Two Diary Pages: River and Coast
1I live near Cahokia, a large Mississippian city near the Mississippi River. Our river valley has rich soil, so families grow maize, beans, and squash. We also gather nuts and berries and hunt animals. We dry some food and keep it in storage pits so it will last.
2Our houses use wooden poles, woven plants, and mud, with roofs made from grasses. Skilled workers shape stone tools and make pottery for cooking and storing food. Near the center of the city, people build great earthen mounds. The mounds are made from baskets of soil carried from nearby places.
3The river gives us fish and water, and canoes help people travel. Our river valley has its own resources, so we use what is available here. Many families work together to grow food, build, and trade.
4Far to the west, Chumash communities live along the coast and on the Channel Islands of what is now southern California. The ocean gives families fish, shellfish, and sea mammals such as seals. People also gather acorns and other plants and hunt animals. They dry or roast food and save some for later.
5Chumash homes are often round houses made with poles and plant materials. Some skilled canoe builders make large plank canoes called tomols. A tomol can carry people and goods across ocean waters between villages and islands. Other workers make fishing tools, baskets, and shaped stone tools.
6The river people at Cahokia and the Chumash both live in organized communities. Both use local plants and animals, make tools, prepare food for later, and teach skills to younger people. Their homes, foods, and ways of traveling are not identical because their regions offer different resources and challenges. Chumash people still live in California today, and several Native nations today trace their roots to Mississippian communities.