FOUR DIRECTIONS INSTITUTE

	x
*Shared Elements*
*Economy*	The macro-culture shared a capitalist economy with wealth driving virtually all activities. Dentalium shells were used for money. Blood money was recognized as well as debt slavery.
*Government*	None.
*Shamanism*	Female shamans only, received payment for services and were typically wealthy.
*Housing*	Redwood plank cabins with an interior pit and a small hole entry to keep bears out.
*Marriage*	Bride purchase and half marriage (men who could not afford the bride price worked as a slave for one year for the bride's family).
*Dances*	White Deer Dance, Jump Dance, Brush Dance
*Creation Story Motif*	Man Across the Water
*Basketry*	Twining only
*Primary Food*	Salmon and acorns
Taboos	Twins. Smothered one of twins upon birth.

The Northwest California macro-culture featured many traits of the greater Northwest cultures. The greater Northwest cultures undertook a metamorphosis in the mid-eighteenth century as a result pf Polynesian influences. These changes manifested themselves particularly in art, both manual and performance. Nonetheless, their overwhelmingly dentalium driven capitalistic economy and society was a feature that the Northwest California macro-culture shared with the other greater Northwest cultures.

The Northwest California macro-culture was, on the average, a rich one in comparison to all other California macro-cultures. Life was relatively easy along the salmon rich rivers and in the acorn and game rich forests for all but a few relatively small ethnies. This afforded opportunities for the pursuing of arts and the participation in ceremonies.

Inter-culture contact within the Northwest California macro-culture, however, must have been minimal as compared to the other California macro-cultures as demonstrated by its great number of separate languages each with a relatively few speakers. This large number of languages surely developed subsequent to the arrival of most of the various ethnies barely more than a millennium ago. Heavy inter-ethnie contact would have mitigated such linguistic diversity.

Ethnies	Chilula, Chimariko, Eel River Tribes, Hupa, Karuk, Lassik, Nongatl, Shasta, Tolowa, Whilcut, Wiyot, Yurok, some southwestern Oregon ethnies
*Transition Ethnies*	Achomawi, Atsugewi
*Hub Ethnie*	Yurok