CALIFORNIA STATE ID~IVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
ART AS COMM~ICATION:
INDIAN ROCK ART AND MISSION ART
OF THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in
Anthropology
by
Catherine A. Weinerth
January 1985 The Thesis of Catherine A. Weinerth is approved:
Clay A. inger
Carol J.~key, Chair v
California State University, Northridge
ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the members of my Thesis Committee,
Professors Carol J. Mackey, Clay A. Singer, and Norman Neuerburg, for their enthusiasm, suggestions, time and energy. At the outset of this project I was inspired by the generosity and encouragement of Travis Hudson and Georgia Lee. Members of the Northridge
Archaeological Research Center, in particular Arlene Benson, Bob
Edberg and John Romani, generously assisted me in getting around to the rock art sites and in understanding what I found there. Dr.
Clement Meighan of the University of California, Los Angeles, kindly gave me unlimited access to the Rock Art Archive, and made some helpful suggestions on the manuscript.
Greg Weinerth gave me unwavering support throughout this project. Camille Zeitouny assisted me in working on the computer, and in making final revisions. And Yolanda Difloure typed and critiqued the manuscript and saw me through all of the doldrums, agonies and celebrations.
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...... iii
LIST OF FIGURES ...... viii
ABSTRACT...... ix
Introduction...... 1
General Aspects...... 1
Groups to be Studied...... 1
Art Forms to be Studied...... 2
Focus of the Study...... 3
Related Research: Theory and Methodology...... 4
Analysis of Art Forms...... 4
Culture Change...... 5
Research Methods...... 7
Sources...... 7
Analysis...... 7
Organization of the Thesis...... 8
CHAPTER I
Prehistory...... 9
Cultural Systems...... 9
Productive Level...... 10
Subsistence...... • ...... 10
Technology...... 10
Art Forms, Materials and Techniques ...... 11
Societal Level...... • ...... 12
Settlement Patterns...... 12
iv Kinship and Family...... 13
Political Organization ...... 13
Etonomic Organization ...... 14
Artistic Organization ...... 15
Ideational Level...... 16
Ritual Leaders...... 16
Ritual and Ceremony...... 17
Mythology, Astronomy and Cosmology ...... 18
Rock Art...... 20
Summary...... 21
CHAPTER II
Missionization and Acculturation ...... 22
Miss ionization...... 22
California Expeditions ...... 22
Southern California Expedition ...... 23
Establishment of Mission San Fernando ...... 24
Acculturation: Change and Continuity ...... 25
Secularization...... 28
Post-Secularization...... 29
To the Present...... 31
Summary...... 33
CHAPTER III
Sacred Art...... 34
Art and Artists...... 34
Major Rock Art Areas...... 36
v Europe ...... ~ 36
Africa...... 38
Other Areas...... 38
North America...... 39
California Rock Art...... 41
History of the Literature, Related Research ...... 41
Southern California Indian Art Forms ...... 42
Gabrielino and Chumash Rock Art ...... 43
Materials and Techniques ...... 43
Forms...... 44
Functions ...... 44
Rock Art Research Methods ...... 46
Gabrielino and Chumash Rock Art Sites ...... 49
Santa Monica Mountain Sites ...... 49
San Fernando Valley Sites ...... 52
Santa Clara River Area Sites ...... 54
Azusa Canyon Sites...... 56
Summary...... 56
Summary...... 58
CHAPTER IV
Sacred Art at Mission San Fernando ...... 59
Historical Background ...... 59
Spain and Mexico...... 59
California...... 61
Art Work in the California Missions ...... 62
Art Work at Mission San Fernando ...... •...... 65
vi Missionaries and Indians ...... 65
Art Forms and Design Elements ...... 66
Restorations...... 69
Summary ...... : . . • ...... 70
CHAPTER v
Analysis...... 72
Prehistoric and Historical Comparison ...... 73
Productive Level...... 73
Societal Level...... 7 4
Ideational Level...... 74
Fernanden'o Rock Art...... 76
General Aspects...... 76
Rock Art and Mission Art Comparison ...... 77
California l'1issions...... 78
Mission San Fernando...... 79
Summary...... 81
CHAPTER VI
Conclusions ...... :...... 83
REFERENCES CITED...... 85
APPENDIX A (FIGURES) ...... 100
APPENDIX B (RESEARCH SOURCES) ...... 120
vii LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
1. San Fernando Valley Catchment Area with Rock Art Sites ...... 101
2. The Gabrielino Indians at the Time of the Portol~ Expedition (Distribution of Villages) ...... 102
3. The Old Franciscan Missions of California ...... 103
4. Model for Cultural System and Its Aesthetic Segment .. 104
5. California Pictograph and Petroglyph Design Elements. 105
6. Chumash line drawings ...... 106
7. Complex Chumash pictograph ...... 106
8. Saddle Rock Ranch (LAn-717). The Four Horsemen ...... 107
9. Saddle Rock Ranch (LAn-717). Deer with madstone ..... 107
10. Malibu Creek State Park (LAn-748). Design element ... 108
11. Vasquez Rocks County Park (LAn-367). Datura ...... 109
12. Mission San Juan Capistrano corridor wall. Vaquero lassoing a cow...... 110
13. Mission San Fernando Governor's Room- south wall .... 111
14. Mission San Fernando Governor's Room- north and east walls...... • ...... 113
15. Mission San Fernando sal a - west door ...... 114
·16. Mission San Fernando sal a - north door ...... •..... 115
17. Mission San Fernando sal a - west doorway ...... 116
18. Mission San Fernando corridor door. Deer hunter ..... 117
19. Chumash deer hunters ...... •...... 118
20. Relationships of San Fernando Valley Catchment Area Rock Art Sites with Fernandeno Productive, Societal and Ideational Systems ...... •...... 119
viii ABSTRACT
ART AS COMMUNICATION:
INDIAN ROCK ART AND MISSION ART
OF THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
by
Catherine A. Weinerth
Master of Arts in Anthropology
The theory and methods of aesthetic anthropology are applied to art work produced by Indians of the San Fernando Valley, to aid in determining their mode of adaptation to Spanish missionization. Pic tographs and petroglyphs, and paintings at Mission San Fernando, are described, compared and contrasted as to their materials, techniques, forms and functions. The elements are analyzed as to their relation ships with other aspects of Fernande~o culture within the productive, societal and ideational realms. The evidence from this examination added to the historical, ethnohistorical and archaeological records indicates that the Fernande~o had a persistent cultural system, and adapted to missionization and acculturation by integrating - main taining cultural identity while becoming part of the larger societal framework.
ix Introduction
The purpose of this thesis is to use art work of the San Fernando
Valley Indians as a source of information about the extent to which their culture changed during the mission period. Some historians and anthropologists (see Dakin 1939; Caughey 1952; Coombs 1975) give the impression that the Indians here relinquished much of their cultural identity during the decades from the late 1700s through the 1830s.
Mission San Gabriel was founded in 1771 and Mission San Fernando in
1797; in the 1830s the Missions were secularized or turned over to secular control. Evidence for the continuity of the aboriginal culture will be sought in the historical, ethnohistorical and archaeological records, and in the records provided by Indian art work created before, during and after the mission period.
General Aspects
The San Fernando Valley is situated immediately north of Los
Angeles, California. For the purposes of this paper, the valley is defined as a broad catchment area encompassing parts of the Angeles
National Forest to the east, the San Gabriel and Santa Susana Mountains to the north, and the Santa Monica Mountains to the west (see Figure1).
Indians from these areas were recruited as neophytes (Catholic con verts) into Mission San Fernando (Kroeber 1908:12).
Groups to be Studied
At least two ethnic groups lived in the valley in late prehistoric and early historic times. The Chumash, known mainly as the peoples of
Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, inhabited the Santa Monica Mountain area and the western part of the San Fernando Valley. For example,
1 2 " .
a bi-ethnic (Chumash plus Gabrielino) village named huwam or El
Escorpion was situated at the extreme western end near Bell Canyon
(C. King 1975:174-175; C. King 1969; Romani 1978).
Gabrielino Indians occupied the entire San Fernando Valley. Their territory included parts of Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino
Counties, as well as the offshore islands of Santa Catalina, San
Clemente and San Nicolas (Bean and Smith 1978:538).
There is some evidence that Gabrielino peoples (Takic speakers) mixed with Chumashan speakers in the upper Santa Clara Valley of Los
Angeles and Ventura Counties, yielding a population called Tataviam
(Bright 1975:229-230). All of these people w~re eventually baptized at
Mission San Fernando (King and Blackburn 1978:536).
For the purposes of this thesis, with its emphasis on Indians brought to Mission San Fernando, the three groups will be called the
Fernande~o when referred to jointly. The names Gabrielino and
Fernanderto refer to dialectic subgroups of the southern California
Shoshoneans which were culturally indistinguishable (Blackburn 1963:8;
La Lone 1980:3). The practice of using names derived from the missions may be uncomfortable at best; however it provides a simple means of referring to a diverse group of people who seem to have interacted and intermarried with one another. When clarity demands, and especially in reference to their separate cultural practices, the groups will be called by their specific names.
Art Forms to be Studied
The Fernandeno used rock shelters and outcroppings as surfaces for design. Painted forms of rock art are called pictographs; where another stone has been used to peck, scratch or abrade a design,· 3
the result is called a petroglyph (Grant 1965:74). Recorded rock art sites are located in the mountains to the east, north and west of the valley (see Figure 1). The Indian artists created these works before, during and after Spanish occupation. The broadest range of dates, in cluding both p~troglyphs and pictographs, probably begins at 500 B.C. and terminates in the late 1800s (Clewlow 1978:623-624; Grant 1965:
93-96).
After Mission San Fernando was established, Indian neophytes created murals, paintings and other art forms in the Mission. San
Gabriel Mission also had artisans among its converts, but the number and variety of paintings at San Fernando allow for more direct compar ison with rock art forms.
Focus of the Study
To summarize, this study is concerned with the Fernandeno Indians of the San Fernand~ Valley and the changes in their culture over time, especially as these changes may be reflected in the materials, tech niques, forms and functions of rock art and mission art. The focus of the study is on the time period just prior to Spanish occupation in the
1700s, through the post-mission decades of the nineteenth century.
In beginning this work, my expectations regarding the analysis and comparison of Fernanderlo rock art and mission art were that:
1) materials, techniques, forms and functions varied from the rock art to the mission art; 2) mission art .work showed some combinations of aboriginal and European-derived materials, techniques, forms and functions; and 3) some of the materials, techniques, forms and func tions found in the rock art reappeared in the mission art. The results of the analysis will be used to illuminate the degrees and 4
directions of culture change among the Fernandeno.
Related Research: Theory and Methodology
Analysis of Art Forms
How can the investigation of art forms help shed light on culture
change and continuity? The theoretical base of this study is the idea
that art is understandable, and that symbols can aid in understanding cultural processes. Anderson (1979), d'Azevedo (1958) and Firth (1973) present varying explications of this viewpoint. Jacques Maquet defines
the field of aesthetic anthropology, wherein the researcher studies art forms which are potentially universal, and applies the empirical methods of identification, observation and analysis to them (1971:45).
In anthropology and other social sciences, researchers attempt to use quantitative proofs for their hypotheses. In aesthetic anthro pology, these methods are used as supplements. Maquet's approach is
to study the relationships between a culture's aesthetic segment and the other aspects of the culture as they divide into three levels or dimensions: productive systems, societal networks and ideational con figurations (see Figure 4).
