Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History
When European explorers first arrived in the 16th century, more than 100,000
Native Americans called this land home. Spanish conquistadors and priests
marched through in search of a fabled 'city of gold' before establishing Cath-
olic missions and presidios (military forts). After winning independence from
Spain, Mexico briefly ruled California, but then got trounced by the fledgling
USA just before gold was discovered here in 1848. Immigrant waves of star-
struck California dreamers have washed up on these Pacific shores ever
since.
Native Californians
Immigration is hardly a new phenomenon here, since people have been migrating to Cali-
fornia for millennia. Archaeological sites have yielded evidence - from large middens of
seashells along the beaches to campfire sites on the Channel Islands - of humans making
their homes in California as early as 13,000 years ago.
Speaking some 100 distinct languages, Native Californians mostly lived in small com-
munities and a few migrated with the seasons. Their diet was largely dependent on acorn
meal, supplemented by small game such as rabbits and deer, and fish and shellfish. They
were skilled craftspeople, making earthenware pots, fishing nets, bows, arrows and spears
with chipped stone points. Many tribes developed a knack for weaving baskets made from
local grasses and plant fibers, decorating them with geometric designs - some baskets were
so tightly woven that they could even hold water.
Northern coastal fishing communities such as the Ohlone, Miwok and Pomo built subter-
ranean roundhouses and sweat lodges, where they held ceremonies, told stories and
gambled for fun. Northern hunting communities including the Hupa, Karok and Wiyot con-
structed big houses and redwood dugout canoes, while the Modoc lived in summer tipis and
winter dugouts; all chased salmon during seasonal runs. Kumeyaay and Chumash villages
dotted the central coast, where tribespeople fished and paddled canoes, including out to the
Channel Islands. Southern Mojave, Yuma and Cahuilla tribes made sophisticated pottery
and developed irrigation systems for farming in the desert.
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