By Kaylin Paschall, TME

The First People, said to be native to our Mountain Communities thousands of years before modern times, practiced hunting and gathering to prepare for the long winters and times when resources would become scarce.

In chapter 4 of “A View From The Ridge Route, Volume 1: The First People,” historian and museum director Bonnie Ketterl Kane has provided a review of how early peoples were able to survive in our desert chaparral region.

Local Harvest

“A mainstay of the diet was nuts and seeds. As the trees and plants did not produce in abundance every year, the nuts and seeds were gathered in great quantities when available and stored for the lean years. Much of the harvest would be stored below ground in carefully lined holes and covered with stones to keep the birds and animal from them.

“Many still recognizable plants were eaten and used. The roots of the…(please see below to view full stories and photographs)

Photo captions:

An illustration by Susan Sjoberg Hollander shows what the yucca and chia harvest may have looked like 3,000 years ago, when the First People inhabited the San Emigdio range.

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This is part of the November 25, 2022 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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