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Credit Where Credit Is Due: The History of the Chumash Oceangoing Plank Canoe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jeanne E. Arnold
Jeanne E. Arnold*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, 341 Haines Hall, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553
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Abstract

Recent publications debate the origins of the Chumash plank canoe (tomol) of southern California. The timing of its appearance is of considerable scholarly interest because of its significant role in the evolution of sociopolitical complexity among the coastal Chumash, who were among the world's most complex hunter-gatherers. This paper closely considers: (a) what constitutes reliable empirical evidence for canoe making and maintenance; (b) the most current estimate for the date of origin of this sophisticated watercraft (and the empirical foundations for such an estimate); (c) a scenario for the development of the tomol as a complex technological system (CTS) and why credit is appropriately assigned to the coastal Chumash for its development; and (d) the impacts of this technological system on Chumash sociopolitical evolution.

Résumé

Résumé

Publicaciones recientes debaten los orígenes de la canoa de tablas (tomol) construídas por los Chumash del sur de California. El período de aparición de las canoas es de un interés considerable en los círculos académicos porque estas juegan un papel significante en la evolución socio-política de los Chumash de la costa, los cuales se encuentran entre los más complejos de los grupos de cazadores y recolectores en el mundo. Este artículo considera: (a) que constituye evidencia empírica confiable en la construcción y mantención de la canoa; (b) la estimación más corriente en cuanto a la fecha de orígen de esta sofisticada embarcación (y las fundaciones empíricas para tal estimación); (c) un escenario para el desarrollo del tomol como un complejo sistema tecnológico y porqué crédito por su desarrollo ha sido asignado al los Chumash de la costa; y (d) el impacto de este sistema technológico en la evolución socio-política de los Chumash.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 72 , Issue 2 , April 2007 , pp. 196 - 209
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2007

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