Essay about Chumash vs San

AP World History
31st August
Comparative Essay

In a period of complete change beknownst to us as the Neolithic Revolution, some groups of nomads deserted their “normal” way of life and began to settle down in villages and use agrarian methods to make a living for themselves. Two examples would be the Chumash of Southern California and the San of South Africa. Although the Chumash and the San both led a gathering and hunting way of life, they are ultimately two completely different civilizations, embodying unique political organizations, social structures and hierarchies, distinct economic foundations and individual sets of differing values. Sometimes a more elaborate material life isn’t always the better one. The …show more content…
However, the Chumash peoples did enjoy the advantages of having a settled community with each person exercising a specialized skill. This allowed for different people to be experts in their own areas of interest and expertise. As previously stated, the Chumash also enjoyed publicly displaying their wealth and shared an attraction for private accumulation; very unlike the San’s aim of leveling the wealth and continually seeking to distribute and share social and economic distinctions among the people. Even though the San people seem to have had adequate food, it was an uncertain existence dependent on vagaries of nature, rainfall, and animal movement. The Chumash on the other hand thrived in an environment that provided nourishing fishing and agriculture, flourishing commerce and even technological innovation. In brief, the economic life of the San people can be described as simple and straightforward, based on custom and tradition, whereas the Chumash economy had many elements of a complex and modern market economy. Money in the form of stringed beads, trading for profits, regulations to guard against inflation, product pricing and payment for services rendered were all financial practices observed by a Spanish observer as early as 1792. According to anthropologist Richard Lee,

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