Each of the levels has an aesthetic component, which can be analyzed as to its relationship with the other cultural phenomena at all three levels. The types of relationship include uni-directional influence, exclusion or negative determinism, and correspondence or reciprocal influence (Maquet 1983).
By correspondence, Maquet does not mean causality. An aesthetic element corresponds with another element of a culture when there is a reciprocal-influence between the two. The availability of stone 5
instead of wood for carving, for example, would influence the forms of sculpture created; the creation of such sculpture would influence the demand for stone. Lack of wood would mean exclusion (negative deter minism) of sculpted wood forms. Uni-directional or one-way influence might be found where a group's pre-occupation with matters of survival left them no time for the creation of aesthetic objects (Maquet 1983).
Researchers examining southern California rock_art have noted the relationships, especially the correspondence, between these art forms and the other segments of the aboriginal culture. Lee states that the artistic designs found in this area convey ritual and social informa tion, and show continuity over time (1981:57). Other scholars em phasize the relationships between rock art and shamanic beliefs and practices (Edberg 1981; Garvin 1978), astronomy (Hudson and Underhay
1978; Romani 1981), and mythology (Lee 1977; Schupp Wessel 1982). In particular, the study of these art forms may yield information about the ways that the Indians dealt with externally-imposed crisis situa tions, such as the arrival of the Spaniards (Lee 1978:10-11).
Recent studies of Mission San Fernando art forms take an art historical rather than anthropological point of view (Neuerburg 1977;
Pelzel 1976; Phillips 1976). One goal of this thesis is to examine the mission art within an anthropological context, showing possible relationships to other aspects of the culture during mission times.
Culture Change
Another goal of this research is to bring together evidence from rock art, mission art, history, ethnohistory and the archaeological record, to add to the information on how the Fernandeno responded to the mission system. This evidence includes the materials, techniques, 6
forms and functions of rock art and mission art, and their relation ships to the other segments of culture.
Ethnohistorical sources indicate that the Fernandeno and nearby groups displayed varied responses to missionization (Blackburn 1974;
Phillips 1975). As the Spaniards contacted the Fernandeno people and recruited them into Mission San Fernando, some Indians went through the process of acculturation. Berry (1980:11) describes acculturation as a three-phase course including contact, conflict and adaptation.
Adaptation may take one of four forms: assimilation (relinquishing of cultural identity), rejection (self-imposed withdrawal), deculturation
(falling out of contact with both the traditional culture and the incoming group), and integration (maintenance of cultural identity while becoming part of a larger societal framework) (Berry 1980:13).
The above-mentioned forms of adaptation are types of culture change. Assimilation and deculturation are extreme forms, showing discontinuity with the previous cultural system. With rejection, members of the group maintain continuity by withdrawing from the new cultural influences. Those who integrate into the new sy-stem show a degree of continuity, particularly in their cultural identity or conception of themselves.
People who are able to maintain continuity in a variety of socio cultural environments, belong to what Spicer calls a persistent cultural system (1971:799). During periods of culture contact and conflict, such a group may produce a high degree of internal solidari ty, aided by such identity symbols as flags, rituals, and heroes.
Language symbols are also important, but loss of language does not necessarily mean loss of the cultural identity system. Spicer cites 7
the example of the Jews, who have lost their language many times but maintain cultural identity (1971:798-799).
The overriding goal· of this thesis is to examine the following problem: were the Fernande~o members of a persistent cultural system?
Using the methods of aesthetic anthropology as a basis for comparison of rock art and mission art, I will study the historical, ethno historical and archaeological records for evidence of the Fernandeno culture's change and continuity.
Research Hethods
The identification, observation and analysis of motifs in rock art and mission art (the methods as presented in Haquet 1971:45) constitute the basic method of this research. The use of historical, ethnohistorical and archaeological records aids in the process of summarizing and synthesizing the material.
Sources
The specific libraries, archiv.es, Hissions and sites visited are listed in full in Appendix B, as well as the informants interviewed.
The sources are grouped as to their focus on the San Fernando Valley
Indians, rock art, mission art, and historical and ethnohistorical information.
Analysis
Analysis of the information gained from historical, ethnohistoric al and archaeological sources consists of description, comparison and contrast. In particular, the motifs in rock art and mission art are illustrated and presented for comparison. Among the possible pitfalls to be kept in mind while examining these materials are biases in the 8
literature, the incomplete nature of the archaeological record, the subjectivity of art interpretation, the difficulty of dating rock art and the simple fact that different individuals were responsible for the rock art and mission art.
For all of the above reasons, isolated indicators are considered insufficient evidence for the mode of adaptation of the Fernandeno.
This study will be seeking mutually supportive indicators among the several sources.
Organization of the Thesis
Chapter One presents the prehistory of the Fernandeno,-~ and
Chapter Two summarizes the history of their missionization and accul- turation.
Chapter Three is a description of sacred art in preliterate societies around the world, in North America and in southern California with special reference to the art of the Fernande~o. Chapter Four deals with the art at Mission San Fernando and its relationship to
Spanish sacred art and art in the other California Missions.
Chapter Five is an analysis of the materials presented, including summarized findings on Fernandeno acculturation, and comparison and contrast of the information from historical, ethnohistorical and art historical sources. The final chapter offers conclusions and direc- tions for further study.
References and appendices (figures, and sources) follow the text. @ •
Chapter I
Prehistory
This chapter sunmarizes what is known of the culture of the pre historic Fernanderto. The prehistory of the groups is derived from archaeological and ethnohistorical studies; a limited amount of ethno graphic material is available. The information on missionization and acculturation in the next chapter is derived mainly from historical sources.
As stated earlier, the Fernande~o of the San Fernando Valley con sisted of Gabrielino, Chumash and Tataviam people. It is believed that the Tataviam (known since the mission period as the Alliklik) formed a linguistic and cultural subdivision of the Gabrielino
(Blackburn 1963:8; Hudson et al. 1977:117) so they will be included among the Gabrielino. The Gabrielino and Chumash differed in many respects, including language: the Chumash spoke a series of dialects of the Chumashan language family, while the Gabrielino were Takic speakers (Kroeber 1925:552-577; Shipley 1978:81). However the two groups shared many cultural traits, as examples throughout the follow ing section will show.
Cultural Systems
Following the guidelines established by Maquet (see Figure 4), this section includes information on the general customs and practices of the Gabrielino and Chumash, including their art forms, at the productive, societal and ideational levels. This information is not all-inclusive, but focuses on the aspects relevant to the thesis.
9 10
Productive Level
Subsistence
Gabrielino men engaged in hunting, fishing and trading. Women were responsible for collecting and preparing floral and some animal resources (cf. Bean and Smith 1978:546). The predominant food re- sources were acorns, sage and other seeds, yucca, cacti, rodents, deer, fish, birds and insects (Johnston 1962:32-34). In addition, they con sumed dogs and rattlesnakes (Kroeber 1925:631). The Chumash used many of these same foods, with a greater emphasis on seafoods (cf. Grant
1978).
Before hunting, Gabrielino men abstained from sexual relations.
They did not eat while hunting, and in particular were prohibited from eating their own catch. To remind them of their power and courage before a major hunt, they stung their bodies (especially the eyelids) with nettles (Johnston 1962:33-34).
Technology
Foods were processed in bedrock and portable mortars, using metates and mullers, and kept in pottery and other vessels. These were produced by Gabrielino artisans using the coiling or paddle and anvil techniques (Bean and Smith 1978:542). The Chumash did not make pottery, but utilized steatite cooking vessels, sandstone storage bowls, oak- and alder-root plates and bowls, and asphaltum-lined water baskets. They also made and used many of the same tools as the
Gabrielino (Grant 1978:514-517).
For hunting purposes, Gabrielino men fashioned bows approximately four feet long, with two- or three-ply strings of sinew or vegetable fiber. Their arrows were made of cane with a hardwood foreshaft, 11
and sometimes fitted with a stone or bone point (Johnston 1962:34).
Hardwood clubs (dogwood or mesquite) were used for killing smaller animals; clubs were also used in warfare. For fishing, they employed elder-wood harpoons and shell fishhooks (Blackburn 1963:11,18-19).
Among their other tools were scrapers and awls made of bone, flint and bone knives, flint drills, and cobble mauls (Harrington 1942:12-13).
The Gabrielino and the Chumash built domed, circular houses with thatches of tule, alfalfa, fern or carrizo. They also constructed sweat houses, and ceremonial enclosures or yoba (Blackburn 1963:24;
Grant 1978:510). In common with the Chumash, the Gabrielino used wooden plank boats (Grant 1965:71).
Art Forms, Materials and Techniques
Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, Indian artisanship was elaborately developed. Gabrielino decorative arts included body paint ing and tattooing: infant girls had designs done on their arms, and from the chin or eyebrows down to the breast (Blackburn 1963:27-32).
The Chumash distinguished themselves from members of different villages by painting their bodies in particular patterns (Grant 1978:510).
Gabrielino artisans decorated many of their everyday items with shell inlaid with asphaltum, rare minerals, carving and painting
(Bean and Smith 1978:542). Steatite, imported in raw or finished form from the Santa Catalina Island Gabrielinos (the Chumash traded with them also) was used to make animal carvings, pipes, ritual objects, ornaments and cooking utensils (Johnston 1962:31-32).
Gabrielino and Chumash baskets were functional and decorative.
The Gabrielino used coiled baskets as food containers, grave markers 12
and in dances (Blackburn 1963:16). The Chumash were renowned for their
coiled and twined baskets, ranging from plain utilitarian forms to
elaborate trinket holders (Grant 1978:516).
As the examples above illustrate, some of the materials, tech niques, and forms of utilitarian objects were also employed.for pro
duction of objects with decorative or ritualistic functions. Thus at
the productive level, the Gabrielino and Chumash showed a correspond ence between the forms, functions, materials and techniques of their everyday items and their aesthetic objects.
In sum, Gabrielino and Chumash people subsisted by hunting and gathering. They practiced a well-developed technology, adapted to the materials available in southern California. Their craft items re flected both practical and aesthetic uses.
Societal Level
Settlement Patterns
All Gabrielino settlements were located near water courses or springs. Their primary subsistence villages were occupied continu ously, perhaps by multiple clan groupings. Smaller, secondary gather ing camps consisted of small family units, and were occupied at various times during the year, depending upon season and resource
(Bean and Smith· 1978:538-539) .
Population estimates are difficult to make. There may have been
50 to 100 mainland villages, with an average population of 50 to 100 people in each, at the time of European contact (Bean and Smith 1978:
540). There were then probably 5,000 Gabrielino at that time
(Johnston 1962:2), while the Chumash may have numbered 8,000 to 10,000 13
(Kroeber 1925:551).
Kinship and Family
Kroeber wrote in 1925 that the social institutions of the
Gabrielino were not well known; this is still the case. Marriage was by purchase, and the wife lived in her husband's village (a patrilocal arrangement) (Kroeber 1925:633). Kinship was traced patrilineally through the male line (Johnston 1962:23). Chumash also purchased wives; the husband gave her family gifts such as beads and otter skins.
Only the chiefs were allowed to have more than one wife (Engelhardt
1930:35). Chumash traced descent patrilineally (Harrington 1942:32).
