Which goods did Indigenous California traders obtain from inland regions and distant places?

Indigenous California traders engaged in extensive exchange networks, utilizing both reciprocal kin-based exchanges and large, ritualized trading fairs to distribute goods.1

When trading with inland regions, coastal peoples typically exchanged valued shells for products such as obsidian—a volcanic glass highly prized for the manufacture of sharp tools. Other common items obtained through these trade networks included:1

• Medicines: Various medicinal plants and substances.1
• Manufactured goods: Items such as finely crafted baskets.12
• Distant goods: Professional traders traveled long distances, bringing items from as far away as present-day Arizona and New Mexico into California.1

These exchange systems functioned as a vital redistribution and banking mechanism, allowing groups to trade surplus food for durable goods that could be stored and later used to acquire fresh resources.1