Kumeyaay Ethnography Summary

Due to the unfortunate history of diminishing populations of the local Native Americans during the Historical period of the San Diego region, there is very little ethnographic information about the coastal Kumeyaay. Due to the lesser amount of early extraneous invasion of the mountain and desert regions, the Kumeyaay people of these two regions were better able to preserve their cultural traditions and therefore much more ethnographic information is available to this day. Consequently, this report best represents the ethnohistory of the preserved mountain and desert Kumeyaay, with very little specific ethnography of the coastal communities.
Characterized by sustainable practices, the Kumeyaay people were conscientious hunter-gatherers who understood the landscape and resources and whom utilized food and materials accordingly. In some literary sources, it is believed that the Kumeyaay material culture came to emphasize an increased importance on the acquisition and processing of the acorn due to the eventual depletion of alternative accustomed resources (Moratto 1984). However, it is believed by the authors of this report that the emphasis in acorn production prevalent in the literature is due to the referenced lack of costal ethnographic material and a general
They customarily married outside of their band and resided with or near the family. The Kumeyaay band is often considered synonymous with a village or territory. Several villages were part of a larger kin group, often sharing resources. No resource was kept from any other band as the Kumeyaay believed that no one person owned the resources individually. Familial practices and sourcing of materials were generally unique to a family tradition and respected throughout the larger population. Divisions between bands were normally settled by the course of moves that bands made between villages and resources (Luomala