In some aspects of social organization, Gabrielino influence seems to have spread to immediate contact groups and beyond (Blackburn
1963:9). For example, the Gabrielino probably originated the concept of totemic moieties shared by the Luiserto, Serrano and other groups
(Bean 1974:18). Under this system, exogamy (marriage outside the moiety) was associated with ritual reciprocity. This system may also have served to define religious, military and economic alliances, although some Gabrielino and Chumash had pseudo-moieties which did not control economic exchange (Ibid.).
In general, southern California Indian groups observed inherited class differences (Bean 1974:21-27). The Gabrielino elite class in cluded chiefs and their immediate family, and the very rich; these persons spoke a specialized language (Bean and Smith 1978:543). The middle class included those from long-established, fairly well-to-do lineages. The third class consisted of ordinary·workers (Ibid.).
Political Organization Villages or tribelets were politically autonomous, and composed 14
of nonlocalized lineages; each lineage had its own leader. At various
times during the year the lineage broke up into smaller subsistence
exploitation units which went out to collect resources, then returned
to the village (Bean and Smith 1978:543-544).
The leader of the dominant lineage was the chief of his village
(either Gabrielino or Chumash). Usually the former chief's eldest son
succeeded him, subject to community approval (Harrington 1942:33;
Johnston 1962:23). The new Gabrielino chief took the name of his (or
her) town, plus the suffix -pik or -vik (Kroeber 1925:633). Often the
chief headed multiple village confederations. The chief served as
guardian of the sacred bundle, a link to the sacred past and the
primary embodiment of power. He was also responsible for community welfare and solidarity, toward which ends he arbitrated disputes,
supervised tax collections, and led war parties (Bean and Smith 1978:
544).
Wars were frequent between the coastal and prairie-mountain groups
of Chumash and Gabrielino. Commonly, they occurred because of sorcery,
thefts, or because a chief broke the chain of economic reciprocity by failing to return a gift during a ceremony (Grant 1978:513; Johnston
1962:25).
Economic Organization
Interior Gabrielino peoples did considerable trading with the
coastal groups, exchanging deerskins, seeds and acorns for such goods
as dried fish, sea-otter furs, shell bead money, and soapstone
(steatite) vessels. The standard currency was the string of clamshell
disk beads (Kroeber 1925:630), which also doubled as ornament (Johnston
1962:30). According to Chester King the Chumash were inveterate Q ' 15
traders, deeply concerned with wealth and the acquisition of property
(1976:296-297). The Gabrielino, Chumash and coastal Salinan groups
formed trade, military and ritual alliances. Intense socio-political and economic interactions such as trade fairs and mourning ceremonies were held at locations which Bean (1974) calls interface centers;
Point Mugu was a Chumash center, while Povongna or Puvungna, on the
Los Angeles River north of Long Beach (Johnston 1962: Map, p. x) served as a Gabrielino center (see Figure 2). These gatherings might involve as many as 12 villages or tribelets, two or more ethnic groups, and peoples from several ecological zones (Bean 1974:17-18).
Artistic Organization
In a general sense, the Gabrielino and Chumash social organization corresponded to a high degree of organization in the aesthetic realm.
Bow makers, canoemen and other craft specialists were assembled into kinship-chartered guilds or gremios, where they were trained to follow certain set standards of artisanship (Blackburn 1974:105).
In sum, at the societal level, the Fernanderio organized them selves into primary subsistence villages and secondary gathering camps located near water courses. Their marriages were generally patrilocal; descent was traced patrilineally. They belonged to exogamous moieties, and observed class differences.
Politically the Chumash and Gabrielino were organized into autonomous villages headed by chiefs, who carried out economic and war-making functions. They carried on active trading and ceremonial functions, among themselves and in conjunction with other groups.
Their craft functions were organized by guild.
The following categories of Fernandeno customs and practices 16
are related to the ideational dimension. Ritual leaders were respons ible for the psychological and spiritual welfare of their communities.
Toward these ends they organized inter- and intra-village rituals and ceremonies, including those involving hallucinogenic drugs. They also garnered and manipulated_mythological, astronomical and cosmological knowledge. And they created and manipulated rock art, which was in terrelated with all facets of the ideational realm.
Ideational Level
Ritual Leaders
For southern California in general, shamans could be chiefs as well as religious leaders; the two roles shared many features. The shaman inherited his or her role, was paid for services rendered, and was generally considered as an agent for both good and evil (Bean
1974:25). As an indication that shamans commanded a degree of re spect, they (like chiefs) mig~t have more than one wife. Families, then, were willing to ally with them, and they had sufficient wealth to support multiple wives (Bean 1974:21,25).
Boscana, in his account of members of the Gabrielino Chinigchi nich cult, emphasized the mysterious nature of the religious knowledge
Chiefs and shamans imparted the explanations of customs and usages to initiates only; the chief used a special language to introduce cere monial dances (1978:17). Cult members built special ceremonial struc tures called siliy~q by the Chumash (Blackburn 1976:236), yuva·r by the Gabrielino (Bean and Smith 1978:542). Other terms included yoba, yobar and yobagnar. Yuva·r were open-air enclosures made of wicker, oval in shape, and decorated with feathers, skins and flowers. Among the contents of these ceremonial structures were painted and decorated 17
poles, an image of the god, and a sand painting representing the cos mos (Ibid.).
In another cult, 'antap, Chumash shamans and chiefs formed casual
alliances with social benefits. The 'antap were primarily responsible
for giving dances and other rituals at large public ceremonies (Black
burn 1974:102-104). They also had charge of rock art, and the knowl
edge of power in general (Hudson and Lee 1981:2).
'Antap may have served as the framework for integrating the guilds
or gremios into the political and religious hierarchy (Blackburn 1974:
lOS). The cult probably dates no earlier than the sixteenth century.
Hudson and Underhay state that the Gabrielino also participated in the
'antap organization (1978:72,65).
Ritual and Ceremony
As was stated earlier, the Chumash and Gabrielino interacted at
large ceremonies which served religious, socio-political and economic ends (Blackburn 1974:109). There was also a wide variety of occasions
for intra-tribal ritual. Blackburn (1976:233) says that the Chumash held ceremonies for solstices, harvest, the chief's birthday, the drinking of toloache (Datura), births, naming of children, illness and
recovery.
Interior Gabrielino peoples are thought to have cremated their
dead, while Santa Catalina Islanders practiced primary burial (Kroeber
1925:633). The Chumash held mourning ceremonies, practiced primary burial and reburial, and interred such grave goods as bowls, beads and charmstones (Grant 1978:511-512).
Description of Chumash and Gabrielino ceremonies would not be 18
complete without mentioning the drugs used in ritual context. Tobacco was used by the Gabrielino for offerings, shamanic purposes, and smok ing or eating at bedtime (Blackburn 1963:22). Applegate has written a detailed report on the many uses of Datura among the southern Cali fornia Indians; the following details are excerpted from his article
(1975:7-14). Datura meteloides A.DC., also called Jimsonweed or tala ache (Spanish variant of the Aztec toloatzin) was used by the Gabrieli no as part of the Chingichnich ceremonial complex (Note that there are several spellings of this name.).
Specifically, pubescent boys took the drug in order to make con tact with a dream helper (eg. Hawk, Coyote). The strongest part of the plant, the root, was mashed in a special ceremonial mortar and steeped in cold water. The kinds and intensities of taboos on the Datura drinker, such as abstinence from sex or certain foods, depended on the degree of power sought. The influence of the drug would allow the user to contact the spirits of the dead, and find lost or stolen articles.
The shaman or healer had additional particular reasons for using Datura including the desire to contact dream helpers, choose plants for curin& or cause illness or death. In a medical emergency, a mother or grand mother might be called upon to administer the drug to the patient, in an attempt to counteract wounds, illness, ill omens or breaches of taboo (Ibid.) .
Mythology, Astronomy and Cosmology
Datura was also of great mythical importance to the Chumash
(Applegate 1975:15). In the old days, when animals were still people,
Coyote administered Datura (1975:10). Ethnohistorians such as Black- 19
burn (1975) are using the mythology of the southern California Indians to gain information on other aspects of their culture. More work has been done on Chumash mythology than on Gabrielino. We know in a gener al sense that the Gabrielino were probably materialists (Boscana's term)·: the soul was esp{ritu vital , received from the air they breath ed. When the body died, the soul was gone (Boscana 1978:75).
Greater understanding of southern California Indian culture can also be gained through an understanding of their celestial environment.
In Chumash culture it was the 'antap who possessed and controlled the necessary ritual skills and cult objects "to allow man to interact with the cosmos." (Hudson and Underhay 1978:17). The shaman-priests used their cosmological knowledge to select the times for important rituals, and to choose birth names for children (1978:126). The astrologers made use of sun shrines (often located on mountain tops) which were considered places of concentrated supernatural power. One such place was Tswaya tsuqele (Castle Peak) in the San Fernando Valley (1978:68).
This is located near the village of huwam, mentioned earlier, which was probably composed of about one-half Chumash and one-half Gabrielino peoples (Edberg 1980:4).
The Gabrielino used astronomical knowledge in general and specific ways. They observed the summer and winter solstices and marked them by means of a calendar (Hudson and Underhay 1978:65). They observed and named Polaris. One Gabrielino myth relates the story of a man who was required to draw a map of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor on the ground
(1978:99-100).
To Hudson and Underhay, such examples indicate that knowledge of 20
the heavens was not restricted to agricultural and horticultural people
(1978:55). The Gabrielino counted moons and used stars as month mark- ers. They placed star maps on cult objects such as deer-tibia whistles and sunsticks, for the use of the astronomers. It is also possible that star maps were depicted in their rock art (Hudson and Underhay
1978:130-132).
Rock Art
The ideational categories presented above include a few examples of the ways that rock art and other Fernande~o art forms were inter- related with ritual and ceremonial activities. This segment presents rock art as a separate category within the ideational sphere, and gives further illustrations of its correspondence with the other aspects of
v Fernandeno culture.
Grant designated two broad categories of Chumash rock art: repre- sentational and abstract. Most of the abstract paintings represent supernatural beings or forces, which were "as real and as readily viaal as the natural." (1965:77). He also feels that most of the paintings were created by and for the use of the shamans (1965:90).
Applegate indicates that the distribution of rock paintings coin- cides fairly closely with the area of the most intense Datura cult
(1975:15). Hudson and Underhay (1978:147) suggest that the insignia used in rituals were probably depicted in rock art, because they were expressed in other media such as wood, bone, stone, shell and human skin (ie. tatoos).
Rock art seems to have been a focal point for various shamanic practices, including rituals related to hallucinogen use, medicine, 21
mythology, cosmology and astronomy. According to Lee (1977:12) the
pictographs and petroglyphs aided in understanding the mysteries of an
unpredictable environment. Symbols expressed the inexpressible: wish-
es, prayers, spells and ideas (1977:1). The designs conveyed ritual
and social information and displayed continuity over time (Lee 1981:57-
58).
Summary
N Prior to Spanish occupation, the Fernandeno (Gabrielino and Chu- mash people) practiced hunting and gathering, a varied technology cen- tering around materials readily available plus imported goods, and an elaborate artisanship with both functional and decorative aspects.
Major features of their social organization included large and small villages headed by chiefs, frequent and extensive trading, and an active ceremonial life. Families were organized into exogamous moie- ties, and were arranged into hierarchically ordered classes. Their members located themselves patrilocally and traced descent patriline- ally.
The ritual elite, shamans, chiefs and other cult members, wielded power and knowledge for personal and communal ends. Their knowledge of mythology, astronomy and cosmology, enhanced by the creation of rock art and the power this entailed, enabled them to make practical deci- sions in the matters of harvest, healing, and socio-economic events.
