Collection: Directories and Documents > Tanis Thorne Native Californian & Nisenan Collection

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Title: Some Explanations for the Rise of Cultural Complexity Collection Type: Directories and Documents Collection Name: Tanis Thorne Native Californian & Nisenan Collection # of Pages: 15 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

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34 ditches constructed by the Owens Valley Paiutes to irrigate natural plots 3 Sra a caied of these arguments for aboriginal agriculture fe California was presented by David Prescott Barrows (1900), who was the first anthropologist to work with the Cahuilla. Unfortunately, meg a fully accepted his own premise that agriculture ee : failed to solicit data on the question at a time when it might ave been solved ethnographically. Barrows (1900:71) summarized his position as follows: It is easier to imagine that knowledge of agriculture with seed of corn, squash, and bean came to them (the Cahuilla) long ago across the desert, than that they learned of these things only in this century. Gifford (1931) reported that the Kamia of the New pee Jacumba areas were planters, but Castetter and Bell (1951:36) foun * a data inconclusive, since it covered only the historic period. Treganza on ) argued the feasibility of agriculture among the Kamia and nae st Diegueiio, although he noted his archaeological evidence ae ase or caches of crop seeds from the Jacu area stored in the historic ‘ , Bean and Mason (1962:36, 104) urged consideration of pre-con = agriculture among the Cahuilla, observing the Romero i: aa fe) 1823-24 found Indians planting crops near present-day Thermal. beac Forbes (1963) presented an area-by-area sequence of ae data relating to agriculture among Indians west and northwest = Colorado River. The data presented on native agriculture, even or i Cahuilla, were only semi-persuasive in arguing a case for aborigina agriculture in California. Forbes, however, did present highly ee data for pre-contact agriculture in northern Baja. His work had the virtue > ‘The possibility that the Owens Valley irrigation ditches were aboriginal, as pi (1929) originally believed, was subsequently weakened with the discovery that — nae could have learned ditch irrigation from Anglo settlers moving ape “ = pea ; Guinn endi Recently, however, the authors have found a new source ( Ps seewaiils initial opinion that the ditches were aboriginal. As early as 1859, an expedition a ie : a natnnsiie igtlone under Lt. Col. Edward F. Beale. Sch a A emo in length, being used by Owens Valley Paiute to i d tuberous roots (Guinn 1917). Proto-agriculture in Owens Valley thus deserves renewed investigation. [Eds. note: See Lawton et al. elsewhere in this volume.] 35 of being a pioneer study suggestive of the merits of applying an ecthnohistorical approach to the problem. Lawton (1968)* surveyed myths of both missionized and nonmissionized California Indian groups for agricultural motifs or elements (such as mention of crop plants). He found no crop plants mentioned in more than 200 myths of missionized coastal groups and some of the nonmissionized northern California groups. Agricultural motifs or elements _ were present in the myths of the non-missionized Cahuilla, Kamia, and Southern Dieguefio. All three groups also had corn or crop origin myths. Lawton also noted that native words for corn, beans, and watermelon were present among the Cahuilla. Although the same held true for the Southern Dieguefio and Kamia, their languages are Yuman and therefore crop words are Yuman-derived. Crop words among coastal missionized groups were all of Spanish derivation in word lists from the historic period.’ Lawton and Bean (1968) reported the presence of proto-agricultural techniques among the Cahuilla and argued the agricultural technology of the Cahuilla in the early post-contact period conformed more closely to that of the native Colorado River Agricultural Complex than to that of the Spanish missions. They suggested agriculture diffused in the pre-hispanic period to a number of Indian groups in desert areas west of the Colorado River, forming what they termed the Western Frontier Agricultural Complex. In subsequent unpublished . research, they have concluded this Bitiplex was mostly confined to certain ecological niches of the Colorado Desert capable of supporting agriculture, both in northern Baja California and California. Among groups they believe engaged in limited agriculture, mostly of the "kitchen garden" type, are the Cahuilla, Kamia, Southern Dieguefio, Chemehuevi, certain Paiute groups, and possibly the Serrano, Paipai, and Kiliwa. (Note: many researchers now prefer the native word Kumeyaay for all Dieguejio.) Shipek (1971) presented ethnographic data on wild plant cultivation and environmental manipulation among the Dieguefio and Luisefio and * Eds. note: See also Lawton 1974. * Corn may have occasionally reached the coast through trade in the pre-contact period. The Cabrillo log reported the Chumash as being familiar with maize in 1542, which they said was grown three days journey into the interior (Bolton 1967:26). The word Oep was recorded as the Chumash word for maize, but it appears in no subsequent vocabulary lists.