Food was plentiful when the Ohlone settled Oakland. Among the high stands of bunchgrass, redwood trees, and thick oak and bay forests lived elk, antelope, deer, rabbits, eagles, and condors. Mountain lions, bobcat, and coyotes were also a common site.

And there were grizzly bears -- lots of them. They were everywhere eating berries, lumbering along the beaches, congregating beneath oak trees during the acorn season and stationed along nearly every stream and creek during the annual runs of salmon and steelhead. So many lived in the Bay Area, that early Californians made the grizzly the emblem for their flag.

Which of these animals has begun returning to the Oakland hills, much to the residents dismay?

The bay provided fish for food and attracted animals suitable for eating. The land provided the Ohlone's chief grain source - acorns. The acres and acres of oak trees provided acorns that the Ohlone harvested and made into flour.

The acorn harvest was the biggest event of the year. During the harvest, tribes from around the Bay Area gathered to harvest, feast, dance, and party.

Time itself was measured by the oaks. The acorn harvest marked the beginning of the new year. Winter was spoken of as so many months (moons) after the acorn harvest, summer as so many months before the next acorn harvest. The rhythm of the oak trees marked the passage of the year and defined the rhythms of Ohlone life.

Hull several handfulls of acorns. Grind in mortar. Sift in sifting basket. Now you have flour but it is too bitter to eat.So- scoop out hole in sand of creek and line with fern leaves. Put flour in hole and pour water over to leach out tannin. Once leached, put in cooking basket and fill with hot stones until boiling. Mush is now ready to eat. (It is estimated that an indian family consumed 1000-2000 acorns per year.)