As the next chapter will show, all of these aspects of Fernandeno life changed due to missionization. p '
Chapter II
Missionization and Acculturation
This chapter summarizes the history of the California Missions
from European arrival in the 1500s to the post-mission days of the
1800s, with special emphasis on southern California and Mission San
Fernando. The description is chronological, and it parallels where
possible the organization of the previous section into the productive,
societal and ideational levels of cultural organization. Evidence is
introduced for both change and continuity of the Fernanderi~ culture.
Missionization
California Expeditions
Establishment of the California Missions took place within the
broad context of Hispanic American history. Spain's missionary program
began in the Caribbean in 1492; on Columbus's second voyage he was ac
companied by a bishop and a group of priests. The work spread from the
Caribbean to Panama, South America, Mexico, southwestern United States,
Texas and the Floridas (Geary 1934:1,3). First contact with southern
Californians was made by Juan Cabrillo in 1542, followed by Vizcaino in
1602 (Reinhardt 1981:69). Cabrillo met the Chumash on the mainland and
the islands of the Santa Barbara Channel, lived for awhile on San
Miguel Island, and died there (Kroeber 1925:550).
Spain established missions here for the "security and keeping of
the coasts of California ... " (Costans~ 1910:101). In particular, the
Spaniards were motivated to settle the area from San Diego to Monterey
22 23
in order to keep an eye on the Russians. To this end, an expedition was sent from Mexico in 1769 under the command of Don Gaspar de Portol~
Governor and Commander of the Peninsula of California (Bolton 1926:3,5,
8,25). Father Jun{pero Serra, President of the Missions of California,
left Mexico with the second division on May 15 (Costans6 1910:113). He
founded the Mission at San Diego on July 16, 1769. Twenty-one missions were established between that date and April 4, 1823, when the last,
San Francisco Solano, was founded (James 1905:17; Neuerburg 1983:
personal communication) (see Figure 3).
Weber describes the Franciscan Padres as both zealous and prac
tical. They were skilled at choosing land, locating sources for water
and wood, and so on. A total of 142 Friars were sent to California
during the mission period from Mexico's three Apostolic Colleges (1974:
1,13).
Among the soldiers and explorers who helped to chronicle the early mission period were Miguel Costansb and Pedro Fages. Costans6was engineer and cosmographer on the Portol~ expedition (Brandes 1970:9).
His narrative of the trip includes a detailed description of the Indi ans of the Los Angeles area (1970:89-91). Fages, a soldier on the expedition, wrote a colorful and somewhat derogatory note on groups in the Los Angeles area, describing their foods, rafts, and other aspects of their culture (Fages 1937:21-23).
Southern California Expedition
Father Francisco Palau kept a detailed account of the various groups encountered by the Portol~ contingent (Bolton 1926:134-140).
He emphasized their states of dress or undress, but also included some clues as to other customs of the time. At the Los Angeles River 24
the group was met by eight Indians who presented them with baskets of pinole made from sage and other seeds. The Chief brought strings of shell beads. Old men were smoking pipes made of baked clay, and they
"puffed at us three mouthfuls of smoke." (1926: 134) . The members of the expedition received seeds, nuts, acorns, and white and red shell beads from a village near Ballena Creek (and Rancho La Brea). In the
San Fernando Valley they were greeted by about 200 men, women and chil dren who offered seeds in baskets; Palbu describes them as very docile and friendly. The Spaniards named the place the Valley of Santa Cata lina de Bononia de Los Encinos (Ibid.).
Establishment of Mission San Fernando
Almost three decades later, on September 8, 1797, the Franciscans founded Mission San Fernando, Rey de Espana (Engelhardt 1927:12). They chose a place in the north of the Valley which the Indians called
Achois Comihabit (Robinson 1939:76). Among the features of the sur rounding land were water sources, limestone, and pine for timber.
Mission holdings extended far to the south and west and included Encino
(modern-day), Calabasas, Canoga Park and Van Nuys (Robinson 1939:77-78).
Baer gives an overview of the events of the early mission days at
San Fernando (1958:101). During the first year the Mission was housed in a building owned by Francisco Reyes, Alcalde of the Pueblo of Los
Angeles. Meanwhile the first church was being contructed. A second, larger church was completed in 1798, along with the Priests' dwelling.
Also during this year, the Padres were involved in litigation with the
Pueblo of Los Angeles over water rights. As part of their irrigation program they had dammed the Los Angeles River near Lankershim, thus interrupting the flow into the town (Security Trust and Savings Bank 25
1926(?):12).
The permanent adobe church was completed and dedicated in 1806.
By this time there were about 1,000 neophyte Indians at the Mission; their village had 70 houses and its own plaza (Baer 1958:101). Mission
San Fernando neophytes were recruited from 200 or so rancherias or villages, including Cahuenga, Topanga, Camulos, Piru, Simi and Tujunga
(Robinson 1939:78). According to Kroeber (1908:12) they spoke three distinct tongues: Chumash, Gabrielino and Serrano (like Gabrielino, a
Takic language). Between 1797 and 1820 or 1825, a total of about 2,000
Indians were pulled from their villages. Edberg (1981:personal com munication) has estimated their composition as follows:
Serrano - 1 percent
Cahuilla - 1 percent
Chumash - 10 percent
Tataviam - 10-15 percent
Gabrielino - 73 percent.
In sum, Spain chose missionization as the means to establishing herself in California. Explorers, soldiers and priests entered the territory, encountered the native inhabitants, and chronicled certain features of their experiences. They built and dedicated the chain of
California Missions, including Mission San Fernando, where the great majority of Indian neophytes were of Gabrielino descent.
Acculturation: Change and Continuity
Southern California Indians who managed to stay out of the mission system dealt with the new circumstances in a variety of ways. In a political and military sense, they could withdraw from, resist, or 26
cooperate with the Spaniards, or use a combination of these tactics
(Phillips 1975:1-6). For instance, sometime between 1799 and 1805, a
Gabrielino shaman on Santa Catalina Island directed a malevolent ritual toward one of the Captains at Mission San Gabriel (Hudson 1979b:356-
357). As an example of withdrawal, Hudson and Underhay state that the
Chumash, prompted by the new diseases and other stresses of mission times, probably moved inland, and they may have increased their pro- duction of rock art associated with rituals to placate Sun, the bringer of death (1978:72).
Information about the customs and practices of the Indians inside the missions comes mainly from the Priests' descriptions, and from the
Franciscan point of view. In 1813 the Spanish government distributed a list of 36 questions, the Interrogatorio, to the Missionaries, asking them to give details about the neophytes' habits (Engelhardt 1927:26).
It:/ / Responding for Mission San Fernando, Fathers Pedro Munoz and Joaquln
Pasqual Nuez listed the following characteristics for the people living there at that time: 1) They do not educate their children; 2) They are compassionate ·and generous; 3) They are inclined to Idolatry; 4) They have no calendar; 5) They do not keep their word; 6) They have predom- inant vices of drunkenness, stealing and fornication; 7) They kill all evildoers; 8) They bleed themselves with a flint when feeling oppressro; and 9) Their deaths exceed their births (Weber 1975:20-21).
Smith (1930:40) describes the daily routine of the FernandeB.o at the Mission, including diet, tools, and training for salvation. In the very early mission days, according to Bean and Smith (1978:541), neo- phytes arranged to use traditional Gabrielino subsistence methods to 27
help feed the struggling missions and nearby settlements. Other tech
niques of production, however, were fitted into the Hispanic mold.
Father Weber (1974:13) details the Indians' training as skilled crafts
men, stating that thelfwere masons, blacksmiths, carpenters, tanners,
harness-makers, wagon-makers, shoe-makers and soap-makers. In fact the
Mission supplied soap, shoes and clothing, hides and other products to
other missions and to presidios (military posts) in the area (Baer
1958:101).
Craft-works of a more decorative nature included adobe and tile manufacture, stone-cutting, weaving, and excellent wrought iron pro
duction (Weber 1975:22-23). The Fernande~o wove baskets of grass,
sumac and rushes, utilizing the traditional stone knives and bone awls.
The shapes ranged from flat basins to large pointed cones; some had
asphaltum applied to make them waterproof. The uses ranged from cook
ing, fishing and water carrying to housing, fencing and shields (1975:
22-23).
Baer states that basketry was one form of utilitarian art which
the Indians kept alive during and after the mission period; the other was the manufacture of shell and stone bead necklaces (1959:43). The
Indian artisans in general showed a fusion of aboriginal and Hispanic
ideas in their wood carvings. Their skills in the use of wood during mission times might be traced back to the skills required in building plank boats, while stone-carving talents might be derived from the aboriginal talent for working steatite (Bartlett 1940a:2-3).
The Spanish penchant for record-keeping gives some assistance in looking for clues as to Indian life at the Missions. The Padres con- 28
ducted periodic selective inventories of the goods and accomplishments at the Mission. The Inventory of 1819 accounted for holdings of sheep, goats, mules, land, etc. The final Inventory, in 1849, included de- tails of the church interior, such as statues, paintings and mirrors
(Weber 1975:22,40).
The historical record indicates that, at least at the productive
''I level, the Fernahdeno maintained some continuity with their previous lifeways. They utilized some of their traditional subsistence tech- niques, worked with familiar tools, and continued to produce some utilitarian art forms. The mission system imposed a new set of soci- etal networks onto the Fernande~o. But the records do not indicate if, and to what extent, the neophytes may have sustained their internal family and political networks, or such features of the ideational realm as ritual, and specialized forms of knowledge. The comparison of rock art and mission art, in later chapters, may shed some light on these qlfestions.
Secularization
On August 9, 1834, Governor Jos~Figueroa signed into effect the
Secularization of the California Missions (Langston 1925:199). This happened in spite of attempts by the Padres (and Figueroa's supposed agreement) to set up a gradual system of secularization (Geary 1934:
155). The original meaning of the term was a substitution of secular priests for the Padres, and conversion of the Missions into parishes.
The process might also have included th-e raising of the Indian commu- nity to the status of a self-governing pueblo. In practice secular- ization came to mean the confiscation of mission lands and property 29
by government officials and other laymen (Geary 1934:16).
California, a. territory of Mexico after Mexican independence was achieved in 1821, felt the repercussions of political struggles there.
Shipments of supplies stopped coming from the disturbed provinces, and the military and civil groups in California were thrown upon the Mis sions for support. Geary states that this dependence aroused hostility and jealousy of the Missions' wealth (1934:77-78).
As secularization approached, the Padres began to convert cattle and stock into money (James 1895:27). Mission San Fernando was placed under a civil administrator, Antonio del Valle, and between 1833 and
1846 the buildings served as intermittent military headquarters of the
California governors. Governor P{o Pica sold the Mission in 1846, and although this sale was later declared invalid by the United States government, resident priests would not be sent to the Mission again until 1902 (Baer 1958:101).
Post-Secularization
Accounts of the Fernandeno Indians in the second half of the nine teenth century fall into two major categories. The first, emphasizing their decadence, is typified by the writings of B. D. Wilson. Wilson was appointed sub-agent for Indian affairs in southern California in
1852 (Caughey 1952:ix), and his report was printed in the Los Angeles
Star in 1868 (1952:xxvi).
