Cave Rituals in South Central California: Ethnographic and Archaeological Interpretations

Summary

Two different versions of a myth, one Kitanemuk and one Kawaiisu, recount the tradition of a man taken into a cave where he was instructed in sacred knowledge by animal spirits. Neighboring Chumash and Yokuts elders passed along accounts of caves being used for shamanistic purposes, in part associated with rock paintings. These ethnographic accounts imply the private use of caves for special rituals by individuals. Nonetheless, there are particular Chumash pictograph sites that appear to have been decorated for public viewing. Many researchers have argued that some were locations where sunrises or sunsets were observed during the winter or summer solstices. A survey of these sites and associated sunlight phenomena test the hypothesis that these exhibit a consistent pattern of purposeful use.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20223