Red Fish, Blue Sea - CA-VEN-1
The paintings of the Chumash are lavish in color, and although time and erosion are slowly erasing them, their vibrancy can still at times be seen. The age of the paintings are hard to tell, most show evidence of overpainting… newer images over older pictographs. Although the Chumash have inhabited the Santa Barbara region of California for over 8,000 years, it is believed that the paintings themselves were done within the last 1,000 years. Rock paintings remain sacred to the Chumash people, and because of the importance of preserving these irreplaceable cultural treasures, the location of these sites must remain secret. The paintings are fragile and can be easily damaged.
Chumash PictographLos Padres National ForestRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
Condor Man - CA-VEN-1
Chumash Pictograph - Los Padres National Forest
In Chumash pictographs, the Condor is sometimes depicted as a great white bird. This is part of the Chumash story of Creation. In this story when mankind is given the gift of fire the Condor becomes curious at seeing the fire burning in a Chumash village. He fly's down to take a closer look, but he fly's too close. Scorching his feathers, and turning them all black (except for the small white spots on the underside of his wings) which he had folded tight against his sides when he swooped down through the flames. That is why today the Condor is a black bird.Chumash PictographLos Padres National ForestRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
Red Man - CA-VEN-1
Chumash Pictograph - Los Padres National Forest, California
Chumash PictographLos Padres National ForestRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
Bear And Condor - CA-VEN-1
Bear and Condor - Chumash Rock Paintings Los Padres National Forest. Wind erosion is slowly erasing these images.
Chumash PictographLos Padres National ForestRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
Bizarre Creatures
Chumash Pictograph - Los Padres National Forest, California - Ventureno (V-1)
Chumash PictographLos Padres National ForestRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
Red Man II - CA-VEN-1
Chumash Pictograph - Los Padres National Forest, California
Chumash PictographLos Padres National ForestRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
Web Master - CA-VEN-1
This Chumash painting suffered from quite a bit of natural erosion. In cases like this, the benefit of digital photography is that the areas of erosion can be digitally reconstructed. I make every effort to maintain the integrity of the paintings, and to restore the glyphs to a previous, less damaged state.
Chumash PictographLos Padres National ForestRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtNative American ArchaeologyRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
A Child Is Born! - CA-VEN-1
A Woman giving birth surrounded by her happy, and rejoicing family! This was a difficult grouping to photograph. The cave where these are located is very dark, tight, and difficult to move around in. Perhaps that is why the artist chose this section of the cave for this scene..... Chumash Pictograph - Los Padres National Forest, California
Chumash PictographLos Padres National ForestRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
Treasure House - CA-VEN-195
‘Treasure House’ is a Chumash Pictograph site hidden in the Santa Monica Mountains. This is a fascinating site in many ways.The rock shelters which contain these pictographs, sit by a small stream over looking the Pacific Ocean. Notably, this section of the shelter has four anthropomorphic bird men images as well as a swordfish, and two comet glyphs. The four bird men are thought to be Shamans in ceremonial eagle costumes. They each have a counter clockwise spiral above their head indicating many things. One is their spiritual power, and position within Chumash Culture to guide and influence the deities that govern the rising and setting of the sun, the seasons, the blessings of rain ect. The Shamans were responsible for guiding the people, and keeping them in good standing with the deities that had power over their lives. The counter clockwise spiral is thought to be a rendition of the constellation Ursa Major and it’s counter clockwise rotation around the North Star which is always stationary in the sky. The Chumash believed that this particular constellation was the protector of the north star (Sky Coyote), and was named Ilihiy. Sky Coyote was very important to the Chumash people. In their oral tradition he was their champion, and looked out for the welfare of all the world below him.
(Additional note: On the right side of this panel one of the glyph's appears to be pregnant, with the unborn child drawn as 'negative' space within the red ochre tear drop form. What's truly interesting is the striking similarity with the painting of the pregnant glyph in the "Web Master" Panel from the Los Padres site. )Chumash PictographSanta Monica MountainsTreasure HouseRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
The Dreamer And The Dreamed - CA-VEN-195
In 1978 Gloria Garvin wrote “Shamans and Rock Art Symbols”. The pictograph above, “Dreamer and the Dreamed” was named so by Garvin after seeing a drawing shown to her during an interview with Carlos Castaneda. Drawn by a Yaqui shaman, it was used to explain the concept and practice of the ‘dreamer and the dreamed’. This was a basic principle of knowledge for one practiced in the shamanic arts, and very likely Chumash shamans held some of these same beliefs in common with many other tribes in Mexico, and the Southwest.