According to Wilson, the post-mission Indians had a tendency to return to the ways of their fathers if they went to the mountains to live (1952:28). The Indians who stayed within the boundaries of white civilization were prone to liquor and gambling, and horse-thieving. In 30
his view, a reservation system was needro to stop raids against the set
tlements and to rescue former mission Indians from deterioration (1952: xxix,6,21).
The second category of report on the post-mission Indians declares
that many aspects of their lives did change, but some customs and prac tices remained, perhaps in an altered state (cf. Bean and Smith 1978:
541). Reid, a Scottish immigrant who married a Gabrielino woman, wrote a series of letters to the Los Angeles Star in 1852. He gave a history and description of the Indians of Los Angeles, mainly those from
Mission San Gabriel but including those at San Fernando (Heizer 1968:
72).
By 1852, the Gabrielino language had deteriorated, but many of their customs remained intact. They practiced two religions, one of custom and the other of faith. They did not leave any of the ceremo nial enclosures (yobagnar) standing, but built them•as needed. The powers of the seers, especially for evil-doing, had declined, but they still practiced curing. The Chiefs (there were four young ones at San
Gabriel) were responsible for setting feast times. Marriages took place in the Catholic church; but after childbirth, women were still purified in the old manner. Their shell bead money, in common use ten years prior, was so scarce that they hoarded it (Heizer 1968:100-104).
Ceremonies apparently held up well under the influences of accul turation, although details of the fiestas and songs were modified
(Blackburn 1974:98). Persons from wide-spread areas attended the gath erings, in both mission and post-mission times (Blackburn 1976:231).
Hudson cites an example from the Chumash region where Fernando Librado 31
served in the traditional role of ksen (messenger), going from house to house to announcea fiesta (1979a:132).
Blackburn (1974:101) says that San Fernando Mission .hosted a tra ditional Mourning Anniversary ceremony during the second half of the nineteenth century. This may be the Feast Week mentioned by the San
Fernando Valley Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution
(1924:55).
The Mission itself, with 170.20 acres surrounding it, was patented to Joseph S. Alemany, Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Monterey, by the United States government in 1862. Rancho El Escorpion, site of the village of huwam, was confirmed to three Indians named Urbano, Odon and Manuel, and to one Joaquin Romero (Robinson 1939:86). The Rancho
Ex-Mission de San Fernando changed hands in 1869: P{o Pico sold the land to the San Fernando Farm Homestead Association for $115,000. This event marked the end of the Spanish-Mexican rancho period (Robinson
1966:14).
The post-secularization period gave many examples of both change and continuity among the Fernande~o. Some people apparently returned to their former societal and productive modes. Those who remained in the.intrusive system exhibited a combination of modes. The traditional ideational sphere seems to have been the most persistent: the Fernan den; still consulted shamans and conducted small and large-scale cere- monies.
To the Present
Historian Hubert Howe Bancroft took a tour through the Missions of
Upper California in 1874. He cites several examples of links between 32
the aboriginal, mission and post-mission days. For instance, every
group of Indians at that time had a fisherman, and they used cigar
shaped surf rafts (Bancroft 1874:94). These were built with bundles of
tule, lashed together (Blackburn 1963:23). Church services were still being held at San Fernando, and some Indio-Mexican squatters lived in
the outbuildings. Numerous relics, such as scales, cannon, and large
stone basins, were scattered about the grounds (Bancroft 1874:106-108).
Gabrielino peoples, though their numbers were drastically reduced
during the mission period, have survived into the twentieth century.
Shortly after 1900, the Gabrielino held a Mourning Ceremony at Tejon.
One dancer there, representing Eagle, was adorned with shell and glass beads, feathers, and body paint in colors of red, white, blue and grey
(Hudson and Underhay 1978:48).
Frances Garcia Cooke was born at Mission San Fernando in 1882, and attended the San Fernando Mission College there. According to her grandson Charlie Cooke, Chief of the Southern Chumash, she kept some of the old ways, combining a deep faith in the Catholic religion with the use of traditional medicines such as wild tobacco salve (1981:personal communication).
Rudy Ortega, Chief Little Bear of the San Fernando Valley Inter
Tribal, Inc., and the great-great-grandson of Indians born at Mission
San Fernando, affirms that the Indians there did not lose their own ways. Many ceremonies are held, such as the yearly Ceremony for the
Dead, and the .burials and rock art are still considered sacred (Ortega
1981:personal communication). Another location for ritual activity is the outlying mission chapel of San Antonio de Pala, where many medicine people are now located (Singer 1983:personal communication). 33
Summary
Threads of continuity run through Fernandeno/\.~ culture, from the pre-missionization period to the present. Subsistence techniques
(hunting and gathering) and technology were altered by the mission sys- tern, but not obliterated. For instance, the neophytes made baskets by traditional means, and translated carving skills into stone cutting expertise. Also, after secularization, some Fernanden~ returned to previous lifeways.
Their villages, marriages, political and economic organizations were altered by the mission system, at least on the surface. But many ideas and practices held up surprisingly well. The ritual elite seem to have maintained their functions in secret, and in public by organ- izing traditional ceremonies. There is some evidence, based on content and materials of specific sites described in the next chapter, that rock art production continued through the historic period. Chapter III
Sacred Art
Art and religion seem to have been interrelated from earliest
times. This chapter includes examples of the types of information
gained through the study of ceremonial or sacred art, particularly 'in
the major rock art areas of Europe, Africa and North America.
The second part of the chapter details the story of California
rock art, from historical and ethnohistorical sources. Other types of
Gabrielino and Chumash art are presented as well. California rock art
served a number of private and ceremonial functions, and the descrip
tion of specific sites in the San Fernando Valley catchment area in
cludes these functions along with the materials, techniques and forms
found there.
Art and Artists
Franz Boas was among the first anthropologists to grapple with a definition of what he called Indian or primitive art. He said that art had two essential features: form, and creation by human activity.
The viewer's emotions were stimulated by both the form of the art work and by its association to ideas (Boas 1955:12). Other researchers have added additional components to the definition. D'Azevedo (1958:
705), for instance, separates the form from the creative activity, and both of these from the effects.
A number of anthropologists discuss the various functions of ar tistic creations. They provide a social function, a means of expres-
34 35
sing individual and social values (Biebuyck 1969:63; d'Azevedo 1958:
702). Mills (1957:5) distinguishes between utility, or entering into action, and function or an entering into awareness. A patterned cloth when made into curtains is utilitarian; a statue of a deity which is the object of contemplation is serving a function. Functional art forms aid in understanding a way of life from within (Mills 1957:1).
Biebuyck states that the arts serve as a focal point for the study of individual creativity, internal innovations and culture change (1969:119). Autonomous change in art forms results from proc esses within the societ~ not as a result of contact with other groups.
Stylistic drift is an example of such a process; simply put, an art form will change unpredictably but noticeably over time even though unaffected by outside influences (Anderson 1979:155,159).
When artistic change occurs due to culture contact, the result usually falls between the extremes of an updated continuation of tra ditional art and a complete assimilation of the subject matter, media or styles of the impinging society (Anderson 1979:15).
The early artist was required to follow designs which were deeply rooted in tradition (Wingert 1962:9). According to Lommel, the priest or shaman was "probably the first artistically active man known to us"
(1967:8). In fulfilling his calling he often entered into a trance state, recreated images of the tribe's mythology, and danced, sang, mimed or painted (1967:12). Lommel sees shamanism as the source of abstract rock art and the depiction of the spiritual (1967:149).
To enter the ecstatic trance and get in touch with the spiritual or supernatural, the shaman used such vehicles as botanical halluci- 36
nogens. In his visions or prophesies, then, he reflected the products of his altered inner world (La Barre 1972:265).
Reichel-Dolmatoff has studied the Tukano Indians of Colombia, who use a psychotropic plant named yaj( in ritual context (1971, 1975,
1978). Under the influence of the drug they see hallucinatory pat terns or phosphenes ..They derive geometrical patterns such as arcs,
spirals, rows of diamonds and concentric circles from the phosphenes, then apply these to bark cloth, pottery, basketry, and their communal houses or malocas (1978:24-45). The Tukano give cultural interpre tations to the phosphene-based designs (1975:176).
Symbols such as phosphene designs can aid the anthropologist in understanding social structure and social process (Firth 1973:25).
Not only does symbolism make an impact upon the art and religion of the shaman; ordinary people think about symbols, behave symbolically in daily life, and "consciously interpret what they do as having sym bolic meaning" (1973:15).
In brief, the earliest artist was probably in some way a reli gious functionary whose works expressed and reinforced the values of his group. The study of these forms can yield information about in ternal processes and culture change, as illustrated by examples in the following sections.
Major Rock Art Areas
Europe
Abb~ Breuil was one of the foremost students of European Paleo lithic cave art. Breuil asked if the horses, reindeer, bison and other representations in the caves of southwestern France and 37
northern Spain were painted for the sake of artistic contemplation, or as a magical means of insuring multiplication or capture of game. The two purposes, he stated, were not opposed but complementary (1952:23).
Other researchers concur that the art may have served various functions: sympathetic hunting magic, decoration, representation of myths and traditbns and even children's art (Ucko and Rosenfeld 1967:
238-239). Kuhn holds that prehistoric rock art gives clues as to a people's material culture, social organization, and the evolution of their religion (1956:xxiv,xxvii). Ucko and Rosenfeld maintain that the functions of Paleolithic cave art will be clearer when we know more about the context- the caves' functions (1967:224).
Andr~ Leroi-Gourhan compiled a massive quantitative study of about 100 decorated caves and rock shelters in Spain and central and southern France (1967?). The art spans the centuries from approxi mately 24,000 B.C. to 9,000 B.C. (1967?:33). Leroi-Gourhan entered individual motifs or figures onpunch-cards, then reconstructed entire caves, looking for correlations and repetitions (1967?:110). Among his conclusions: the decorated caves are sanctuaries. Certain of the animals occur with certain others too often for coincidence, indica ting that the pictures are compositions, not just additions and super~ impositions made over the course of millennia (1967?:109-110). Stable traditions persisted over space and time; the symbolism was continu ous in development (1967?:32). Geometrical markings accompany the animals and suggest a common, widespread iconographic tradition (Leroi
Gourhan 1978:sub-title).
As to the purposes for which the cave art was created, Leroi- 38
Gourhan holds a cautious view. It is not really safe to try and re construct the Paleolithic peoples' motivations using ethnographic parallels, as Abbe Breuil did (1967?:34). A system of religious thought is intimated by the paintings, but any synthesis would be pre mature. One can only say with certainty that Paleolithic man did have a religious system, based on the opposition and complementarity of male and female values and expressed symbolically by animal figures and abstract signs (1967?:144).
Africa
Parts of Africa are rich depositories of rock art. Chaplin (1966) examines the various forms in the Lake Victoria region. Maggs (1979) and Lewis-Williams (1980) deal with the rock art of southern Africa.
It seems that the artists' repertoire included all of the large and medium-sized animals (such as the elephant and the eland) that their people would have encountered. But they were not depicting the ones eaten by the hunters, as indicated by the food remains from archaeo logical sites. The bulk of the paintings depict human figues, and aspects of physical and spiritual life (Maggs 1979:7-8).
The southern San Bushmen have been extinct for nearly a century, yet features of their society are apparent in their rock art. Lewis
Williams compares their iconography and ethnography to the beliefs and rituals of the Kalahari !Kung, the contemporary San, to the north.
Based on this information, he feels that the rock art of the vanished
San proclaimed the ultimate values of their society and linked them to the invisible, spiritual world (1980:467,479).
