The Ohlone

The Ohlone — page 1
CHAPTER ONE OHLONE COUNTRY The lands between San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay in California were once home to a group of American Indians known today as the Ohlone people There the Ohlone people built an amazing culture that allowed them to prosper for more than a thousand years Anthropologists and other experts estimate that the Ohlones ancestors arrived in North America between 40,000 and 13,000 years ago Over many thousands of years the ancestors of the Ohlones moved south into what is now central California The Ohlones identified themselves not as members of one big group but rather according to what community they were from The name Ohlone came into use in the late 20th century The origin of this name is unknown Previously members of the Ohlone nations were called Costanoans a name given to them by Spanish settlers Some scholars and American Indians believe the Ohlones are descendants of the first American Indian groups to live in central California They believe the Ohlones have always lived in the areas where they were found by the Spaniards in 1769 4