At the time of initial European contact (ca. 1542 – by a Portuguese navigator in the Spanish service, J.R. Cabrillo), at least 300,000 native people were living in California, and perhaps as many as 700,000 or more.
An enormous diversity of languages @ 100, flourished there and at least sixty different cultures are recognized by anthropologists.  Distinct characteristics of the (at least 60) cultures in California include: a) fishers, hunters, and gathers of acorns, which they grounded into meal; b) dense and sedentary populations; and c) use of shell beads as money.
The earliest people of California were Paleo-Indians (Clovis people) who arrived during the latter part of the Pleistocene Ice Age (12,000 and 10,000 years ago).