Other Areas
North America ranks, along with Europe and Africa, as one of the 39
major rock art areas of the world (see below). Several other areas are known for their pictographs and petroglyphs. Anati has systemat
ically studied the rock art at Valcamonica, Italy (1977). The sand
stone country of central India contains many pictographs which are re markable in that they do not seem to include symbols of the principal religious traditions (Brooks and Wakankar 1976:85). The Australian aborigines are noted for their incised and painted designs (see Breeden and Breeden 1973; Edwards and Maynard 1969; F. D. McCarthy 1970).
Baja California Indians are another group which left an impressive rock art legacy (see Crosby 1975; Meighan and Pontoni 1978; Ritter
1974). The Comondfi culture of central Baja created paintings of humans and animals, mostly life-sized or larger (Meighan 1966:377-379).
The act of painting may have been more important than the product; the general purpose seems to have been for hunting magic. In their empha sis on the realistic depiction of game animals and an absence of "pure' decoration, the Indians of Baja seem to parallel the European Upper
Paleolithic artists (1966:383-387).
North America
Within the United States the majority of rock art sites are con centrated in the western areas; sites are rare east of the Mississippi
River. The styles can be placed in two basic c~tegories: geometric or abstract, seen mostly on the Pacific Coast and in the Southwest; and naturalistic, found mainly in the Great Basin country and the
Great Plains. According to Campbell Grant, the creators of natural istic rock art were nomads and hunters, while the abstract artists lived in permanent settlements (1965:107-110). 40
Grant (1967) and Wellman (1977) give overviews of rock art in
North America, outlining areas, techniques, content and functions. A number of investigators agree that rock art production was related to
the use of hallucinogens (Ritter and Ritter 1976:195; Wellman 1977:196;
Wellman 1978:1524-1527). La Barre remarks that the Indians of the Old
World had only about six psychotropic drugs, while the New World
Indians knew of 80 to 100. One possible explanation is that the basis of shamanic religion, hunting, lasted much longer in the Americas
(La Barre 1972:271-272).
Shamanic religion, medicine, rock art and hallucinogens are inter related, according to Ritter and Ritter (1976). Keeping in mind that early man held a broad definition of medicine, it seems that a large proportion of rock art in North America had some sort of medical sig nificance. For instance, some of the designs were believed to help cure, or cause, disease (Ritter and Ritter 1976:138-139,167).
The shaman, the creator of rock art, had power over others' ill ness because he had recovered from the illness of his vision quest or ecstatic trance. This might have ·been induced with psychotropic plants (La Barre 1972:274-276). The use of some of these plants can be traced to the Bronze Age, and even back to the Mesolithic. The shaman's statements (including his artistic productions) instructed his people in the supernatural and formed the basis of their religion
(1972:261).
In sum, the study of sacred art seems to yield information about the individual creators, intra-group processes, and interactions be tween groups. The early artists were probably shamans who in addition 41
to painting, utilized hallucinogenic drugs, sang and danced in ritual context.
Evidence from the major rock art areas such as Europe, Africa and
Baja California points toward a link between sympathetic hunting magic and the creation of rock art, but not to the exclusion of spiritual
(ideational), instructional and decorative functions. North American rock art seems clearly tied to the religious and healing arts of the shaman creators.
California Rock Art
Early students of California rock art took a fairly general ap proach, while contemporary researchers attack specific problems and particular sites. A great deal of work is being done on southern
California Indian art forms, especially the materials, techniques, forms and functions of Chumash and Gabrielino rock art. The latter part of this section details current rock art research problems and methodology:
History of the Literature, Related Research
Among the first writers to mention California rock art were J. G.
Bruff (1949), who visited Mount Shasta around 1850, and Clara
Vostrovsky, who described some of the designs found in Mariposa, San
Luis Obispo and Tulare counties (1895:192). Garrick Mallery made brief reference to a pictograph site 30 miles northeast of Los Angeles in Azusa Canyon, in his Picture-Writing of the American Indians (1893:
69). Reverend Stephen Bowers and his son De Moss (Kinsey 1976) sketched several sites in Ventura, Santa Barbara and Riverside coun ties around the turn of this century. 42
Anthropologist A. L. Kroeber devoted a few pages to rock art in
Handbook of the Indians of California (1925). Julian Steward covered
the topic in greater depth (1927, 1929), offering speculations about
the meanings of some of the symbols used and stating that the pictures
had religious significance (1927:18). He added that the rock painting
would assist the anthropologist in understanding the "mental life of
the Indian." (1927:38). Fenenga (1949) dealt with recording methods
and design elements.
In recent years, Campbell Grant (1965, 1967, 1971) and Georgia
Lee (1977, 1978, 1979, 1981) and Lee and Clewlow (1979) have done ex-
tensive research, particularly in southern California. Researchers have chosen specific problem areas such as description and classifica
tion (Heizer and Clewlow 1973; Quinn 1978), dating (Bard, Asaro and
Heizer 1976; D. F. McCarthy 1979; Weisbrod 1978) and detailed site
reports (which will be reviewed later in this chapter).
Meighan explores the general topic of interpretation, emphasizing
the importance of accurate description and ethnographic analogy (1981:
11). Rock art is related to shamanic functions (Edberg 1981; Hedges
1976), to astronomy (Hudson and Underhay 1978; Hudson, Lee and Hedges
1979), and to ideology (Hudson and Lee 1981; Schupp Wessell 1982).
The next section includes elaborations on these topics.
Southern California Indian Art Forms
San Fernando Valley Indians expressed themselves in a variety of decorative arts, including body and face painting, tattooing, and portable art objects (J. P. Harrington 1942:16,18). They created ground paintings in conjunction with the ceremonies for boys' and [1 • 43
girls' initiation (Johnston 1962:58). Among the neighboring Luiserto, these paintings contained symbols for Night, Sky, the Milky Way, human blood, the spirit, and so on (1962:60). The Luiseno boys also ran a
"rock race" during their initiations; the first to arrive at the des ignated rock painted on it in red and black. The girl initiates, or the chief's wife, scraped paint from their faces and applied it to the rocks (M. R. Harrington 1955:22-26).
Chumash artisans decorated portable shell, bone, and stone arti facts, such as bone tubes with shell overlay, bowls, pipes and effigy figures. Similar objects are found in the Gabrielino territory (Lee
1978:v,vi). Most of the designs on the portable art are geometric straight lines in different combinations. Such patterns are found in the Gabrielino and Chumash rock art as well, especially the simple zigzags, linked triangles, concentric circles and crosshatchings (Lee
1981:20-21). These designs displayed continuity and possesse~ ritual meaning (Lee 1978:v).
Gabrielino and Chumash Rock Art
Materials and Techniques
In the creation of southern California rock art, hematite served as red pigment, limonite for yellow, diatomaceous earth for white, and charcoal or burned graphite for black. Binders included milkweed juice (Asclepias fascicularis) and the oil derived from crushed seeds of chilicothe (Echinocystis macrocarpa) as well as egg yolk, urine, and animal fat. The artists used local products such as shells, fish vertebrae and pecked-out cups of rock to hold their paints. They applied the paint with their fingers, sharpened sticks, brushes of 44
frayed yucca fiber, and the outer husks of soap root (chlorogalum)
(Grant 1965:85-86).
Forms
Chumash pictographs ranged from simple monochromatic line draw
ings to complex designs in six colors (see Figures 6 and 7). They varied from several feet to more than 40 feet in length (Grant 1965:1).
Permanent water sources were usually located nearby (1965:74). The
Chumash included both representational and abstract elements in their rock art (Grant 1965:77).
Functions
Rock art production was a shamanic function, and hallucinogens were a shamanic tool. According to Hedges (1976:126), the rock art represented only one facet of the southern California Indians' complex religious and social culture. Certain sites were created for the personal and perhaps evil purposes of the shaman; others were commu nity sites. The shaman was responsible for predicting and influencing the future of his people at the productive level, in relation to dis ease and disaster, food and hunting, and the weather (Edberg 1981: personal communication).
Weston La Barre holds that the shaman's potency and power were obtained as gifts from the outside: ingested by the eating, drinking, smoking or snuffing of psychotropic plants, or incorporated through the vision quest or the spirit-possessed ecstasy (1972:274). The
Indians of this area used Datura inoxia for ritual narcosis (Emboden
1981:personal communication). Although there is no direct ethno graphic evidence for a relationship between the use of this drug and 45
rock art production, Blackburn posits that the Chumash design elements are often strikingly similar to experimentally produced phosphenes
(1977:93). And the distribution of the paintings follows the areas of the Datura cult fairly closely (Applegate 1975:15), indicating a correspondence between the two.
In addition to a drug-induced state of sensory deprivation, the shaman-artists could have experienced sensory enrichment (visions) which served as the inspiration for rock art. Also, they may have taken designs from observation of the physical world (Meighan 1981:
15).
At the ideational level, rock art served as the shaman's tool for increasing understanding and control of the celestial environment.
Sun was particularly important to the Chumash astronomers and they watched its movements carefully, especially by noting the changes in its position at dawn in relation to a fixed feature of terrain on the eastern horizon (Hudson and Underhay 1978:53).
'Antap shaman-astronomers probably executed some pictographs during their ritual interactions with celestial beings. Hudson and
Underhay (1978:58) cite the example given by a Chumash informant,
Rafael Solares, whose name could be translated as "belonging to the sun." He and another Chumash painted ceremonial rock art in the Santa
Barbara Mountains in the mid-nineteenth century. The time was winter solstice, a time for ritual renewal or recreation of the world with its short days and scarcity of food (Edberg 1980:35).
According to Edberg (1980:29) the key theme at the Burro Flats site in Los Angeles County was communication between the shaman and 46
the Sky People, celestial beings which included deceased chiefs.
Among its several functions, the main panel there may have served in the winter solstice and in toloache ceremonies to aid the initiates in seeking dream helpers. Also, by illustrating myths such as the death and rebirth of the shaman, the·paintings could have been used to instruct initiates (Edberg 1980:31-34).
Schupp Wessel's recent work at The Painted Rock of the Carrizo
Plains, San Luis Obispo County, illustrates the relationship of pic tographs to mythology and oral tradition. She interprets the panel as a depiction of peon, a mythological and actual game which foretold the
Chumash people's coming year (1982:3).
In historic times, the Chumash created a rock art site in Kern
County known as the San Emigdio cave. The artists' intention may have been to exert influence on yet another aspect of the environment, the
Spanish and Mexican intruders (Lee 1979:295). The paintings contain atypical colors of green, blue-green and true orange; the pigments may have been taken when several missions were sacked in 1824. As paint was an extremely valuable trade item, its use in the pictographs could have symbolized a transfer of the foreigners' power (Lee 1979:
295,303).
Rock Art Research Methods
Dating of historic and prehistoric pictographs is problematical.
Among the techniques in use are the dating of associated artifacts, use of stylistic resemblances and time markers, and the study of superimpositions to indicate a time range (Meighan 1981:9). These are the primary methods used by the archaeologists and ethnographers 47
cited in the next section, on specific rock art sites.
Radiocarbon dating is only a viable tool if the site yields suf ficient erosion~flaked paint for a proper sample, and if the design has not been retouched (Grant 1965:93). Among several dating tech niques still in experimental stages are two methods which may allevi ate the problem of small samples: amino acid racemization of the pro tein binders in the paints, and high energy mass spectrometer analysis to measure the ratio of radioactive carbon-14 to stable carbon (C-12 and C-13) (Weisbrod 1978:6).
