Where did Chumash Indians live?
The Chumash Indians lived along the coast, in adjacent inland valleys, and also on the Northern Channel Islands between the town of Malibu and northward to about Paso Robles. They lived in about 150 independent towns with a total population of about 18,000 people speaking several related but mutually unintelligible languages. Their neighbors were the Gabrielino (Tongva) on the south, the Tataviam (Alliklik) on the southeast, the Yokuts on the east, and the Salinan on the north. How did the Chumash build their houses? The Chumash used tule or bulrush (Scirpus sp.) as thatching for their houses (‘ap). Willow and sycamore were used for the frame. These domed houses were quite spacious, 30 feet or more in diameter (not simply small huts, as they are sometimes inaccurately portrayed). On the Channel Islands, seagrass (Phyllospadix sp.) was gathered from tidepools and used as thatching instead of tule. For further information and pictures, consult Vol. 2 of The Material Culture of the Chumas
