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Chapter 1: Ancient Days
MANAGING THE LAND AND WATER
The people, like their
Maker in the story,
looked for ways to make their world better for
themselves — and to help them survive the
long droughts. They broadcast seeds for
grasses in freshly fired fields that increased
the fertility of the grain and reduced the danger
of spontaneous fires. They transplanted
grapevines, onions, bulbs and tubers. They
cleared land for planting and cultivated a net-
work of small agricultural plots in different areas
for different seasons. Chaparral plantings on
steep slopes reduced erosion and provided
food and medicine. Corn, beans and squash
were sown near running springs, wet
mead-
ows or places dampened by runoff from
summer rains.
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In addition to land management, they also
practiced water management. Groups coop-
erated to build small dams and levees, divert-
ing water to places where they wanted plants
to grow — thus practicing the art of irrigated
agriculture, which has played a crucial role in
the development of San Diego County. They
placed rows of rocks across drainage chan-
nels to slow the storm runoff and allow more
water to seep into the ground. Rock align-
ments on slopes spread out the runoff and
trapped fine silt above, making fertile plots for
Pottery “ollas” were native versions of 55-gallon drums
Barona Band of
Mission Indians
crops. At places where the streams narrowed
into small rock passages, they placed large
boulders and brush to retain water in the wider,
upstream portions, creating small bogs and
wet
meadows. After large storms, people
organized to repair any damage to the dams.
As a result of these efforts, springs and pools
existed in the valleys and water was close to
the surface even in dry years.
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To safeguard water resources in the
hotter, drier regions, people cleared the brush
away from springs and planted shade trees
alongside the springs to reduce evaporation.
They gouged basins in rocks to catch rain-
water. They also placed huge pottery
"ollas"
— native versions of 55-gallon
drums that were often more than four feet
tall
— along trails in the desert where they
could be filled with water from nearby
springs and runoff.
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Thus began the
county’s water storage system.
Small villages of extended families dotted
the countryside, with an average population
density of three to four people per square mile
in the desert and five to seven people per
square mile on the coastal plains. A village
typically controlled a territory ranging from 10
to 30 square miles along a stream bed and
extending upwards from the valley to the