On Sun, Dec 27, 2009 at 11:07 AM, Dave Kruger <kdruger_at_pacifier.com> wrote: > > If the natives had had watercraft, I bet the padres would have used them. > The natives lived a subsistence lifestyle in a climate and time when little > contact with the ocean was needed, unlike the cultures to the north which > depended on the sea for their subsistence. > I was greatly interested in the missions 30 years ago. There was little mention of the natives other than their involvement in mission work. Last week the tour included a fair representation of how the local residents would have lived prior to the mission. And you're right.... subsistence would be a pretty good descriptor. No complicated structures for them... just a hut made of willow branches covered in salt marsh reeds. With metates for grinding nuts. No mention of boats of any sort. Not a lot said by the native descendant about seafood diets either. The name (El Camino Real) made me think that it was a Spanish/Mexican invention rather than a native American trade route. Or did the padres simply wander up and down in search of native American population centers? They certainly sited a couple of the Baja missions in remote areas (but at least one, Loreto, near the sea). It's interesting to wonder what spurs innovation in a culture. The Chinook and other NW First Nations had access to trees that could be converted into canoes by the simple expedient of burning and carving away the parts that didn't look like a boat. The Greenland Inuit had no such luck. The SoCal cultures certainly weren't well off as a people but looking towards the water may have simply not occurred to them. I know that if I were a friar traveling up and down the coast of California (at least south of Point Conception) I'd prefer a kayak over a burro. I've ridden both and the kayak is a LOT more comfortable. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Dec 27 2009 - 12:51:33 PST
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