Description
Panamint Indians were a Shoshonean division formerly occupying a considerable area in and around Panamint valley, south east California and extending south in scattered rancherias toward Mohave river. The people of the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe were formerly known as the Panamint Shoshone Indians of Death Valley. The Timbisha have lived in the Death Valley region of North America for over a thousand years. The band traditionally was very small in size, and linguists estimate that fewer than 200 individuals ever spoke Panamint Shoshone. Euro-Americans first made contact with the Timbisha Shoshone during the California Gold Rush of 1849, but whites quickly moved on to the gold fields, renaming the Shoshone homeland Death Valley.
Language
Panamint is a member of the Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family
Culture
The Panamint Shoshones were best known for their fine basket making skills. Baskets had many uses, such as for boiling water, trapping birds and carrying food. They knew where water sources could be found and where edible plants grew. They were familiar with the habits of bighorn sheep, rabbits, and other wildlife they hunted. The Timbishas' knowledge allowed them to live in an arid land that rarely saw visitors. Their simple Brush homes or dome-shaped Wikiups made perfect desert dwellings, allowing breezes to filter in through the arrow weed walls. There were plants, springs and many kinds of wildlife from bighorn sheep to rabbits and lizards. The People ranged over the land in a seasonal pattern to harvest the fruits, seeds, and plants.