49(6):524-537.
Steward, Julian H.
1939b Some Observations on Shoshonean Distributions. American Anthropologist 41(2):261-265.
Steward, Julian H.
1937 Linguistic Distributions and Political Groups of the Great Basin Shoshoneans. American Anthropologist 39(4, Part 1):625-634.
