News Release

New Research on Chumash Settlement of Santa Rosa Island

Date: February 5, 2019
Contact: Yvonne Menard, 805-658-5725

In one of the first studies of settlement of the vast interior region of Santa Rosa Island, Christopher Jazwa, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), has found a pattern of the Chumash moving seasonally to use resources beyond the island coastline. 

Jazwa has been surveying for archaeological sites in the western region of Santa Rosa Island since 2012. His team has recorded over 111 sites, many of which contain dense shell middens, sites with accumulations of debris from the processing of shellfish, and other items. These middens suggest people lived and used these sites for a sustained period of time. 

Prior to teaching at UNR, Jazwa earned his Ph.D. in Anthropology from Pennsylvania State University. His research primarily focuses on how people have interacted with their environments through time. In addition to working on the Channel Islands, Jazwa actively leads similar fieldwork projects in northwestern Morocco and southern Baja California, Mexico. 

Jaswa’s talk will be held on Thursday, March 14, 2019, at 7:00 pm at the Channel Islands National Park Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center, 1901 Spinnaker Drive in Ventura Harbor. The program is free and open to the public. The talk, part of the From Shore to Sea lecture series, is sponsored by Channel Islands National Park to further the understanding of current research on the Channel Islands and surrounding waters. The 2019 lecture series will take place at 7:00 pm on the second Thursday of the month, March through May and September through November.
  

Protecting Archeological Resources
Archaeological resources at Channel Islands National Park represent an important aspect of the scientific and cultural significance of the park. National Park Service policy guides the park to protect scientifically significant resources by on-site protection and stabilization, or collection. Park visitors are encouraged to see and experience these amazing resources, but must leave them in place undisturbed. Collecting, possessing, trafficking in, removing, destroying, injuring, defacing, or disturbing archeological resources is prohibited by federal law and agency regulations.   

Lectures are recorded and posted at: http://www.nps.gov/chis/learn/photosmultimedia/from-shore-to-sea-lecture-videos.htm