The dating of geological materials superimposed on rock art is a promising yet controversial technique. For instance, some Maya murals at Bonampak, Chiapas, Mexico, are covered with calcite bleached out of limestone. The petroglyphs at Travertine Point, California are coated with calcareous tufa precipitated by freshwater algae, as a result of flooding by Lake Cahuilla (the Salton Sea) (Weisbrod 1978:4).
Researchers took radiocarbon dates of the layer of tufa which the petroglyphs were carved into and the layer of secondary deposition which partially covered them, and arrived at dates approximately 9,000 years before the present. But McCarthy points out shortcomings in the method: the formation of tufa cannot be considered to occur at a fixed rate because it is affected by variables such as available sunshine, nutrients in the water, and fluctuations of lake level (1979:107-108).
Neutron activation analysis of the major and trace elements in a substance (such as the patina or desert varnish of iron and manganese oxides that builds up on rock surfaces, and repatinates a carved sur face) is another method in the experimental stage. The results help 48
in relative dating, showing how deeply a pecked design has been coated with an outer layer of varnish (Bard, Asaro and Heizer 1976:2-6; Weis- brod 1978:5-6).
Bracher has tied astronomy into rock art dating, demonstrating how the depiction of a solar eclipse on rock or artifact might be a traceable indicator (1980:1).
Content remains the best date indicator. In the Coso Range, Inyo
County, California, the subject matter shifted from atlatls to bows and arrows between 500 B.C. and 1 B.C. Not only does the heavier re patination on the atlatl weapons indicate their relative age, but the archaeological evidence provides the approximate dates for introduc tion of the bow and arrow (Weisbrod 1978:5).
Recording is a crucial aspect of rock art research. The American
Committee to Advance the Study of Petroglyphs and Pictographs empha sizes optimal data collection and minimal resource destruction in its outline of rock art recording standards. The five types of record they suggest are face recording forms, photographs, drawings, maps and general subjective descriptions (American Anthropological Association
1980:9-10).
Clewlow and Wheeling stressthe importance of recording the total context of a rock art site (1978:32-33). They outline the basic meth odology and give specific suggestions for recording forms, photography and drawing supplies (1978:34-57).
Rock art research techniques are becoming more sophisticated, but dating still relies on content indicators, while recording and inter pretation stem from thorough description, study of context, and " . 49
ethnographic analogy.
Like rock art sites in other parts of the world, southern Cali
fornia sites appear to have corresponded with productive, societal and ideational aspects of Indian life, and with the use of hallucino gens. The creation of rock art and other art forms corresponded with basic needs such as success in h~nting and gathering and control of illness, social needs such as group initiation and responses to for eign intrusion, and ideational needs for the understanding and control of the heavens and their inhabitants.
Gabrielino and Chumash Rock Art Sites
The description which follows emphasizes the forms and functions of the art at specific sites in the San Fernando Valley catchment area (see Figure 1 for generalized locations). On the whole, the materials and techniques follow those listed in the previous section.
Aspects of these art forms seem to relate them to the productive, societal and ideational realms of Gabrielino and Chumash life.
Santa Monica Mountain Sites
Ven-195. This site is located approximately six miles inland from the Pacific Ocean, north of the Los Angeles/Ventura County line.
The 37 pictographs there include small, "carefully executed" anthro pomorphs, abstract figures, and animals such as fish, frogs and birds
(Garvin 1978:65). Garvin relates the specific elements to shamanic beliefs, practices and symbols, such as the sacred eagle and the frog man, and concludes that this was a ceremonial site (1978:66-74).
Saddle Rock Ranch (LAn-717). This sandstone rock shelter is sit uated several miles north of Point Dume and about 40 miles west of 50
Los Angeles. Reinhardt counts 196 elements - discrete design units - of which 81 are discernible. Of these, 56 (69%) are representational and 25 (31%) abstract. The general characteristics of the pictographs are a predominance of red pigment, bilateral symmetry, and an abun dance of up-curved limbs. The site seems to be Chumash (Reinhardt
1981:51-54).
Some of the designs may represent constellations, while another appears to show a ceremony such as the Harvest Festival (Reinhardt
1981:64,68). One figure could depict a man dressed as a deer, but it may be the animal itself (see Figure 9). The dot to its right may be a hairball obtained from the deer's gut. These "madstones" were sup posed to have curative powers, especially for snakebite (1981:56).
Because the elements are so diverse in size, subject and style,
Reinhardt states that most of the main panel was repainted (1981:56).
Repain~ing or overpainting may have served to rekindle magic against the European intruders (1981:70).
The distinctive feature of this site is a composition including four men on horseback, plus one olive-colored anthropomorph. The style is consistent, indicating that one artist did the work. The horsemen paintings were probably a response to the sighting of the
Portol~ expeditions of 1769 and 1770 (Reinhardt 1981:69) (see Figure
8). Another possibility is that the Indians had heard about Coronado and his mounted men arriving in Arizona in 1541. Such information would have come through trade channels (Grant 1965:94).
Several other features of LAn-717 seem noteworthy. There is a dark midden, indicating short-term occupation or a hunting camp, below 51
the rock art and around the shelter. Two of the figures have open or transparent bodies, perhaps in an X-ray style. One figure displays
"eagle wings", as do several of the anthropomorphs at Ven-195. There is also at least one snake depicted (l982:personal observation).
The disparate elements at LAn-717 seem to link it to the produc tive level, as in the Harvest Festival, to the societal level, as in the responses to European intruders, and to the ideational realm, re presented by the depictions of the mythological snake and eagle.
Other Santa Monica Mountain Sites. A flowing creek with several small waterfalls and pools forms part of the setting for two sites just east of Saddle Rock Ranch. LAn-355 is a petroglyph locus; LAn-
354 is a rock shelter with pictographs and intact midden. On December
22, 1980, Arlene Benson, Dr. Robert Chianese and I observed this site for signs of a solstice connection, which would link it to the idea tional realm.
The petroglyph site, located on a small group of boulders to the east of the creek, includes cupules, bedrock mortars and a spiral design at the interface of two of the rocks. The sun did not strike the spiral that morning. Benson suggested that the significant time might instead be at solstice sunset, or during vernal equinox.
The rock shelter paintings include two red anthropomorphs, with an unidentified figure between them. There is also a "water-skipper" and one white stick figure.
A group from Northridge Archaeological Research Center visited
Malibu Creek State Park in February of 1981, to see the rock shelter site LAn-748. The red design elements include an anthropomorph, an 52
irregular zigzag, and an enclosed box resembling a chess board (Figure
10). Although the Chumash village of talopop (LAn-229) is located nearby, the pictures seem Gabrielino rather than Chumash (Edberg 1981: personal communication). Because the site is at a high altitude with higher peaks nearby, LAn-748 may have been a location for solstice ceremonies.
San Fernando Valley Sites
Huwam (LAn-413). Also known as El Escorpion, this was a bi ethnic village located at the western end of the San Fernando Valley.
It is included in the Bell Canyon site complex along with Castle Peak
(LAn-511), which Romani believes may have served as the area's summer solstice, winter solstice and hutash (fall harvest) ceremonial place.
The village and mountain are only two miles southeast of Burro Flats and the sites could have been ceremonially interrelated (Romani 1978:
219).
Burro Flats (Ven-160). Burro Flats is on property owned by the
Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell International, in the Simi Hills.
Rozaire mentions that one of the shelters contains a pictograph of a horse. The main panel (Ven-160) is painted mostly with red and white, but there are black, orange, pink and blue pigments as well. Another feature here is the artists' use of one, two and sometimes· three superimpositions separated by fire-blackening (Rozaire 1959:2-3) .
. Two human-like stick figures with headdresses seem to Rozaire to be more Canali~o (northern) than Shoshonean in affiliation (1959:5-6).
Edberg concurs that the figures with up-curved limbs, and those with raked hands and feet, appear to be Chumash. However certain features 53
of the panel are Gabrielino (Shoshonean), such as the non-representa tional elements and the pictures of baskets turned over grave poles
(Edberg 1980:37).
Burro Flats was probably connected to the astronomical, practical and mythological knowledge of the Gabrielino and Churnash peoples. For example the comets depicted on the main panel ceiling may represent the cornets of 1823 and 1825 (Edberg 1980:36). They may also symbolize the souls of deceased chiefs (1980:18). Pole or chain-like elements, connected to the cornets, could illustrate the spiritual link between the world of man and the celestial world above (1980:22).
On summer solstice day, June 20, 1981, a group of rock art re searchers observed the sun cast a moving, pointed shadow on a group of bedrock mortars at Burro Flats (personal observation). The early astronomers may have used the mortars to watch the movements of the sun, and to mark the occurrence of solstice.
The Chatsworth Sites (Ven-149 and LAn-357). Based on comparisons with adjacent areas, Sanburg et al. feel that the Chatsworth sites,
Ven-149 and LAn-357, are Churnash (1978:3,12).· The Los Angeles County site is located at the mouth of a small canyon northeast of Stony
Point. At the time of their study, 12 sets or loci were visible
(1978:8).
One locus is a small rock shelter containing a number of indis tinct shapes in red, and a white figure outlined in red which Romani
(1982:personal communication) labels a coyote. The main panel is sit uated under a large overhang, contains black, white and red painting, and is likely to be a solstice site. Another part of the property 54
features a line of six or seven cupules with bedrock mortars, and
could be a solstice alignment (Romani 1982:personal communication).
Near Brown's Canyon, close to these sites and closer to Mission
San Fernando than any other site in this study, is a small petroglyph
discovered recently by Neuerburg (1984:personal communication). The
design is located on the exposed top of a sandstone boulder, in a flat
area on top of a conical hill. The alignment is in a southerly di
rection, towards the Santa Monica Mountains. The petroglyph consists
of a step design topped by a semi-circle, and crowned by a motif re
sembling a feather headdress. An eight-pointed star (or sun/solstice
symbol) completes the picture (1984:personal observation). Based on
alignment, content and proximity, this site is probably related in its
functions to Burro Flats (Ven-160) and to the Chatsworth sites (Ven-
149 and LAn-357).
Santa Clara River Area Sites
Vasquez Rocks (LAn-367). To the north and east of the Chatsworth
sites, in the upper Santa Clara River drainage, the Alliklik or
Tataviam peoples lived, worked and created rock art. At the time of
Spanish contact they inhabited a rancheria, Agua Dulce Village, at
what is now Vasquez Rocks County Park. Hanks surveyed 25 sites there,
labelling seven as small habitation sites and five as multi-workshop
sites (1971:31).
At least ten caves and rockshelters within a mile of the center have pictographs or petroglyphs (L. King 1980:1). They feature
bedrock mortars, cupules, and red ochre pictographs of abst!act ani mals and anthropomorphs. One panel includes paintings of the trumpet- 55
shaped Datura flower, and the Datura plant is growing nearby (Figure
11) (1982:personal observation).
Incised elements are common at Vasquez Rocks. Linda King states that these resemble, in technique and motif, the work found on porta ble tablets throughout southern California and the Great Basin. In general, the sites are comparable to the Chatsworth sites (L. King
1980:19,24). Both locales are in Chumash-Gabrielino boundary areas.