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The full text of the paper referenced above is from -
Larson, Eva, and Knight, Albert 2014 Revisiting The TreasureHouse, CA-VEN-195 (56-000195). SCA Proceedings, Volume 28 (2014)
Garvin, Gloria 1978 Shamans and Rock Art Symbols. In Four Rock Art Studies, edited by William Clewlow, Jr., pp. 65-87. Ballena Press Publication on North American Rock Art No. 1. Socorro, New Mexico.Chumash PictographSanta Monica MountainsTreasure HouseRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
Water Glyphs - CA-VEN-195
The webbed hands and feet of this grouping of Glyphs suggest water anthropomorphs, and I think that the Shaman artist intentionally chose this bluish area of the boulder face to paint these aquatic figures. This is not the first time that I’ve seen a connection between the subject matter of the glyphs, and their placement within a rock shelter. The actual rock surfaces, color and location within these shelters can add to the impact of the glyph stories. One particular example of this is found at a site in the Los Padres National forest. The Shaman painted a birthing scene, and chose a tight, and dark section in the back of a cave for the painting, easily suggesting the feeling of being inside the womb, and then as you leave the confines of the cave, the feeling of being born. - The TreasureHouse, CA-VEN-195
Chumash PictographSanta Monica MountainsTreasure HouseRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
Sky Snake And The Gift Of Fire - CA-VEN-35
One of the main glyphs in this section of the ceiling may be a character from the Chumash Creation story, the Sky Snake....
- A CREATION MYTH OF THE CHUMASH as told by Mr. Russell A. Ruiz -
“The Chumash, besides Nushuz, the earth goddess, had their chief divinity, the husband of Nushuz, who was called Sky Snake or Chutu Alapa. (Alapa was the heaven and Sky Snake was the Milky Way.) The father of the Chumash there-fore was Sky Snake, the husband of Nushuz, the earth goddess.
From the lightning flash, which was the tongue of Sky Snake, they received
the gift of fire. “Chumash PictographSanta Monica MountainsCAVEN35 56000035Rock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtNative American ArchaeologyRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
Chapel Of The Canyon - CA-VEN-35
At this particular site, the rock art is predominently on the ceiling, and when the morning sun strikes the floor of the cave, it reflects upward to illuminate this ceiling. The light is perfect. No odd, or glaring reflections to distract from the pictographs themselves. This is a spectacular site!
Chumash PictographSanta Monica MountainsCAVEN35 56000035Rock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtNative American ArchaeologyRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
Spirit Of The Mountain - CA-VEN-35
In previous studies of Chumash astronomy and cosmology, research revealed a link between Chumash astronomical knowledge, their ceremonial behavior, and their rock art. In turn this led to further research, and some fascinating theories.
A hypothesis presented by Rex W. Saint-Onge, Sr. has put forth that pictographs of a regularly reoccurring motif, as in the one shown above, are found throughout rock art sites in south-central California. In his theory, the symbolic elements represent Ursa Major, known as ‘ilihiy’, and Polaris (the North Star), known as Shnilemun or the Coyote of the Sky. Ilihiy is the guardian (Constellation Ursa Major) of Shnilemun (The North Star).
In many rock art sites there is a prominently-situated zoomorphic figure present, with a circular symbol, located above it and just off-center to the right. The center of this circular motif almost always has a cross in it. (there are slight variations in the styles of the circular element as well as in the number of limbs the zoomorph has. The pictograph above shows the most common type.)
Sky Coyote was very important to the Chumash people. In their oral tradition he was their champion, and looked out for the welfare of all the world below him. Ilihiy the guardian (Constellation Ursa Major), moves in a counterclockwise motion relative to the North Star, always protecting him, and that is why the Chumash always danced counter clockwise in their religious ceremonies. They were imitating the movement of the stars around their hero, ‘Sky Coyote’ the North Star.
