Indigenous cultural burning on the Central California Coast in precolonial times

Abstract Background The purpose of this paper is to examine the scale and importance of Indigenous cultural burning in precolonial times on the Central California Coast. We begin by reviewing recent advances that help us understand past human–environment interactions and facilitate the detection of ancient cultural burning by Tribes in Western North America. Insights from this recent work, along with Indigenous cultural practices in the study area, are employed to identify expectations for possible cultural prairie stewardship. We then synthesize findings from historical fire ecology and eco-archaeological studies to evaluate if there is evidence for cultural burning on the Central California Coast in Late Holocene times (ca. 2000 BCE -1800 CE ). Results In reviewing available data drawn from fire-scar analyses, pollen and charcoal studies, phytolith soil sampling, and fine-grained eco-archaeological investigations, we find that there is empirical support for frequent cultural burning of coastal prairies taking place along the Central California Coast from at least ca. 700–800 CE that continued into historic times. We argue that lighting fire alone would not produce the abundance and distribution of vegetation types that were/are crucial to the Indigenous people in this area. Conclusion Our review suggests that the long-term maintenance of coastal prairies and other ecosystems in Tribal lands along the Central California Coast would not have happened with lightning ignition alone. We conclude that it was largely the product of deliberate human intervention undertaken to augment the diversity and availability of culturally important plants and animals dating back at least 1300 years ago.