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What did the Chumash harvest?
At this Chumash plant nursery in Santa Ynez, native seeds are bringing tribal culture back to life. Gray pines, which are harvested for their pine nuts, were once a major food source for many native people, including the Chumash. Photo by Kathryn Barnes/KCRW.
What was one of the Chumash customs?
Two important traditions among the Chumash were basket weaving and rock art. The Chumash made some of the most complex baskets in North America. Their baskets can be found in museums all over the world.
How did the Chumash use their resources?
The Chumash made great use of the abundant natural resources at their disposal. Their diet was rich in acorn meal, fish and shellfish, elderberry, bulbs, roots, and mustard greens. Their domed homes, called aps, were made with willow poles and tule rush. Willow bark was used as a medication, much like aspirin.
Who did the Chumash trade with?
Long tube-shaped beads, as much as 3½ inches long and made from other shells, were also valued. With the Yokuts to the northeast, the Chumash traded shells and other seashore items for obsidian, salt, antelope and elk skins, and herbs. They also traded with the Salinan to the north and the Kitanemuk to the east.
How did the Chumash prepare their food?
The Chumash were a sedentary people, but they did not cultivate the land. The Chumash roasted the fish over open fires and made soups with the shellfish they gathered from the sea.
What materials did the Chumash use?
The Chumash were skilled artisans: they made a variety of tools out of wood, whalebone, and other materials, fashioned vessels of soapstone, and produced some of the most complex basketry in native North America.
What did the Chumash use as tools?
TOOLS (Hunting/Fishing) The Chumash used the bow and arrow beginning about 1,500 years ago. Before that, they used the spear thrower. They also used a harpoon with a detachable foreshaft for spearing large fish. They made curved, circular fishhooks from abalone and mussel shells for catching smaller fish.
Where are Chumash people now?
The Chumash are a Native American people of the central and southern coastal regions of California, in portions of what is now San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties, extending from Morro Bay in the north to Malibu in the south.