Vandermeer: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 8:44AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Is this where we will begin our chat at 9 a.m.?

Tony - Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 8:52AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dr. Johnson will be with us shortly.

Tony - Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 8:53AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Tim, please check your mail for a message from me.

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:03AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Hello, does anyone have any questions about the Chumash Indians on the Channel Islands?

Tony - Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:05AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Good morning Dr. Johnson.

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:05AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Hello, does anyone have any questions about the Chumash Indians on the Channel Islands?

Vanalden 9: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:08AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr. Johnson, What age did children start doing chores, hunt and help build shelters?

Tony - Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:10AM PST (-0800 GMT)
I have a general question regarding baskets versus pottery. What would be some of the reasons one group produced baskets and not pottery? Were there any pottery makers among the California tribes?

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:12AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Chumash children, like children today, would begin helping their parents as soon as they were old enough. They would start with simple tasks and then as they got better they would do more complicated work. For example, we have baskets at our museum that were made by girls who were 7 years old, learning basketweaving from their mothers.

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:14AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Tony brings up a good point. The Chumash Indians didn't make pottery. They used baskets and heating their acorn mush by putting hot stones in the baskets. They also used soapstone pots that were imported from Catalina Island. Soapstone pots were less likely to break. The only California Indian tribes who made pottery were those who lived along the Colorado River (the Yuma and Mohave Indians) and those who lived in the area around San Diego (the Kumayaay Indians).

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:19AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Vanalden 9: Do you have any more questions?

Teeter's Arrowhead Seals: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:20AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr. Johnson, Did the chumash use any other weapons besides the bow and arrow?

Maggie & Patricia: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:23AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr.Johnson, What are the names of some of the Chumash leaders in the present and the past?

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:23AM PST (-0800 GMT)
The bow and arrow was the principal weapon, but the Chumash also had knives that they made from chert (a flint-like stone). The best chert came from the area where Vandenberg Air Force Base is today. They made beautiful, large, sharp knives by flintknapping (using a the prong of a deer antler to press off flakes). Then they inset the knives in wooden handles.

Teeter's Arrowhead Seals: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:25AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Mr.Lemos Do you or your mother speak the Chumash launguage?

Arrowhead Eagles: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:25AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Where did they get the name Chumash?

Tony - Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:28AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Teeter's Arrowhead Seals. Mr. Lemo will be with us tomorrow evening during the Family Night Chat. You can ask him that question starting at 7:00 pm Thursday night.

Teeter's Arrowhead Seals: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:29AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr. Johnson, Are the Chumash homes different from the Gabrielanos?

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:30AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Originally each Chumash town had its own chief, who was leader of all the people in that town. One of the famous chiefs was Yanonali, who was leader of the principal town of Syukhtun, which was located along the beach in what is now Santa Barbara. There is a street in Santa Barbara named after him. Another Chumash leader was Pacomio Poqui, who came from a village located near Santa Maria. He was baptized at Mission La Purisima. Pacomio became a carpenter at the mission and when the Chumash Indian uprising occurred in 1824, he led the Purisimeņo Indians. After the revolt was over, Pacomio was banished to Monterey, which was the capital of Mexican California. He continued to make his living as a carpenter and was so well-liked by everyone that he was elected sheriff of Monterey by the citizens there. Today, each Chumash community has its own leaders. In Santa Ynez, Vincent Armenta is the elected Chairman of the reservation. In Santa Barbara, Ernestine De Soto is one of the prominent leaders. In Ventura, Carol Pulido is chairwoman of the San Buenaventura Indian Council. In Thousand Oaks, Frank Lemos is director of the Chumash Interpretive Center.

Teeter's Arrowhead Seals: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:32AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr. Johnson, Were there Chumash doctors on the island?If so what did they do?

Dominique: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:33AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr. Johnson, At what age did people like the Chumash get married?

Teeter's Arrowhead Seals: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:33AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr. Johnson, How long did the Chumash tribe live on Santa Cruz Island?Did they live on any other island?

