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Abstract:
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Recent research has sought to reintegrate the once closely related fields of history and prehistory, highlighting the potential of each to contribute to the other. Studies in the Inyo-Mono region of eastern California have had similar goals, focusing on the native experience during the early historic period. This thesis explores dietary preferences among native populations during the early history of Owens Valley (1870-1920).
The data for this study derive from a number of unpublished archival sources, including store/family ledgers, newspapers, population records, and oral histories. Information from these documents revealed that Native Americans were highly selective consumers, and purchased only a limited suite of Euroamerican foods. These purchases largely conformed with predictions derived from the diet breadth model. Native American participation in the local agricultural economy was also apparent in these purchases, chronicling the growing acculturation of native peoples in the early historic era. |
