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Chumash Inter-Village Economic Exchange (16 pages)
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Page: of 16
290 NATIVE CALIFORNIAN: :
more differences between the resource bases of adjoining groups,
the greater the intensity of interaction. This first form of variability
is requisite to all highly developed market economies. ;
The second form of variability results from the reliability of
resources within each territory, and the number of kinds of
resources being relied upon at any one time. Inter-group interaction
increases (1) in relation to population pressure on the availableresources; and (2) according to the degree of resource reliability,
increasing when the resource base is less reliable, or relatively
unpredictable. Inter-group interaction decreases when resources _
are more reliable. Averaging the effects of resource fluctuation
charactertizes all economic systems to some degree. :
Given the relationships between population size, resource
variability, and inter-group interaction, it is possible to hypothesize —
that economic behavior varies between populations as a result of
the efficient adaptation of each population to its Particular ©
environmental arrangement
different populations interact,
are therefore determined by
environment of each group,
a
and the ways in which this occurs,
differences and similarities in the F
and the extent to which population F
growth has resulted in the necessity for increased interaction, #
Inter-group interaction results in harvesting more than the a
members of the local group can consume, the production of — q
exchange goods, and the transportation and marketing of
materials. All these activities require an increase in energy §
expenditure. Therefore the intensity of interaction is not normally j
greater than is necessary for group maintenance. Of considerable . j
interest in this discussion is the fact that the village populations in
the Chumash area spoke several related dialects. In 1769, the year .
of the first European settlement of California, the population ©
physical context of inter-village exchange.
The Inland area is characterized by a mountainous landscape,
with small areas of relatively flat bottom-lands, which support
valley oak and various grasses. As one travels from the valley
CHUMASH ECONOMIC EXCHANGE
of critical resources. The degree §
291
bottoms, up the slopes of the mountains, the vegetation changes .
@ zone of sage and sage brush, or to chaparral, or (on ie
‘north-facing slopes) toyon and groves of live oak. Along narro
streams are found live oak, sycamores, bay trees, and eee sp.
“(wild cherry). The general environment has been classified as
"Upper Sonoran.
The Coastal area has almost all plants found in the interior, but
in different proportions. Coastal sage usually covers large ar
4 and there are various microenvironments unique to this area, im,
; as salt marshes and small lagoons. The seashores on the ai
have more variability in environment than do the shores of the
islands.
The Island area has a cooler environment than the RCH
The plant communities are more similar to those found in Centr:
California than to those of Southern California. The islands have
_ less than half as many plant species as the mainland. At the time of
contact, the largest land mammal living on the islands was 9
species of small fox. These were the more important vase
resources, the general areas in which they were found, and the
seasons in which they were gathered.!
7 Wild cherry (islay) was gathered from July to September; acorns in
October and November (in some areas, i.e. near Gibralter Dam,
they were gathered in January as well as at other times), 3 oe
seeds) in the summer, mescal (yucca) between January an ih
and cacomites, or blue dick bulbs (Brodiaea sp.) were eviden 2
collected in the early spring. Of these vegetable products, ae
and chia were not available locally on the Channel Islands.
} Mammals exploited on the mainland were deer, rabbits, eee
“gophers, and rats. None of these animals were present on the
islands. River fish were utilized in those areas where they ih
available (especially in the Santa Ines Valley); birds were also
taken. The mainland area had most of the raw material resources
Chumash.
wer ee were exploited by the coastal villages on ao
islands and mainland. Shellfish were also evidently Ee a
inland groups, when they came to fiestas on the coast. a
resources can be roughly listed on the basis of habitat.
pp lacked some Import tant vegetable 1. It Is a arent that the Islanders
resources, especially those obtained between the months of Januar y and July.