(The full text of the paper referenced above is from - Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 29(1) - ARTICLE | Archaeoastronomical Implications of a Northern Chumash Arborglyph | SAINT-ONGE / JOHNSON / TALAUGON )Chumash PictographSanta Monica MountainsSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaRock Art of the Chumash IndiansChumash AstronomyChumash CosmologyCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtPictographLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
Chumash Pictograph Panel I - Santa Monica Mountains - CA-VEN-35
All the colors used by the Chumash painters were earth colors. The red paint was made from hematite, producing shades from dull red to a brilliant yellowish red. The best white pigment was made from diatomaceous earth, and the black colors could be derived from manganese, charcoal or burned graphite. Pigment materials were reduced to a powder, then wetted and pressed into cakes. For rock painting purposes, oil was added to create a permanent waterproof paint.
Chumash PictographSanta Monica MountainsSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtPictographLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
The Little People
The secondary rock shelter that comprises the Treasure House site has very small delicate paintings, anywhere from about 1 to 4 inches in height or length. This small plant in the foreground which is about two feet tall helps to illustrate the diminutive size of the paintings.. - The TreasureHouse, CA-VEN-195
Chumash PictographSanta Monica MountainsTreasure HouseRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
Counting Coup - CA-VEN-35
Although this area of the pictograph site has been badly damaged by natural exfoliation and spalling, there are still many of the Chumash stories visibly illustrated in this particular section of the panel that can still be seen. Two of these are considered ‘Sky Stories’, referring to celestial deities, and the third may refer to a historical battle.
The first story is illustrated by the sun glyph in the upper left side of the panel. I always wondered why the artist painted the sun figure with a ‘tail’, and I noticed all the cross motifs surrounding it. Here then is that story:
The Sparks of The Sun -
“The Sun carries a torch of tightly rolled bark to light the world. After his daily journey across the sky, he snaps his torch to throw sparks which are the stars.” - Blackburn, Thomas G. December’s Child: A Book of Chumash Oral Narratives. Berkeley: University of California Press 1975, 97.
The second story is illustrated in the red ‘rake’ handed glyph. In the center of this glyph is a painting in white pigment of what appears to be a human heart turning into a shooting star…..here is that story with variations from neighboring tribes which the Chumash had cultural interaction with:
The Chumash (California) referred to meteors as Alakiwohoch, which simply meant "shooting star." They believed a meteor was a person's soul on its way to the afterlife. - Wikipedia
The Luiseno Indians in Southern California, according to Moriarty, believed that when one died, the soul went to a heavenly place ruled by Chinigchinix, the god. Another belief was that the soul would travel to heaven and become a new star in the night sky. - Moriarty, James Robert. Chinigchinix: An Indigenous California Indian Religion. Los Angeles: Southwest Museum 1969, 50.
The Gabrielino, a neighboring tribe to the Luiseno, believed that the hearts of fully initiated tribal members took their places as stars in the heavens. - Johnston, Bernice Eastman. California’s Gabrielino Indians. Los Angeles: Southwest Museum 1962, 53.
The third story is also illustrated by the red ‘rake’ handed glyph….The CA-VEN-35 site is located in the area of Point Mugu. In this section of the panel, the main figure has what appears to be a severed right hand. The following excerpts are from Campbell Grant’s book - ‘The Rock Paintings Of The Chumash, and have, I believe, some bearing on the content of this particular section of the panel.
Campbell ( 1993, p. 42, 43) wrote:
The Spanish found the Chumash gentle and friendly. Compared to the savage Plains Indians, they were not a particularly warlike people but there is evidence of a good deal of intervillage fighting and possibly some intertribal warfare.
