The Potential Influence of Fish and Obsidian Resources on Shasta Cultural Complexity

Summary

The geology of Shasta Valley, California provides an extremely rich food resource for fish and shellfish, which produces abundant fish resources in the Shasta River and its tributaries, well documented by fishery biologists and historical records. The geographical location of the valley and the Upper Klamath River allows relatively easy access to high quality obsidian sources to the east, providing a valuable item for trade to the west. Consideration of the geology and geography allows for a better understanding of pre-contact Shasta villages within the valley along the Shasta River and its tributaries and along the Upper Klamath River, including their size and evidence of cultural complexity, revealed by archaeological investigations completed within the past 55 years.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage