Stories from the Guadalasca: Changes in Land Use along the California Coast

Summary

California State University Channel Islands is known as the location of the former Camarillo State Mental Hospital. The campus also serves as a case study for examining changes in communities and land use in California throughout time. Archaeological surveys on campus, artifact analyses, and historic records together document shifts in human activities at this location. This presentation outlines the long term use of this area by a noteworthy variety of people: the Chumash and their ancestors, Mexican rancheros and vaqueros, Euro-American farmers, WPA workers, mental health professionals, mental hospital patients, laborers at the hospital dairy/farm, and homeless members of the public. In particular, our discussion focuses on a probable Depression-era structure of unknown function.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21912