There is an account by a Mugu Chumash that a Tejon woman married a Mugu man and came to live on the coast. She was unfaithful to him and was killed according to the Mugu custom by being shot to death with arrows and her body burned. About four hundred Tejon Indians came over the mountains to avenge the death of the woman, and in the battle over seventy were killed.The Mugu Chumash, according to this source (Bowers, 1897), did not take scalps but cut off the right hand of the slain warriors.Chumash PictographSanta Monica MountainsRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtNative American ArchaeologyRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma PhotographyArcheologyAmerican IndianAmerican Indian CultureAmerican indian historyhistoric preservationrehabilitationarcheological artifactsarcheologicalChumash
Birth Of A Shaman
Birth Of A Shaman - Is a digital restoration of a section of 'Painted Rock', a 40ft pictograph in the Carrizo Plain of southern California.
This site was once arguably the greatest of all the Chumash pictograph sites, but by the 1920's vandalism had completely destroyed it.
If not for photographs taken in the 1870's and early 1900's, neither myself nor others would have been capable of bringing these incredible images back to life.
This particular section of the site has the most remaining pigment , so between my digital photograph, and a photograph taken in the 1870's, I was able to reconstruct this area of the prehistoric painting. I've attempted to render as accurately as possible the appearance of the painting as it looked during the time that the early photographs were taken. The title of this picture was inspired by a photograph of a Samala Chumash, wearing the ceremonial costume of a shaman taken by Le'on de Cessac in 1878.Chumash Rock ArtPrehistoric Rock ArtPainted RockCarrizo Plain National MonumentPictogramRock Art of the Chumash peopleChumash PictographGreat Pictograph SiteCuyama areaCaliforniaPrehistoric ArtPrimitive ArtIndian PaintingsRock ArtJazan Kozma PhotographyRock Paintings Of the ChumashPainted Rock Carrizo Plain
Samala Chumash Shaman
This photograph of a Samala Chumash, wearing the ceremonial
costume of a shaman was taken by Le'on de Cessac in 1878.Samala Chumash ShamanPhotograph taken by Le'on de Cessac in 1878
Birth Of A Shaman - 1870's photo and current day...
Right section of 'Painted Rock’ in the Carrizo Plain - The picture to the left was taken in the 1870’s. The same view on the right, taken in 2016. The damage here is primarily gunfire with some carved names and dates. This vandalism occured prior to 1930.
Chumash Rock ArtPrehistoric Rock ArtPainted RockCarrizo Plain National MonumentPictogramRock Art of the Chumash peopleChumash PictographGreat Pictograph SiteCuyama areaCaliforniaPrehistoric ArtPrimitive ArtIndian PaintingsRock ArtVandalismJazan Kozma PhotographyRock Paintings Of the Chumash
Coming Of Age
This pictograph site, is considered to be Chumash in orgin, but is highly influenced by other indigenous people groups who’s territories interfaced with that of the Chumash. The similarities of the geometric figures found at this site, to those found at other sites in the Tongva, Serrano, and Luiseño territories, suggest that this was a coming of age site for young girls when they reached puberty.
Another notable point regarding this pictograph location, is the fact that nearby appears to be a mineral deposit mined by the Chumash for quartz crystals used in their religous rituals. The geodes containing these crystals were smashed to extract the individual crystals from the crystal bed, and the evidence of this is strewn over the entire area. In the pictograph panel there does appear to be possible crystal matrix imagery rendered. It’s to be noted, that there is a documented Luiseño site where “Large quartz crystals” were among the items placed in a huge basket set before Luiseño girls undergoing a puberty initiation (DuBois 1908:93-94; see also Oxendine 1980:44) A similar practise for young Chumash females entering womanhood may have occured here as well.Chumash PictographSanta Monica MountainsRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtNative American ArchaeologyRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
Strange and Wonderful - CA-VEN-1
Chumash Pictographs - Los Padres National Forest, California - Ventureno (V-1)
Chumash PictographLos Padres National ForestRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
Water Glyphs Detail - CA-VEN-195
Water anthropomorph's - Treasure House, CA-VEN-195
Chumash PictographSanta Monica MountainsTreasure HouseRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography
Treasure House II
‘Treasure House’ is a Chumash Pictograph site hidden in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Chumash PictographSanta Monica MountainsTreasure HouseRock Art of the Chumash IndiansCaliforniaNative American Rock ArtRock PaintingsPictographAncientLandscape PhotographyJazan Kozma Photography