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

The Ohlone — page 2

The Ohlone — page 3 — CHAPTER TWO USING WHAT THEY HAD The Ohlones depended very heavily on what the earth had to offer They found abundant sources of food in the plants that grew in the area The Ohlones harvested dozens of plants and plant items including grasses and nuts Their lands also provided many kinds of game Every year the Ohlone people burned the open spaces that surrounded the trees in their community’s forests This action increased the amount of food that the 6

The Ohlone — page 4 — The Ohlones depended on many different kinds of stones and minerals Salt which was collected from salt ponds like the ones pictured here in San Francisco was an important item in everyone’s diet land would produce by making it easier for wild grasses and flowers to grow These plants produced seeds that served as food for the Ohlones and many of the animals they hunted Rocks were necessary for the creation of many of the basic tools the Ohlones used every day Wood from trees was carved into hundreds of kinds of tools such as bows spears knife handles and paddles 7

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