The Chumash World at European Contact
Power, Trade, and Feasting Among Complex Hunter-Gatherers
$49.95, £29.95 hardcover
978-0-520-25441-1
NYP--Due 8/08
432 pages, 6 x 9 inches, 24 b/w photographs, 30 line illustrations, 17 tables
August 2008, Available worldwide
Categories: Anthropology; Native American Ethnicity; Archaeology; Cultural Anthropology
August 2008, Available worldwide
Categories: Anthropology; Native American Ethnicity; Archaeology; Cultural Anthropology
"The Chumash World at European Contact is a major achievement that will be required reading and a fundamental reference in a variety of disciplines for years to come."—Thomas C. Blackburn, editor of December's Child: A Book of Chumash Oral Narratives
"An extremely valuable synthesis of the historical, ethnographic, and archaeological record of one of the most remarkable populations of Native Californians."—Glenn J. Farris, Senior Archaeologist, California State Parks Department
"An extremely valuable synthesis of the historical, ethnographic, and archaeological record of one of the most remarkable populations of Native Californians."—Glenn J. Farris, Senior Archaeologist, California State Parks Department
When Spanish explorers and missionaries came onto Southern California's shores in 1769, they encountered the large towns and villages of the Chumash, a people who at that time were among the most advanced hunter-gatherer societies in the world. The Spanish were entertained and fed at lavish feasts hosted by chiefs who ruled over the settlements and who participated in extensive social and economic networks. In this first modern synthesis of data from the Chumash heartland, Lynn H. Gamble weaves together multiple sources of evidence to re-create the rich tapestry of Chumash society. Drawing from archaeology, historical documents, ethnography, and ecology, she describes daily life in the large mainland towns, focusing on Chumash culture, household organization, politics, economy, warfare, and more.