The Chumash occupied an expansive territory along the southern California coast, from Malibu Canyon in the south to Estero Bay in the north, and as far inland as the western San Joaquin Valley. Also included in Chumash territory were the large offshore islands--San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Anacapa.

Chumash villages were among the largest in California, some containing as many as two thousands residents. Their homes were made of poles driven into the ground and arched into the center, overlaid with a thatch of interwoven grasses, tules, and ferns. In addition to family homes, the typical Chumash village also included a storehouse, sweathouse, cemetery, ceremonial enclosure, and playing field.

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(DETAIL)- "In the sunshine, two women and child." California Historical Society, Photography collection.

The Chumash also produced some of the most colorful and spectacular rock paintings in North America. The extant paintings, found in caves and on rock outcroppings throughout southern California, are almost always abstract in design; even when life forms are depicted they are highly stylized and imaginative.

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