Antonio de Espejo
In February 1583, Espejo arrived at the territory of the Piros, the most southerly of the Pueblo villagers. From there the Spanish continued up the Rio Grande. Espejo described the Pueblo villages as "clean and tidy". The houses were multi-storied and made of adode bricks. "They make very fine tortillas," Espejo commented, and the Pueblos also served the Spanish turkeys, beans, corns, and pumpkins. The people "did not seem to be bellicose". The southernmost Pueblos had only clubs for weapons plus a few "poor Turkish bows and poorer arrows". Further north, the Indians were better armed and more aggressive. Some of the Pueblo towns were large, Espejo described Zia as having 1,000 houses and 4,000 men and boys. In their farming, the Pueblos used irrigation "with canals and dams, built as if by Spaniards". The only Spanish influence that Espejo noted among the Pueblos was their desire for iron. They would steal any iron article they could find.
Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito
The Ohlone people harvested shellfish including abalone from the waters around Point Lobos. Evidence has been found of seasonal camp sites on the San Jose Creek that indicate the natives inhabited the area for about 2,500 years. The village, named Ichxenta, was occupied until the end of the Carmel Mission era, when the native population was decimated by disease and forced assimilation. There are 19 midden sites within Point Lobos and five sites containing mortar holes used by the natives for grinding acorns and seeds. It's likely that Sebastian Viscaino or some of his soldiers, who camped near the mouth of the Carmel River in 1602-03, may have visited the area to the south. Gaspar de Portolà and his exploring party camped at San Jose Creek in October 1769. Sergeant Jose Francisco Ortega conducted a study of the coast south of the Carmel River. In about 1770, Spanish Vaqueros from the nearby Carmel Mission ran large herds of cattle in the area near Point Lobos.