Misplaced Pages

#94905

50-475: The Cáhita numbered approximately 40,000 in the 20th century. An early 17th-century Jesuit first recorded the term Cáhita , which referred to the Hiaki, Mayo, and Tehueco. Mid-19th-century Mexican scholars broaden the term Cáhita to refer to more region peoples. The Cahita were semi-nomadic, not having a fixed permanent settlement but moving throughout a region defended as their own. Despite common cultural elements,

100-604: A continental scale are also referred to as "worlds", "spheres", or "civilizations", such as the Islamic world . The term cultural bloc is used by anthropologists to describe culturally and linguistically similar groups (or nations) of Aboriginal peoples of Australia . It may have been coined first by Ronald Berndt in 1959 to describe the Western Desert cultural bloc , a group of peoples in central Australia whose languages comprise around 40 dialects. Other groups described as

150-653: A cultural bloc include the Noongar people of south-western Australia; the Bundjalung people of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland ; the Kuninjku / Bininj Kunwok bloc and the Yolngu cultural bloc in Arnhem Land , Northern Territory . A music area is a cultural area defined according to musical activity. It may or may not conflict with the cultural areas assigned to

200-403: A geographic region and time sequence ( age area ) is characterized by shared elements of environment and culture. A precursor to the concept of culture areas originated with museum curators and ethnologists during the late 1800s as means of arranging exhibits, combined with the work of taxonomy . The American anthropologists Clark Wissler and Alfred Kroeber further developed this version of

250-407: A geography with one relatively homogeneous human activity or complex of activities ( culture ). Such activities are often associated with an ethnolinguistic group and with the territory it inhabits. Specific cultures often do not limit their geographic coverage to the borders of a nation state , or to smaller subdivisions of a state. A culture area is a concept in cultural anthropology in which

300-414: A grievance. After triumph in a battle, they celebrated the victory by ritually consuming the body of an enemy; as such, they chose whoever had distinguished themselves in battle to do this. The Cahita people worshipped natural forces such as the wind, the water, the earth, the sun, and the sea, to whom they provided offerings to ask for good harvests, abundant fishing, or a fruitful harvest. They believed in

350-582: A stump to encourage the growth of slender shoots. These willow shoots were woven tightly to produce waterproof, cooking baskets. Fire-heated rocks were plunged into a gruel in the baskets to cook. The elevation in the Chihuahuan Desert varies from 1970 to 5500 feet, as there are several smaller mountain ranges contained in the area, namely the San Andres , Doña Anas , and Franklin Mountains . The Chihuahuan

400-414: A variety of purposes, with several morphemes strung together. The Cáhita population and language was drastically reduced by Spanish explorers during colonial times. Their economy was based on subsistence agriculture along banks of rivers. In order to cultivate crops they used a long planting stick or cane, more than a meter long, to create a small hole in order to plant seeds. As the river seasonally grew,

450-470: Is a cultural and ecological region spanning Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States , defined by the presence of the drought-resistant, culturally significant staple food , the tepary bean ( Phaseolus acutifolius ). Its dry, arid climate and geography stand in contrast to the verdant Mesoamerica of present-day central Mexico into Central America to the south and east, and

500-602: Is a " rain shadow " desert, formed between two mountain ranges (the Sierra Madre Occidental on the west and the Sierra Madre Oriental on the east) which block oceanic precipitation from reaching the area. The Chihuahuan Desert is considered the "most biologically diverse desert in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most diverse in the world", and includes more species of cacti than any other desert in

550-707: Is a significant part of a society's culture, but it can also divide subgroups of the same ethnolinguistic group along more subtle criteria, such as the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line in German-speaking Switzerland, the Weißwurstäquator in Germany, or the Grote rivieren boundary between Dutch and Flemish culture. In the history of Europe , the major cultural boundaries are traditionally found: Macro-cultures on

SECTION 10

#1732856012095

600-502: Is also a great diversity of bat species in the region. There is a large contingent of snakes native to the region. Among them include: the rosy boa ( Lichanura trivirgata ); several sub-species of the glossy snake ( Arizona elegans ); the Trans-Pecos ratsnake ( Bogertophis subocularis ); several sub-species of shovel-nosed snakes; several sub-species of kingsnake, including the desert kingsnake ( Lampropeltis getula splendida ) and

