The relative scarcity of water and the dispersed nature of food resources in the Great Basin forced its inhabitants into a highly mobile existence. Archaeological sites in the region from the late fifteenth century, such as those in the Humboldt Sink, demonstrate that native peoples relied on seasonal migrations to exploit patchily distributed resources like pine nuts, roots, waterfowl, and small game. Rather than forming permanent settlements, these groups organized themselves into small, flexible family bands that could easily adapt to environmental fluctuations.
Based on the historical context of pre-Columbian North America, the environmental adaptations of the societies described in the excerpt most directly contrast with those of indigenous societies in which of the following regions?
- AThe Great Plains, where pre-contact societies developed highly specialized, horse-based pastoral economies to hunt migratory bison herds.
- The Mississippi River Valley, where rich soil and river systems supported the development of large, sedentary agricultural communities and complex social hierarchies.Answer
- CThe Northeast, where tribes established massive urban mound-building complexes similar to those of the Mississippian cultures due to widespread cultural and trade uniformity.
- DThe Southwest, where Spanish colonizers successfully integrated local populations into the encomienda system to establish large wheat-farming haciendas.