Archaeologists can analyze charred seeds and other plant remains to learn about relationships between people and the natural world deep into the past. This talk will describe how a collaborative research project between Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, State Parks, and academic researchers utilized this type of information to explore how Indigenous peoples on the coast of San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties used prescribed burning to steward local landscapes. Guided by these findings, Amah Mutsun Land Trust is working to revitalize Indigenous-based stewardship of open spaces today.
Resources
Learn about the Amah Mutsun
- Subscribe to the Amah Mutsun Land Trust newsletter
- Support the Amah Mutsun Land Trust
- Amah Mutsun Tribal Band website
- Virtual Exhibit: First Peoples of California (curated with tribal input)
Learn about Amah Mutsun relationships with fire
- Amah Mutsun Land Trust article: Revitalizing Indigenous Stewardship with Cultural Burning
- Bay Nature article: Finding Signs of Recovery in Santa Cruz’z Redwood Forest
- Bay Nature article: Rekindling the Old Ways
Resources mentioned in the talk
- Tending the Wild by Kat Anderson
- California Indians and their Environment by Kent Lightfoot
- Phytolith Evidence for a GrassDominated Prairie Landscape at Quiroste Valley on the Central Coast of California by Rand R. Evett and Rob Q. Cuthrell
