By the 15th century, it's estimated that 1/3 of Native Americans lived in California.
There were hundreds of different tribes - including the Pomo (Northwest of California), Achumawi (Northeast), Miwok (Sierras), Maidu (Central Valley), Chumash (Central Coast and Islands), Cahuilla (Southern desert)...
The population was highly mobile, following game and sources of fruit, nuts, and berries depending on the season.
Common diets included acorns, salmon, seeds, berries, rabbit, deer, with regional supplements such as sea lion, whale, snake, lizard, grasshoppers, depending on where the tribe had settled.
Most tribes settled in villages. The largest included up to 1,000 people, and some tribes, like the Miwok, had hundreds of villages.
Villages were locally governed, fiercely independent, and self-sufficient, surrounded by an abundance of food.
Beautiful artefacts from this period include:
- Chumash sea canoes
- Tolowa river canoes
- Pomo baskets
- Cahuilla agave clothing and sandals...
The arrival of Europeans had a catastrophic impact on the Native American population.
By the 19th century, it's estimated that around 90% of Native Californians had died due to violence or disease.
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