650-593: Is covered by the Mojave Desert . In terms of topography, the Mojave is very similar to the Great Basin Desert , which lies just to its north. The Mojave gets less than six inches of rain annually, and its elevation ranges from 3000 to 6000 feet above sea level. The most prolific vegetation is the tall Joshua tree , which grow as tall as 40 feet, and are thought to live almost 1000 years. Other major vegetation includes

700-506: Is now known as the " cultural turn ." The definition of culture areas is enjoying a resurgence of practical and theoretical interest as social scientists conduct more research on processes of cultural globalization. Allen Noble gave a summary of the concept development of cultural regions using terms such as: Cultural "spheres of influence" may also overlap or form concentric structures of macrocultures encompassing smaller local cultures. Different boundaries may also be drawn depending on

750-477: Is primarily associated with Carl O. Sauer and his colleagues. Sauer viewed culture as "an agent within a natural area that was a medium to be cultivated to produce the cultural landscape." Sauer's concept was later criticized as deterministic , and geographer Yi-Fu Tuan and others proposed versions that enabled scholars to account for phenomenological experience as well. This revision became known as humanistic geography. The period within which humanistic geography

800-766: Is the saguaro cactus , which is unique to the desert. It is bounded on the northwest by the Mojave Desert, to the north by the Colorado Plateau and to the east by the Arizona Mountains forests and the Chihuahuan Desert. Aside from the trademark saguaro, the desert has the most diverse plant life of any desert in the world, and includes many other species of cacti, including the organ-pipe, senita, prickly pear, barrel, fishhook, hedgehog, cholla, silver dollar, and jojoba. The most northwest portion of Aridoamerica

850-513: The Arizona mountain kingsnake ( Lampropeltis pyromelana ); the Arizona coral snake ( Micruroides euryxanthus ); the western diamondback rattlesnake ( Crotalus atrox ); the Trans-Pecos copperhead ( Agkistrodon contortrix pictigaster ); the Sonoran sidewinder ( Crotalus cerastes cercobombus ); the Arizona black rattlesnake ( Crotalus oreganus cerberus ); the western rattlesnake ( Crotalus viridis );

900-582: The Arizona night lizard ( Xantusia arizonae ). Turtles are less numerous than their other reptilian counterparts, but several are found in the region, including: the western painted turtle ( Chrysemys picta bellii ); the Rio Grande cooter ( Pseudemys gorzugi ); the desert box turtle ( Terrapene ornata luteola ); the Big Bend slider ( Trachemys gaigeae gaigeae ); the Sonora mud turtle ( Kinosternon sonoriense ); and

950-550: The Arizona tiger salamander ( Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum ) and the painted ensatina ( Ensatina eschscholtzii picta ). The current Mexican states that lie in Aridoamerica are: The northern parts of: The southern portions of the United States that lie within Aridoamerica are: Cultural region In anthropology and geography , a cultural area , cultural region , cultural sphere , or culture area refers to

1000-500: The Gambel's quail ( Callipepla gambelii ), common raven ( Corvus corax ), Gila woodpecker ( Melanerpes uropygialis ), gilded flicker ( Colaptes chrysoides ), cactus wren ( Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus ), rock wren ( Salpinctes obsoletus ), and many oriole ( Icterus ), thrasher ( Toxostoma ), gnatcatcher ( Polioptila ), dove ( Columbidae ), rail ( Rallidae ), and tyrant-flycatcher ( Tyrannidae ) species. Mammal species include

1050-550: The Grand Canyon rattlesnake ( Crotalus oreganus abyssus ), found only in Arizona; several sub-species of the ridge-nosed rattlesnake ( Crotalus willardi ), and the desert massasauga ( Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii ). Other reptiles in the region include lizards and turtles. Lizards are highly represented in the region, the most distinctive denizen being the Gila monster , native only to

