Table of Contents
What are Chumash houses made of?
Chumash people lived in grass houses, which are made of a domed wooden frame thatched with grass. Some of these houses were quite large (fifty feet in diameter) and could house an entire extended family.
What type of wood did the Chumash use to make their canoes?
At Santa Barbara Bay, Chumash ancestors make plank tomols, or canoes, from the trunks of fallen redwood trees that float south hundreds of miles on ocean currents to Chumash territory.
What type of house did the Chumash live in?
The Chumash house, or ‘ap, was round and shaped like half an orange. It was made by setting willow poles in the ground in a circle. The poles were bent in at the top, to form a dome. Then smaller saplings or branches were tied on crosswise.
What language do Chumash speak?
Hokan language
Chumash, any of several related North American Indian groups speaking a Hokan language. They originally lived in what are now the California coastlands and adjacent inland areas from Malibu northward to Estero Bay, and on the three northern Channel Islands off Santa Barbara.
What is the language of Chumash?
Every village in Chumash territory had its own language which were not only different dialects but distinctly different languages. During the mission times, there were seven Chumash languages: Barbareño/Šmuwič, Ineseño/Samala, Purisimeño, Ventureño/Miscanaqin, and Obispeño.
What is a plank canoe?
Small canoe of full size without outrigger constructed from sewn planks. The main body of the canoe is manufactured from a flat base of two planks and the walls are each of two planks also. At each end these six planks are joined to a curving prow and stern piece which narrows to a rectangular section.
How old are Chumash paintings?
A steep path leads to the cave entrance, which is protected by heavy iron grillwork. Anthropologists estimate that the paintings date to the 1600’s and earlier.
How old are the Chumash cave paintings?
The smooth and irregularly shaped shallow sandstone cave contains numerous drawings apparently depicting the Chumash cosmology and other subjects created in mineral pigments and other media over a long period ranging from about 200 up to possibly 1000 years or more.
What did the Chumash call themselves?
the first people
The people called themselves “the first people,” although many tribal elders today say that Chumash means “bead maker” or “seashell people.” The Spanish used the name “Chumash” to refer to every group of Native Americans living on these islands and along the southern coast of California.
What kind of materials did the Chumash Indians use?
These houses were also made of whalebone, with tile mats both for the roof and platforms for sleeping. So as you can all visualize, the Chumash were pretty particular with the materials used in building their houses. The Chumash homes were actually quite huge. This is so a lot of people can stay in each house.
How big were the houses of the Chumash Indians?
A hole at the top of this small dome-like house was made to provide air circulation.When it rained, the hole was covered with a specific type of animal skin. The houses were estimated to be 12 to 20 feet in diameter. The Chumash used a lot of materials and components for their houses.
What kind of games did the Chumash Indians play?
These games involved marbles, balls, sticks and other objects. One game they played was much like lacrosse and involved using sticks to try and roll a small ball into holes placed at either end of a field. The Chumash also liked to play games of chance or gambling games with dice or other objects.
Where did the Chumash people get their names?
Today many scholars believe that Chumash languages belong to their own language family. Many of the place names in the Santa Barbara area come from Chumash words, like Cuyama, Ojai , Castaic, Lompoc and Malibu.