California Athabascan Groups

"California Athabascan Groups" by Martin A. Baumhoff is a mid-20th-century scientific study that explores the cultures of several Athabascan tribes in Northwestern California. The book is part of the Anthropological Records series from the University of California that presents ethnographic information about the tribes, focusing on where they were located, their villages, and how many people were in each group. It uses a lot of information collected by C. Hart Merriam, who was an important person studying California Indian tribes. The book starts by explaining how Merriam's notes were used and discusses the work of earlier researchers, like Pliny Earle Goddard, and the problems they faced because there wasn't much information available about these tribes at the time; it sets the stage for a detailed look at individual tribes and their unique cultures.