SECTION 20

#1732856012095

1100-1009: The bobcat ( Lynx rufus ), coyote ( Canis latrans ), collared peccary ( Pecari tajacu ), black bear ( Ursus americanus ), black-tailed jackrabbit ( Lepus californicus ), desert cottontail ( Sylvilagus audubonii ), desert bighorn sheep ( Ovis canadensis nelsoni ), mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ), Coues' white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus couesi ), elk ( Cervus canadensis ), feral horse ( Equus caballus ), ringtail ( Bassariscus astutus ), gray fox ( Urocyon cinereoargenteus ), kit fox ( Vulpes macrotis ), mountain lion ( Puma concolor ), river otter ( Lontra canadensis ), long-tailed weasel ( Neogale frenata ), western spotted skunk ( Spilogale gracilis ), pronghorn antelope ( Antilocapra americana ), raccoon ( Procyon lotor ), numerous kangaroo rat ( Dipodomys ), woodrat ( Neotoma ), and pocket mouse ( Chaetodipus ) species, white-nosed coati ( Nasua narica ), jaguar ( Panthera onca ), and Mexican wolf ( Canis lupus baileyae ). There

1150-421: The desert iguana ( Dipsosaurus dorsalis ); the chuckwalla ( Sauromalus ater ); the greater earless lizard ( Cophosaurus texanus scitulus ); several sub-species of horned lizards ( Phrynosoma ); numerous species of spiny lizards ( Sceloporus ); Gilbert's skink ( Plestiodon gilberti ); the western skink ( Plestiodon skiltonianus ); Trans-Pecos striped whiptail ( Aspidoscelis inornata heptagrammus ); and

1200-562: The desert tortoise ( Gopherus agassizii ). Amphibians include numerous toads and frogs. Toads which can be found in the region include: the Great Plains toad ( Anaxyrus cognatus ); the green toad ( Anaxyrus debilis ); the Arizona toad ( Anaxyrus microscaphus ); the New Mexico spadefoot ( Spea multiplicata stagnalis ); and the Colorado River toad ( Incilius alvarius ), also known as

1250-697: The northern cardinal ( Cardinalis cardinalis ) and its close relative the pyrrhuloxia ( Cardinalis sinuous ); the blue grosbeak ( Passerina caerulea ) and black-headed grosbeak ( Pheucticus melanocephalus ); the varied bunting ( Passerina versicolor ), house finch ( Carpodacus mexicanus ), and lesser goldfinch ( Spinus psaltria ); the broad-billed hummingbird ( Cynanthus latirostris ), black-chinned hummingbird ( Archilochus alexandri ), Costa's hummingbird ( Calypte costae ), Anna's hummingbird ( Calypte anna ), Rivoli's hummingbird ( Eugenes fulgens ), blue-throated mountain-gem ( Lampornis clemenciae ), and lucifer hummingbird ( Calothorax lucifer ); and

1300-628: The roadrunner , the most famous bird in the region. Birds of prey include the red-tailed hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis ), Cooper's hawk ( Accipiter cooperii ), osprey ( Pandion haliaetus ), golden eagle ( Aquila chrysaetos ), Harris's hawk ( Parabuteo unicinctus ), common black hawk ( Buteogallus anthracinus ), zone-tailed hawk ( Buteo albonotatus ), bald eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ), Swainson's hawk ( Buteo swainsoni ), American kestrel ( Falco sparverius ), prairie falcon ( Falco mexicanus ), peregrine falcon ( Falco peregrinus ), gray hawk ( Buteo plagiatus ), barn owl ( Tyto alba ),

1350-439: The western screech owl ( Megascops kennicottii ), whiskered screech-owl ( Megascops trichopsis ), great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus ), long-eared owl ( Asio otus ), elf owl ( Micrathene whitneyi ), ferruginous pygmy-owl ( Glaucidium brasilianum ), and burrowing owl , ( Athene cunicularia ). among many others. Other bird species include the turkey vulture ( Cathartes aura ) and black vulture ( Coragyps atratus );

1400-572: The American Southwest and the state of Sonora in Mexico. Other lizards include: Sonoran collared lizard ( Crotaphytus nebrius ); several types of geckos, including western banded gecko ( Coleonyx variegatus ), the barefoot banded gecko ( Coleonyx switaki ), and the Mediterranean house gecko ( Hemidactylus turcicus ), the latter species being non-native to the region and confined to developed areas;

1450-600: The Cahita was their belligerence. This trait distinguishes them from the other groups in the region, such as the Tahues and the Totorames. Their main armaments were arrows, the bow, and the club. Arrows were made with a sharp point hardened by fire and coated in poison. It was customary to enter battle yelling, as well as painting their bodies and faces and wearing adornments of feathers. They used military tactics such as hidden traps placed in

