Editing Sacramento River (section)

===Native Americans===
The Sacramento River and its valley were one of the major Native American population centers of California. The river's abundant flow and the valley's fertile soil and mild climate provided enough resources for hundreds of groups to share the land. Most of the villages were small. Although it was once commonly believed that the original natives lived as [[tribe]]s, they actually lived as [[Band society|bands]], family groups as small as twenty to thirty people.<ref>{{cite web
 |last        = Beck
 |first       = Steve
 |url         = http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/485/files/sutter%20and%20the%20native%20peoples.pdf
 |title       = John Sutter and Indigenous Peoples of the Lower Sacramento Valley
 |publisher   = California State Parks
 |work        = Sacramento Historic Sites Association
 |access-date  = August 8, 2010
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110224082200/http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/485/files/sutter%20and%20the%20native%20peoples.pdf
 |archive-date = February 24, 2011
}}</ref> The Sacramento Valley was first settled by humans about 12,000 years ago, but permanent villages were not established until about 8,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.sacramentohistory.org/resources_essay.html
 |title        = Sacramento Valley Transportation
 |publisher    = Sacramento History Online
 |access-date  = August 8, 2010
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100929171852/http://sacramentohistory.org/resources_essay.html
 |archive-date = September 29, 2010
}}</ref> Historians have organized the numerous separate original native groups into several "tribes". These are known as the [[Shasta (tribe)|Shasta]], [[Modoc people|Modoc]], and [[Achomawi]]/Pit River Tribes of the volcanic plateaus in the north; the [[Wintu]] and [[Hupa]] in the northern Klamath and Trinity mountains; the [[Nomlaki]], [[Yuki tribe|Yuki]], [[Patwin]], and [[Pomo]] of the Coast Ranges; the [[Yana people|Yana]], [[Atsugewi]], [[Maidu]], [[Konkow]], and [[Nisenan]] in the Sierra and their western foothills; and the [[Miwok]] in the south.<ref>{{cite web
 |url        = http://www.sanmanuel-nsn.gov/images/sm_CA-NA-map-big.gif
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060427064000/http://www.sanmanuel-nsn.gov/images/sm_CA-NA-map-big.gif
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-date = April 27, 2006
 |title      = California Native Americans Map
 |publisher  = San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
 |access-date = August 8, 2010
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www4.hmc.edu:8001/humanities/indian/california/tribemap.gif
 |title       = California Indian Tribal Groups
 |publisher   = California Indian Library Collections
 |access-date  = August 8, 2010
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100710163720/http://www4.hmc.edu:8001/humanities/indian/california/tribemap.gif
 |archive-date = July 10, 2010
}}</ref>

Most of the Sacramento Valley's native peoples relied on hunting, gathering and fishing, although agriculture was practiced in a few areas. Settlement size ranged from small camps to villages of 30–50 permanent structures.<ref name="NPSSF">{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/5views/5views1h90.htm
 |title       = Sutter's Fort
 |publisher   = National Park Service
 |work        = A History of American Indians in California
 |date        = November 17, 2004
 |access-date  = August 25, 2010
 |url-status     = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090213203606/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/5views/5views1h90.htm
 |archive-date = February 13, 2009
}}</ref> [[Acorn]]s were a [[staple food]], and the Sacramento Valley's riparian zones, which supported seven species of native oaks, provided these in abundance. Native Americans pounded the acorns into flour, which they used to make bread and cakes. Abundant salmon and steelhead runs in the Sacramento River and its tributaries were harvested using fishing weirs, platforms, baskets and nets. The river also provided shellfish, sturgeon, eel and suckerfish
They also hunted waterfowl, antelope and deer which all existed in huge numbers in the rich valley bottom and marsh lands.<ref name="Bakken"/>{{rp|119}} Before European contact, the indigenous population of the Sacramento Valley has been estimated at 76,000 people.<ref name="Bakken">{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Immigration and Migration in the American West|author=Bakken, Gordon Morris and Kindell, Alexandra|publisher=SAGE|volume=1|year=2006|isbn=1-41290-550-8}}</ref>{{rp|119}}