Lake Mead National Recreation Area: An Ethnographic Overview

This ethnographic overview of Lake Mead National Recreation Area,
which will serve as companion to a forthcoming archeological overview
of the area, provides an ethnographic context for future archeological
research and for current interpretation.
The Recreation Area, which includes land in both Nevada and Arizona,
overlaps early Native American ethnic boundaries, as well as modern
state borders. Groups whose territories touched upon or fell within
current park boundaries include the Mojave, the Chemehuevi, the Southern
Paiute and the Hualapai. Each of these groups is first examined individually, in terms of territory occupied, environment exploited, subsistence practices and social organization; extensive lists of crops
cultivated, wild plants collected and animals hunted for food and other
uses are presented, as are several illustrations of tools, shelters and
containers made and used by the various groups. The author then
summarizes ways in which these groups interacted, citing instances of
trade, warfare and other intergroup contact. The author finds that
although each ethnic group had its own way of coping with and exploiting
its environment, these groups did not exist in isolation; trade among
them, for example, flowed primarily along an east-west axis (e.g.,
between the Mojave and the Hualapai), while relations among north-south
neighbors (such as the Hualapai and the Southern Paiute) tended to be
less friendly.