1500-768: The Mayo River, one with a dialect on the Fuerto River, and another on the Yaqui River. Over the passage of time, these languages disappeared until the use of Cahita was universal between the Sinaloa and Yaqui Rivers. Their languages, the Yaqui and Mayo languages, form the Cáhitan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family . They are agglutinative languages, where words use suffix complexes for

1550-602: The Nahuas, were able to exert their influence through contact with groups and tribes in the region. According to the testimony of missionaries, evangelizing in the province of Sinaloa, between the Mocorito River and the Yaqui River existed a large number of different languages. However, the primary language spoken was Cahita. In 1593, there were three languages on the Mocorito River, six on the Sinaloa River, one with two dialects on

Cáhita - Misplaced Pages Continue

1600-533: The Parry saltbush and the Mojave sage, both only found in the Mojave, as well as the creosote bush. The region has an extremely diverse bird population, with hundreds of species being found in Aridoamerica. In the Chiricahua Mountains alone, in southeastern Arizona, there can be found more than 400 species. Species include Canada ( Branta canadensis ) and snow geese , sandhill cranes ( Grus canadensis ), and

1650-475: The Sonoran Desert toad. Frog representation includes: western barking frog ( Craugastor augusti ); the canyon tree frog ( Hyla arenicolor ); the Arizona treefrog ( Hyla wrightorum ); the western chorus frog ( Pseudacris triseriata ); Chiricahua leopard frog ( Lithobates chiricahuensis ); and the relict leopard frog ( Lithobates onca ). There are quite a few salamanders throughout the region, including:

1700-631: The Spanish divided them into subgroups based on their spoken language and area inhabited. The language belonged to the Uto-Aztec family, but the variety in dialects allowed the Jesuits to distinguish nations, designating indigenous groups by language. The Jesuits identified five main nations within the Cahitas, considered the most important due to the large number of families forming them: Sinaloa, Ocoroni, Zuaque, Mayo and

1750-658: The Yaqui. The first three had their territories in the valleys of the Sinaloa and Fuerte Rivers; The Mayo and the Yaqui occupied territory in the valleys of the rivers that today bear their names; the Yaqui and Mayo, whose channels span across the state of Sonora. Some of the Cahita people that existed in the state of Sinaloa were the Sinaloas, Ahomes, Ocoronis, Bacoregüis, Comoporis, Basopas, Níos, Comanitos, Bacubiritos, Terabuitos, Batacaris (or Batucaris), Tehuecos, Zuaques, Zoes (or Tzoes), Huites, Yecoratos and Oguiras. The Cahita are part of

1800-497: The civilizations to the south." The Chichimeca , an umbrella term for several tribes used by the Nahua people , were hunter-gatherers in Aridoamerica grasslands. They gathered magueys , yucca flowers , mesquite beans, chia seeds , and cacti , including the paddles of fruits of nopal cactus. The century plant ( Agave americana ) is a particularly important resource in the region. Despite dry conditions, Aridoamerica boasts

1850-471: The concept on the premise that cultural areas represent longstanding cultural divisions. This iteration of the concept is sometimes criticized as arbitrary, but the organization of human communities into cultural areas remains a common practice throughout the social sciences . Cultural geography also utilizes the concept of culture areas. Cultural geography originated within the Berkeley School, and

1900-777: The cultural and geographical area of Aridoamerica . They share some similarities with Mesoamerican peoples. They have long been an agrarian and grow corn, beans, squash, and chili. Their historical territory extended from the Mocorito River in the south to the Yaqui River in the north, the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountain range to the east and the Pacific coast in the west. They were demographically distributed between five rivers: Mocorito, Sinaloa, Fuerte, Mayo and Yaqui, but did not establish strong ties with each other. Each community lived freely, forming their regions through natural movement. A large and developed population, such as

1950-426: The distinction between Aridoamerica and Mesoamerica is "useful for understanding the general history of precolonial Mexico," that the boundary between the two should not be conceptualized as "a barrier that separated two radically different worlds, but, rather, as a variable limit between climatic regions." The inhabitants of Aridoamerica lived on "an unstable and fluctuating frontier" and were in "constant relations with

