Chumash people: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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The interior is composed of the land outside the coast and spanning the wide plains, rivers, and mountains. The coast covers the cliffs, land close to the ocean, and the areas of the ocean from which the Chumash harvested. The Northern Channel Islands lie off the coast of the Chumash territory. All of the California coastal-interior has a [[Mediterranean climate]] due to the incoming ocean winds.<ref>Timbrook 164.</ref> [[Image:Chumash langs.png|thumb|200px|Precontact distribution of the Chumash]]The mild temperatures, save for winter, made gathering easy; during the cold months, the Chumash harvested what they could and supplemented their diets with stored foods. What villagers gathered and traded during the seasons changed depending on where they resided.<ref>Gamble 228.</ref> With coasts populated by masses of species of fish and land densely covered by trees and animals, the Chumash had a diverse array of food.

Abundant resources and a winter rarely harsh enough to cause concern meant the tribe lived a sedentary lifestyle in addition to a subsistence existence. Villages in the three aforementioned areas contained remains of sea mammals, indicating that trade networks existed for moving materials throughout the Chumash territory.<ref>Coombs and Plog 313.</ref><ref>Fauvelle, Mikael. and Perry, Jennifer. (2023) Fisher-Hunter-Gatherer Complexity on California’s Islands: Feasting, Ceremonialism, and the Ritual Economy. In Archaeology of Fisher-Hunter-Gatherer Complexity in North America. Christina Perry Sampson, ed. Pp. 194-224. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.</ref> The Chumash were connected to extensive trade networks reaching into modern day Arizona, from which pottery and textiles were traded in exchange for shell beads.<ref>Smith, Erin M., and Fauvelle, Mikael (2015) Regional Interactions between California and the Southwest: The Western Edge of the North American Continental System. American Anthropologist 17(4):710-721 https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.12346</ref> The emergence of this trade network within the Chumash territory was facilitated by the existence of three distinct Chumash ecological groups including the island, coastal, and mainland Chumash. Access to distinct resources for these different groups made inter-Chumash trade a large part of life. Villages along the mainland coast emerged as intermediaries between groups.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Perry |first=Jennifer |last2=Delaney-Rivera |first2=Colleen |date=2011-04 |title=Interactions and Interiors of the Coastal Chumash |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/cal.2011.3.1.103 |journal=California Archaeology |language=en |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=103–126 |doi=10.1179/cal.2011.3.1.103 |issn=1947-461X}}</ref>

The closer a village was to the ocean, the greater its reliance on maritime resources.<ref>Gamble 6.</ref><ref>Fauvelle, Mikael, and Somerville, Andrew D. (2021) Spatial and Temporal Variation in Fisher-Hunter-Gatherer Diets in Southern California: Bayesian Modeling Using New Baseline Stable Isotope Values. Quanternary International 601(2021):36-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2021.06.025</ref> Due to advanced canoe designs, coastal and island people could procure fish and aquatic mammals from farther out. Shellfish were a good source of nutrition: relatively easy to find and abundant. Many of the favored varieties grew in tidal zones.<ref>Gamble 26–28.</ref> Shellfish grew in abundance during winter to early spring; their proximity to shore made collection easier. Some of the consumed species included mussels, abalone, and a wide array of clams. [[Haliotis rufescens]] (red abalone) was harvested along the [[Central California]] coast in the pre-contact era.<ref>Hogan, C.M. [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18353 Los Osos Back Bay.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816234114/http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=18353 |date=2017-08-16 }} The Megalithic Portal, editor A. Burnham (2008).</ref> The Chumash and other [[California Indians]] also used red [[abalone]] shells to make a variety of fishhooks, beads, ornaments, and other artifacts.