Room 31's Study of the Costanoan Tribe

Native American Menu Video 1 Video 2 Video 3 Video 4 Costanoan Website

Costanoans made their homes out of poles covered with bunches of grass, tule reed, and ferns. They were tied together with flexible willow branches. A fireplace was in the middle of the house. Some Costanoans made their houses out of slabs of redwood and redwood bark leaned together in a cone shape. Every year or two they would burn the old house and build new ones. The village in each tribelet that had the most people in it would have the assembly house or dance house. Some of these assembly houses could be big enough to hold up to 200 people. Some of their food was bear, deer, fish, and small game. With nature's gifts the Indians created beautiful baskets. Making a basket involved a great deal of time, patience and creativity. Indian women waited for the right season to find and gather the needed plant materials. Then they dried and stored these materials until they were ready.