2000-434: The existence of something superior to all the forces, who was responsible for all of creation. Their ceremonies were simple and without ritual. Special attention was paid to healers, who administered medicine to the sick and had special knowledge of herbal medicine. Their therapeutic practices were heavily religious, leading to the Jesuits referring to healers as 'sorcerers' and political leaders due to their high prestige within

2050-602: The greatest diversity of wild and domesticated tepary beans ( Phaseolus acutifolius ) and is a possible site of their domestication. Maize cultivation reached Aridoamerica by about 2100 BCE. Archaeologists disagree whether the plant was introduced by Uto-Aztecan migrants from Mesoamerica or spread either northward or southward from other groups by cultural borrowing. In Baja California , fishing and hunting provided food, as did harvesting acorns, nopal, pine nuts , and other native plants. Historically, people of Aridoamerica coppiced willows, that is, tree trunks were cut to

Cáhita - Misplaced Pages Continue

2100-479: The group. They lived in houses made of sticks, mud, and palm, similar to that of the Tahues, built away from the rising river and close to fields. The practical nature of their houses allowed them to move easily when circumstances required, as they had limited belongings and huts could be easily rebuilt after moving. They were potters, manufacturing objects out of ceramic for daily and religious use. They created things for other uses such as whistles, and left space in

2150-414: The higher, milder "island" of Oasisamerica to the north. Aridoamerica overlaps with both. Because of the relatively hard conditions, the pre-Columbian people in this region developed distinct cultures and subsistence farming patterns. The region has only 120 mm (4.7 in) to 160 mm (6.3 in) of annual precipitation. The sparse rainfall feeds seasonal creeks and waterholes. The term

2200-601: The lands flooded, and the indigenous people would wait for the plants to grow and fruit to ripen in order to harvest them. They enjoyed around two harvests a year, corresponding with the twice annual flooding of the rivers. They planted corn, pumpkin, chili, and beans. They did not tend to store their harvest, and so if any produce was lost, they had to resort to hunting and gathering to sustain themselves. Their nomadic lifestyle and constant moving along rivers are explained by their agricultural economy, necessitating them to search for riverbanks favorable for planting, then move on once

2250-550: The legs of their pots to insert small balls that made sound when shook. They practiced spinning and weaving cotton, which was a wild and abundant plant in the region. They wore woven blankets as clothing, although among men it was more common to go nude. Women tended to wear skirts made of cotton or suede. The Cahita enjoyed ball games requiring strength and skill, which were common across Mesoamerica. They also played games of chance, betting belongings such as blankets, shell adornments, and skins. Aridoamerica Aridoamerica

2300-411: The particular aspect of interest, such as religion and folklore vs dress, or architecture vs language. Another version of cultural area typology divides cultural areas into three forms: A cultural boundary (also cultural border) in ethnology is a geographical boundary between two identifiable ethnic or ethnolinguistic cultures. A language border is necessarily also a cultural border, as language

2350-407: The paths of enemies, and often used surprise raids at dawn. Entering into battle was a decision made by adult males. Because of this, they gathered the population and consulted the elders and experienced warriors. They smoked tobacco, danced, drank spirits, and listened to arguments for and against war. The main purpose of engaging in war was to regain territory occupied by other tribes, or to redress

2400-432: The resources of an area were exhausted. The Cahita were a kinship-based society, organized together in groups of families. They had a basic social organization, and did not recognize any individual authority beside a military leader in times of war. The majority of the indigenous people were monogamous, although polygamy was allowed and divorce was socially acceptable and occurred frequently. A very marked cultural trait of

2450-543: The world. The most prolific plants in this region are agave, yucca, and creosote bushes, in addition to the ubiquitous presence of various cacti species. When people think of the desert southwest, the landscape of the Sonoran Desert is what mostly comes to mind. The Sonoran Desert makes up the southwestern portion of the Southwest. Rainfall averages between 4–12 inches per year, and the desert's most widely known inhabitant

2500-518: Was introduced by American anthropologist Gary Paul Nabhan in 1985, building on prior work by anthropologists A. L. Kroeber and Paul Kirchhoff to identify a "true cultural entity" for the desert region. Kirchhoff first introduced the term 'Arid America' in 1954, and wrote: "I propose for that of the gatherers the name 'Arid America' and 'Arid American Culture,' and for that of the farmers 'Oasis America' and 'American Oasis Culture'". Mexican anthropologist Guillermo Bonfil Batalla notes that although

#94905