Money and Trade

Yokuts traded with other tribes as far west as the Pacific Ocean and with the larger tribes east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

They used special stone beads as well as abalone and Pismo clam shells as money when they traded with other Indian tribes. Deer skins, antelope skins, salt from native salt grass and baskets were also important trade items. The Yokuts traded these items for abalone shells, clam shells, soapstone, and cowrie shells. They also traded for obsidian to make arrow heads from Indians on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

–Adapted from research by Mary Ann Brensel