Description
The Tataviam are a Native American group in Southern California. The ancestral land of the Tataviam people includes northwest present-day Los Angeles County and southern Ventura County, primarily in the upper basin of the Santa Clara River, the Santa Susana Mountains, and the Sierra Pelona Mountains. They are distinct from the Kitanemuk and the Gabrielino-Tongva peoples. The Santa Clarita Valley is believed to be the center of Tataviam territory, north of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Strings of shell beads were worn by the people of Southern California as decoration, as well as a sign of wealth. The beads used as money were made from clam and olivella shells by shaping broken pieces of shell into small disks.
Language
Uto-Aztecan
Culture
The Tataviam people had summer and winter settlements. They harvested Yucca whipplei and wa'at or juniper berries. Tataviam villages were mostly along the upper part of the Santa Clara River, on the southern slopes of a range of hills. The Tataviam used willow poles to make the frame of their house. Acorns were also a main part of the diet, as they were for most of the early Californians. The women spent a lot of time preparing the acorns for eating. There were some deer and antelope in the hills, and the men hunted them with bows and arrows. Smaller game animals such as rabbits and squirrels were caught using traps and clubs or throwing sticks and slingshots. Tataviam women wore skirts made either from bark or tule reeds.