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3 <br /> Insights into the human occupation of the Central Valley are <br /> provided by Baumhoff (1963 , 1978) , Beals and Hester (1960) , Beck <br /> and Haase (1974) , Cook (1955, 1960) , Cutter (1950) , Hohenthal et <br /> al. (1972) , Kroeber (1925) , Rodman (1963) , Roske (1.968) , and <br /> Thompson (1957) . <br /> The Central Valley is drained by numerous watercourses; <br /> however, with the exception of the San Joaquin River and its <br /> major tributaries, many streams are only seasonally active <br /> (Hohenthal et al. 1972) . During prehistoric times these <br /> { streams, vernal pools, and scattered springs provided sufficient <br /> water to sustain a very large Native American population (Kroeber <br />' 1925) and a vast and diverse array of wildlife (Barbour and Major <br /> 1977) . On occasion, quantities of water emptied into the Central <br /> Valley, due to annual melt of the Sierra Nevada snowpack (State <br /> of California, Department of Water Resources 1959; Storer and <br /> -x Usinger 1963 ; Thompson 1982) . Because of potential unpredictable <br /> fflooding, many Native American villages were located on high <br /> ground. Streams played 'a prominent role in shaping local <br /> prehistoric and historic settlement patterns (Beck and Haase <br /> 1974; Hohenthal et al. 1972) (see Cultural Setting, this report) ., <br /> During prehistoric times much of the Central Valley was <br /> covered with native grass. Dense riparian flora flourished along <br /> major rivers, and parts of the east side of the valley supported <br /> an oak/savanna parkland (Holland 1986) . The vegetation aspect of <br /> the Central Valley has been altered drastically since the 1850s, <br /> much of the native vegetation being replaced by cultivated crops. <br /> Remnants of the once widespread savanna-oak parkland survive in <br /> protected areas, such as Micke Grove and Caswell . State Park near . <br /> Stockton (Hillman and Covello 1985) . <br /> Prior to the onset of extensive cultivation, most of the <br /> valley lowlands were covered with mixed perennial bunchgrass, <br /> dominated by purple needlegrass (Stipa pulchra) . Pre-agricultural <br /> vegetation patterns in the Central Valley are discussed by Bakker <br /> (1971) , Barbour and Major (1977) , Burcham (1957) , Dasmann (1966) , <br /> Heady (1977) , Kuchler (1977) , Mason (1957) , and Munz and Keck <br /> (1959) . <br /> Wildlife typical of the Central Valley ecosystem include <br /> ' Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) , <br /> tule elk (Cereus canadensis nannodes) , and the pronghorn <br /> (Antilocapra americana) . These animals and various species of <br /> bear (Ursus sp. ) were exceedingly numerous in the Central Valley <br /> (Gilbert 1879) . Rabbits, ground squirrels and porcupines, <br /> k locally -abundant, were important food sources for the Native <br /> f Americans living in the valley. The subsistence economies of <br />