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:34AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Here is a quick answer about where the name Chumash came from. It is a good question. The name Chumash originally was the name given by the Indians on the mainland to the native people who lived on the Channel Islands. It meant "bead money makers" because the Indians on the islands made the disk beads that were used as money by all of the people who lived in area around the Santa Barbara Channel. Linguists took the name Chumash and applied it to all of the peoples who spoke several related languages. So today the name Chumash really means someone who descends form the people who belonged to a common language family.

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:35AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Here is a short answer to the question about houses. The Gabrielino and Chumash both made the same kind of house. They were high, domed houses with a willow or sycamore frame and covered with bullrushes (tules).

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:36AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Chumash Indians got married much younger than we do today. Girls got married when they were about 15 years old, and boys got married when they were 18 years old, on the average.

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:39AM PST (-0800 GMT)
The Chumash Indians had several different kinds of doctors. They used different kinds of medicinal plants in their healing. They believed that illness was often caused by a weak spirit or by witchcraft by someone's enemies. So the Chumash doctors (or shamans) would do special rituals to heal the person's spirit and counteract the effects of an enemy's evil medicine.

Barbara/Steph/Antonio: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:44AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr. Johnson, Is there a rule in a Chumash tribe about how much children a family can have?

Teeter's Arrowhead Seals: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:44AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Mr.Lemos, Do drawings take away some of your spirit like the pictures taken by a camera?

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:45AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How long did the Chumash Indians live on the islands? That is a very good question and one we are trying to answer today through continuing research. The oldest evidence of human remains in North America comes from Santa Rosa Island. Forty years ago two human thigh bones and a knee cap were found eroding out of the side of Arlington Canyon thirty feet below the surface. We recently used a technique called radiocarbon dating to determine that the bones dated to 13,000 years ago. At that time period, the last Ice Age was still going on and the sea level was a lot lower. So at that time period the Northern Channel Islands were all united together as one island. After the Ice Age ended, the sea level rose and the islands became separated. Whether the people who arrived here by 13,000 years ago were ancestors of the Chumash Indians is still not known.

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:48AM PST (-0800 GMT)
There was no rule regarding how many children a family could have, but the average family would have 2 or 3 children who would reach adulthood. Before the age of modern medicine, there was a higher death rate for babies, so not all children would survive to grow up.

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:50AM PST (-0800 GMT)
To Teeter's Arrowhead Seals: Mr. Lemos won't be doing the Chat until tomorrow. But I can answer your question about photography. So far as we know, Chumash Indians never had a belief that photography captured their souls, like some Indians did. We have many photographs of Chumash Indians taken at the end of the last century, which they willingly permitted to be made.

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:52AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Does anyone have any more questions?

Teeter's Arrowhead Seals: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 9:56AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr.Johnson, Do you study any other tribes,and if you do, which ones?

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:00AM PST (-0800 GMT)
I also have studied several other tribes in southern California. I have studied the Yokuts Indians who lived in the southern San Joaquin Valley, the Kitanemuk Indians who lived in the Tehachapi Mountains, the Tataviam Indians who lived in the area around Piru and Santa Clarita, the Fernadeņo Indians who lived in the San Fernando Valley, and the Luiseņo Indians who lived in northern San Diego County.

vanalden 9: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:02AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr.Jhonson How long did it take to be a perfetional doctor?

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:03AM PST (-0800 GMT)
With regard to the different tribes I have studied, there are interesting differences among them. Each lived in a different area and made their living in different ways appropriate to their environment. Each spoke a different language that was not mutually intelligible to neighboring tribes. Each had a different religion. Some of the tribes differed greatly in their marriage practices. For example, Chumash men moved to their wives'villages after marriage, but the Luiseņo Indians did just the opposite: the wives moved to their husbands'villages after marriage.

Teeter's Arrowhead Seals: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:05AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr. Johnson, What was the population of the Chumash at their most prosperous time? What is the population now?

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:07AM PST (-0800 GMT)
To become a professional anthropologist, you must plan to go to college and study anthropology. Anthropology is the study of humankind. In my own study of anthropology, I have specialized in the study of the Indians of southern California. After I finished four years of college, I went to graduate school where I studied another ten years before I obtained my Ph.D. (which means I am a doctor of philosophy).

vanalden 9: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:09AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr.Johnson, How long does it take the Chumush Indians to make one basket?

