Settlement Pattern
Like the O'odham and the Yaqui, in pre-contact times the River Yumans had a rancheria settlement pattern. Houses of a single settlement might be spread out from one another by distances of as great as 1-2 miles, with the next nearest settlement some 4-5 miles away. Houses, which were placed on low rises above the floodplain, were low, rectangular structures constructed by covering an arroweed frame with a thick layer of sand and earth. Because of the heat, however, for most of the year the people slept under a ramada with their food stored in large baskets on its roof.
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River Yuman Indian House, 1900. Source - http://sirismm.si.edu/naa/baegn/gn_02833a.jpg |
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