The Miwok tribe lived in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains and had two groups: the mountain tribe and the foothill tribe. They were skilled at basket weaving but not advanced in tool making. They wore buckskin clothing and did not use canoes.
The Miwok Indian tribe occupies an area of the United States on the west coast of California. The main area of the Miwok was on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The Miwok tribe were extremely isolated and rarely traveled outside their own villages. The Miwoks never knew the official names of the neighboring Indians and simply referred to them as people from the north, west and other directions.
The Miwok tribe generally falls into two categorical groups: the mountain tribe and the foothill tribe. The mountain tribe generally live in the Sierras to avoid the summer heat by fleeing high into the hills. Offerings from the mountains such as fruits, berries, and peaches kept the Miwok tribe fed and secure. The foothill tribe fed on the abundant offerings of the Yosemite and Sequoia groves.
The winter was particularly harsh in the Sierras. Each autumn, the mountain tribe abandoned the higher places and retreated first to the lower levels and finally to the foothills. Like the larger wild animals, the Miwoks found that life was much easier in the lower elevations. They gathered nuts and herbs to last the winter and concentrated on game that had been driven from the hills.
The Miwok tribe was not as advanced in tool making as many other tribes. They failed to use the stone and horns in the ways other tribes had learned to use them. The act of gathering firewood was hampered by not using bones and antlers as a wedge to bring down a tree. The Miwok tribe simply burned dead trees and broke the branches with large stones.
Even the Miwoks didn’t use the canoe. Tribe members who could not swim were ferried across open water on logs pushed by bathers. The Miwok tribe, however, were highly skilled at basket weaving. They used baskets to trap fish, sift flour and grind nuts. The art of weaving has been used to create baskets, cradles and food preparation tools.
Miwok men wore buckskin breechcloths worn around the waist or passed between the legs. In winter, men did as women did and draped a woven buckskin or rabbit skin around their shoulders. Buckskin moccasins were worn when needed. Hunters often made disguises out of deer skins and used them to hide when hunting deer.
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