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:09AM PST (-0800 GMT)
The people who spoke the four principal Chumash languages probably numbered around 20,000 at the time Europeans arrived. Then there was a drastic population decline because of the new diseases that were accidentally introduced. Today at least 5,000 people who live in the region of their ancestors continued to identify themselves as Chumash Indians.

: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:11AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr.Johnson, What did the Chumash wear in the winter?

Patric/Chris/Omar: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:13AM PST (-0800 GMT)
DEAR DR. JOHNSON, what kind of art did the Chumash Indians produce?

Teeter's Arrowhead Seals: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:13AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr. Johnson, Our teacher has met Mr. Lemo and tried to take a picture of him and he said, "You have to ask before you can take a picture, because it will take away part of your spirt or cause bad luck", and that is what we know.

Teeter's Arrowhead Seals: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:13AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr.Johnson, How long were the "Tomols" able to be used?

Mrs. D from NV: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:14AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Hello Dr. Johnson, Tony, Arrowhead Seals Greetings from Judy Dennington at North Verdemont. The questions are excellent, I'm learning a lot this morning. As soon as my students get back from their assembly, we will be online for a bit. This will be their first chat so I want them mostly to read other people's questions to help them prepare good questions for our Open House tomorrow evening. Does anyone object to my plan? I don't like to "lurk" as a rule, but I do want the children to be well-prepared with questions as relevant as these are.

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:15AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How long does it take to make a Chumash basket? This is a very good question because it was a long process. First the basketweaver had to find where the appropriate plants were growing. They used basket rush (Juncus textilis) for weaving their fine, coiled basketry. They had to harvest the rush, then split the stalks, coil them, and cure them carefully by drying. If they wanted a dark color, then they would bury the sewing strands in mud for awhile. So it took a lot of preparation to get all of the materials together and cured properly. After the materials were ready then they would begin weaving. It took a lot of skill to know how to weave complex designs into the baskets. Because the women had other tasks to do, like gathering plant foods, cooking, and caring for children, it might take them several months of a few hours a day to weave a fine basket.

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:17AM PST (-0800 GMT)
What did the Chumash wear in the winter? When it was cold, they wore capes made from bearskin or sea otter skin. They also took strips of rabbit skin covered with fir and wove them together to make warm blankets.

North Verdemont Eagles: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:18AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr. Johnson, Where did the Chumash store their shell money? Did they wear it as jewelry or keep it put away like most people here do now?

Teeter's Arrowhead Seals: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:20AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr. Johnson We appreciate you taking your time to come on line and chat with us. We are reading all of the questions and answers. This is our first time participating in an online chat. We are learning so much!! Mrs. Teeter

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:21AM PST (-0800 GMT)
What kind of art did the Chumash produce? They were wonderful artisans (and still are today). They decorated many of the objects they used in daily life, like their baskets, stone bowls, pipes, etc. They also made carved figures of whales and canoes out of soapstone. The Chumash Indians are most famous as artists for their rock paintings that you can still see today at places in the mountains. These paintings were made for ceremonial purposes. Painted Cave State Park on San Marcos Pass behind Santa Barbara is one place you can go to see Chumash rock paintings.

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:23AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Where did the Chumash store their shell money? They strung the beads in necklaces and coiled these inside globular storage baskets with a lid on top. Did they wear it as jewelry or keep it put away like most people here do now? They wore jewelry on special occasions, like when they had their religious festivals or when they entertained guests.

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:25AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How long were the "Tomols" able to be used? They would continue to repair the tomols by adding new boards or using asphalt and fiber cords to patch a hole, but eventually the wood would become too worn out and they would make another boat. A good tomol might last several years.

Teeter's Arrowhead Seals: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:29AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr.Johnson, What animals did the Chumash Indians hunt and eat?

