In this video, we explore the Ancient Kumeyaay Historic Winter Village Site in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.
The mountains and deserts in Anza-Borrego were the homes of Native Americans as long as 12,000 years ago.
To reach the Village Site we turned onto Mine Wash Road off of Highway 78.
Then, as now, location was everything when choosing a place to live.
Mine Wash had all the features needed for the Kumeyaay winter village, offering just what they needed, a good mix of plants useful as food. They harvested cacti, chia, grasses, ocotillo, yucca, and the all-important agave.
Boulders offered shelter and stone for Morteros and mutates used in food preparation. Water was nearby. Paths connected to major travel corridors, an important asset for seasonal migration between desert and mountains, and for contact with trading networks.
It was hard to imagine how these native people lived but we really enjoyed exploring and discovering evidence of their existence.
Enjoy the Video!
