Esselen People - Locations

Locations

The Esselen resided along the upper Carmel and Arroyo Seco Rivers, and along the Big Sur coast from near present-day Hurricane Point to the vicinity of Vicente Creek in the south. Carbon dating tests of artifacts found near Slate Hot Springs, presently owned by Esalen Institute, indicate human presence as early as 3500 BC. With easy access to the ocean, fresh water and hot springs, the Esselen people used the site regularly, and certain areas were reserved as burial grounds. The Esselen's territory extended inland through the Santa Lucia Mountains as far as the Salinas Valley. In early times, they were hunter-gatherers who resided in small groups with no centralized political authority. The coastal area along the Central California coast between Carmel and San Luis Obispo is mostly rugged with high, steep cliffs and rocky shores, interrupted by small coastal creeks with occasional, small beaches. The coastal Santa Lucia Mountains are very rugged, except for the narrow canyons, making the area relatively inaccessible, making long-term habitation a challenge, and limiting the size of their population. Rainfall varies from 16 to 60 inches (410 to 1,500 mm) throughout the range, with the most on the higher mountains in the north; almost all precipitation falls in the winter. During the summer, fog and low clouds are frequent along the coast up to an elevation of several thousand feet. Surface runoff from rainfall events is rapid, and many streams dry up entirely in the summer, except for some perennial streams in the wetter areas in the north.

Due to the relative abundance of food resources, the Esselen people never developed agriculture and remained as hunter-gatherers. They followed local food sources seasonally, living near the coast in winter, where they harvested rich stocks of mussels, abalone and other sea life.

Within the tribe's area at that time there were five distinct Esselen groups: Excelen, Eslenahan, Imunahan, Ekheahan, and Aspasniahan. Each group had several villages that were occupied on a seasonal basis depending on the availability of resources such as food, water, shelter, and firewood. In the summer and fall they moved inland to harvest acorns gathered from the Black Oak, Canyon Live Oak and Tanbark Oak, primarily on upper slopes above the narrow canyons.

A large boulder, known as a bedrock mortar, is located in Apple Tree Camp on the southwest slope of Devil's Peak, north of the Pico Blanco Scout Reservation. More than 9 feet (2.7 m) across, it contains a dozen or more deep mortar bowls worn into it over several generations. The holes were hollowed out by Native Americans who used it to grind the acorns into flour. Other mortar rocks have also been found within the Pico Blanco Boy Scout camp at campsites 3 and 7, and slightly upstream from campsite 12, while a fourth is found on a large rock in the river, originally above the river, between campsites 3 and 4.