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:29AM PST (-0800 GMT)
To Teeter's Arrowhead Seals: Perhaps Mr. Lemos's family has a belief about pictures being bad luck, but I suspect that Mr. Lemos also meant that he wanted people to ask him first if they took his picture. His mother and he have let me take their picture several times when I asked their permission. They are friends of mine.

Teeter's Arrowhead Seals: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:32AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr. Johnson,What was the Chumash diet?

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:34AM PST (-0800 GMT)
What animals did the Chumash Indians hunt and eat? The Indians who lived in the mountains and valleys hunted deer, rabbits, ground squirrels, and quail. The Indians who lived near the coastal lagoons fished for sharks and rays and hunted ducks and coots (mudhens). The Indians along the coast and on the islands, fished with harpoons, fishhooks made from mussel or abalone shell, and with nets. They caught many species of fish, but sardines were the most numerous fish they caught and ate. They also would hunt seals, sea lions, sea otters, and dolphins. Occasionally they would harpoon a swordfish. Cormorants were the most important sea bird that the Chumash would catch for food.

Nicholas and Eddie from North Verdemont: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:35AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr. Johnson, How were the eight channel islands made? Were they made by volcanoes?

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:37AM PST (-0800 GMT)
What was the Chumash diet? Besides the game and fish they would hunt, the Chumash along the coast would gather shellfish for food -- various clams, mussels, abalones, limpets, and turban snails. The plant foods that they ate included acorns, islay (wild cherry) pits -- which they would have to boil because they are poisonous otherwise, yucca stalks, and many, many different kinds of seeds. Unlike other Indians in Mexico and other parts of North America, the California Indians did not grow corn. Instead they gathered wild grains for their diet.

Destany from North Verdemont: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:42AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr. Johnson, How did a person become a chief of the Chumash people?

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:42AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How were the eight channel islands made? Were they made by volcanoes? Well, now you are asking questions that are outside my specialty. These are questions for a geologist, not an anthropologist. I can only speak with some knowledge of the four northern Channel Islands. At least parts of these islands were once connected to the mainland down in the San Diego area about 50 million years ago, if I remember correctly. The eastern Pacific Ocean lies on top of a giant plate that gradually moves east hitting the continent of North America. Over millions of years the part of the coast near San Diego tore loose and twisted up to become islands off of Santa Barbara. Geologists can tell this by comparing the rocks on our islands to the rocks down near San Diego.

Eric and Tomas from NorthVerdemont: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:43AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear Dr.Johnson How did the Chumash Indain dress?

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:45AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How did a person become a chief of the Chumash people? Usually a person who was a son of a chief would inherit the chieftainship of his father, but sometimes a daughter of a chief would become chief. There are several famous cases of women chiefs among the Chumash. Also, sometimes the nephew of a chief would become the chief.

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:48AM PST (-0800 GMT)
How did the Chumash Indain dress? Like most other American Indians (except in the far north), the Chumash Indian men didn't wear any clothes at all. They were not embarrassed by this -- it was what they were used to. The Chumash women wore skirts around their waists. These were either made from buckskins or from tules (like grass skirts) that had the tips dipped in tar to keep them hanging down.

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:50AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Thank you all for asking such good questions. I only have time for one or two more and then I have to get back to my museum work. I have enjoyed our chat this morning.

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:52AM PST (-0800 GMT)
I hope all of you will have an opportunity to come to see our museum when your families visit Santa Barbara. We are located just up the road from the old Mission Santa Barbara, right next to Mission Creek. You can visit our website at www.sbnature.org to find out more about our museum. We have many examples of Chumash baskets and other objects that they made on exhibit in our Indian Hall.

Mrs. D from NV: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:53AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Thank you so much for sharing your time and knowledge with us. We enjoyed it very much and learned a lot. I do hope you will chat with us again sometime.

Tony - Camp Internet: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:56AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dr. Johnson, thank you for a great session.

Dr. John Johnson, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 10:59AM PST (-0800 GMT)
Thank you everyone. It was fun! Good-bye for now.

Teeters Arrowhead Seals: . . . . Wed, Oct 4, 4:54PM PST (-0800 GMT)
Dear , Dr.Johnson,How did the chumash get on the island?

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