Bowers Cave. As part of its economic expansion program, Mission
San Fernando established an Asistencia-granary in 1802 on the nearby rancheria site, Chaquya-vit (Hanks 1971:16). This Asistencia, San
Francisco Javier, was located across the Santa Clara River from a much-studied archaeological deposit known as Bowers Cave (Van Valken burg 1952:6). The assemblage, possibly a cache of the Chinigchinich cult, included feather bands, bone whistles, bullroarers, and perfo rated stone disks mounted on handles with asphaltum (Elsasser and
Heizer 1963:13-34).
Reverend Stephen Bowers found the cave and the "wands" or sun sticks, and sold them to Harvard's Peabody Museum (VanValkenburg
1952:5-7). Elsasser and Heizer felt that the cave and its contents were late prehistoric or early historic Chumash (1963:9). Hudson and
Underhay, however, (1978:63-65) argue for Gabrielino origins.
The Bowers Cave sunsticks may be compared to rock art motifs.
Disc symbols, divided into sixths and eighths, probably represent the sun and both solstice points (Hudson and Underhay 1978:65, and their
Figure 8). One of the panels at nearby Vasquez Rocks includes seven painted or incised sun symbols, with possible solstice associations 56
(Bonner 1980:1-2).
Azusa Canyon Sites
LAn-163 and LAn-164. Garrick Mallery, surveying for the Bureau of American Ethnology in the late nineteenth century, was the first to document the Azusa Canyon pictograph sites. These boulders were lo-. cated in the Angeles National Forest, near the San Gabriel River. A
1969 flood control project displaced the smaller boulder (LAn-163), leaving the larger ninety-ton boulder (LAn-164) in the new channel.
Abstract elements comprised 73.4% of the total at the time of Sanburgs study (1971: 76-80). The elements included chains and meshes of dia monds, zigzags, ladders, sets of dots in threes ("Bear Tracks"), human hand prints, zoomorphs and anthropomorphs (U. S. Forest Service
1971:3).
In January of 1982, the only figures remaining were four faint diamond chains (red stains), a possible zoomorph, and an unidentified blob (personal observation). The San Gabriel River rises periodically and covers the boulder, and graffiti "artists" have done extensive damage with black spray paint.
Sanburg sees the function of the Azusa Canyon site as related to
Gabrielino girls' puberty rites (in the societal realm), based on comparisons with groups to the south and southeast. Some of the ele ments, however, resemble art in the Chumash area (Sanburg 1971:81-82).
Summary
The rock art sites discussed in this chapter proceed from the southern Santa Monica Mountains, where the designs are for the most part Chumash, through the Chumash-Gabrielino boundary areas west and 57
north of the San Fernando Valley, to the isolated Gabrielino site in
Azusa Canyon. The major depictions are of anthropomorphs and animals, abstract symbols, and celestial elements. Based on content, results of observation and ethnohistorical comparison, the sites seem to re semble one another in their probable functions: the shamans and their people used rock art to aid in understanding and controlling the prag matic and supernatural aspects of their lives.
The Santa Monica Mountain sites, such as Ven-195 and LAn-717, are characterized by depictions of anthropomorphs and animals. Their functions seem to have been related to production (hunting) and idea tion (ceremony). In addition, the Saddle Rock Ranch artisans were responding to the European presence. The LAn-355 petroglyphs and the
LAn-748 pictographs show probable solstice connections.
This is also true of the majority of the San Fernando Valley sites. Burro Flats (Ven-160), in particular, has painted and abraded elements which relate the site to Chumash and Gabrielino astronomy and mythology.
Vasquez Rocks (LAn-367) has animals, anthropomorphs, Datura paintings, and sun symbols. Like the sunsticks at nearby Bowers Cave, these elements are thought to be related to solstice ceremonies.
Although fue Azusa Canyon sites (LAn-163 and LAn-164) differ from the others in their probable relation to Gabrielino puberty rites, they also have apparently Chumash elements. There may be undiscovered sites in between the western, northern and eastern extremities, which could shed more light on the progressions and interconnections in
Chumash and Gabrielino rock art forms and functions. 58
Summary
The shaman artists, through the creation of rock art and other means, seem to have exerted inf·luence on their peoples' productive, social and ideational lives. In turn, aspects of these cultural levels influenced the materials, techniques, forms and functions of rock art.
The focus of rock art interpretation in some parts of the world, such as Europe and Baja California, has been on the productive level
(eg. hunting magic) but most studies at least hint at the ideational connections (eg. religion, mythology) and the social links (eg. group instruction). This is true in southern California, where Gabrielino and Chumash shamans were apparently concerned with the physical, social and spiritual well-being of their peoples.
The next chapter, Sacred Art at Mission San Fernando, will estab lish a basis for using rock art and mission art to gain information about Fernande~o culture change at the productive, societal and idea tional levels. Chapter IV
Sacred Art at Mission San Fernando
This chapter traces the progression of aesthetic forms and ideas from Spain, through Mexico, to California and to Mission San Fernando.
Arguments are presented for both sides of the case that mission Indian artists displayed artistic freedom. Following a section on art work in the various missions, San Fernando will be examined in detail.
Historical Background
Spain and Mexico
Art work done by the Indians at Mission San Fernando has its roots in the sacred art of Spain and New Spain (Mexico), as well as the sacred art of the California Indians. Literature exploring the interconnections is sparse.
Hagen (1948) and Kubler (1957) treat broad and specific aspects of Spanish art and architecture. Exploring Hagen's discussion of the
Spanish style gives clues as to why the links between Spain's art and that of colonial California (particularly at Mission San Fernando) are so difficult to trace.
Spain's artists were notably individualistic. A national art was slow to develop, and no other country produced so few leading schools
(Hagen 1948:25-27). Even as she expanded imperialistically under
Charles V in the sixteenth century, her art did not rise to a world art. Hagen offers the following explanations: Spanish culture could not keep up with the pace of imperialism, and her art was not "organ-
59 60
ically national" in the first place (Hagen 1948:132).
According to Kubler and Soria, the Spanish conquerors in Mexico
were concerned with res~ecting regional groupings in art styles (1959:
xxv). They also wanted to facilitate the Indians' religious devel
opment (Holway 1922:15). To these ends they established art schools,
such as the one founded by Fray Pedro de Gante in the Convento Grande
de San Francisco, Mexico City. Engravings served as models for the
painters, \vho produced great quantities of the images (Toussaint 196 7:
38).
During this period, from 1519 to 1550, the Christian paintings
did display the Indian painter's hand, but Toussaint says the artists
merely copied; no fusion of art styles occurred (Ibid.). Neuerburg
disagrees; he cites the example of the Church of Ixmiquilpan in Mexico
City, where Aztec warrior images mingle with the Spanish motifs (1982:
personal communication). In addition to copying paintings, Mexican
Indians decorated churches and monasteries with friezes and borders of
foliate motifs, with Crucifixion scenes and figures of saints depicted
in medallions or niches. They used the durable fresco technique
(Toussaint 1967:40-41).
During the latter part of the sixteenth century, the Church began
to require Spanish and Indian painters to submit all works for exam
ination. A painters' guild formed, which would eventually prohibit
admission of Indians (Toussaint 1967:131-132,235). European paintings
and influences - Flemish, Italian and Spanish primitive - reached
Mexico, helping to form public taste and artistic production (1967:
129, 151). 61
California
After their initial settling-in period, the missionaries in
California requested paintings and sculptures from Mexico City, to be used to decorate the missions and chapels and to instruct the Indians, soldiers and general populace. Some of these works were created to order; others were on hand. Most of them originated in Mexico; a few came from Spain, Peru and Guatemala (Baer 1961:34,42,50). The subject material centered around the apostles, patron saints, and allegories of the triumph of the Church and the Catholic religion (1961:39).
Between 1792 and 1800, about 20 artisans came under contract from
Mexico to help the Padres instruct the Indians in various crafts (Baer
1959:25-26). None of them were artists; they were blacksmiths, stone masons, carpenters and mechanics (Smith 1930:42). Nevertheless the
Indians probably felt their influence in the areas of artistic pro duction.
Berger argues that the Mexican craftsmen permitted the neophyte artists to use familiar motifs (1948:80). The Padres, too, may have allowed a degree of artistic freedom so that the resultant works would
" ... create some emotional appeal in the savage mind ... " (Holway 1922:
99).
Baer, on the other hand, begins by stating that the Indians mere ly imitated the models presented to them by the Fathers and their assistants (1959:26). The California Indians produced metal objects such as candelabra and grill pieces, carved wooden furniture, wood and stone sculptures, and paintings on canvas, wood, and plaster wall.
They did not use fresco, but rather a distemper technique involving 62
direct application of water soluble colors onto plaster or heavy whit~ wash. Large areas were covered using stencils (Baer 1959:29-31).
Thus, researchers disagree as to whether neophyte Indians in Cali fornia were permitted, or took, artistic liberties. Perhaps as Baer suggests, the artists submitted to Christian influence because their aboriginal expressions were few and limited .(1959:28). In the follow ing sections, Baer will be among those cited in contradiction of his supposition.
Art Work in the California Missions
The following is an overview of the studies done at other mis sions, on sacred art produced locally or abroad. The progression is from north to south (see Figure 3). The literature falls into two broad classes: studies emphasizing the lack of Indian motifs and stylistic elements, and those detailing their presence.
The decorations at Mission San Miguel Arcangel were completed in
1821 and have not been repainted. Don Esteban Carlos Munras, a native of Barcelona, Spain, created the wall decorations in tempera. The neophytes assisted him (Woolfender 1970:1). Munras apparently took his motifs from pattern books; similar themes appear on the Altar to
San Miguel in the Cathedral of Granada, Spain (Neuerburg 1982:personal communication).
Mexican artists of the period, trained partly in Spain, created
San Miguel's framed paintings and carved wooden scenes. In spite of these strong Hispanic influences, Brother Quentin Watson states that the Indians held onto some of their original habits, and may have in fluenced aspects of the art work. For instance the pigments were 63 @ '
taken from local cactus and mineral sources (Watson 1981:personal com
munication).
When Storey (1976:2-4) examined the paintings, basketry and tiles
at Missions Santa Ines and La Purisima Concepcion, he found Chumash
motifs. His view is that the Padres allowed this to happen because
it helped the Indian visitors feel more welcome at the Missions, and
because acculturation worked both ways. Neuerburg agrees that tile
and basketry motifs at these two Missions were probably Chumash, but
he contests Storey's other examples. For instance, a dentil frieze
was of Greek origin, while a copper baptismal font with a supposedly
Chumash design was actually imported from Mexico. The paintings do
not appear to have been done by Indian artists (1984:personal communi
cation).
Deetz's work with the archaeological remains at La Purisima (SBa-
520) supports the•idea of a degree of continuity there. The materials
from the Indian barracks consist of a blend of Hispanic and aboriginal
items, with an emphasis on retention of the artifacts used by women
in food processing, as well as craft items like shell beads and bas kets (1963:180).
According to Baer, the decorations at Mission Santa Barbara com
bine Spanish, Moorish and native elements. The primary source for motifs was Vitruvius's De Architectura- "the long standard work on
classical architecture." (1955:51).
An Indian named Juan Pacifico painted the walls and ceilings of
both Santa Barbara and San Buenaventura. He used the traditional egg whites or pitch to bind the paints, and probably applied them with a 64
duck's tail brush (Hudson 1979a:8).
Neuerburg describes a Cross done in relief plaster at Santa Bar bara, placed high in a ·tower which has since been destroyed. The unu sual location, where light may have fallen on it· at certain times of year, suggests an influence from the aboriginal religion (1980: 152-
153). This Mission also has decorations of inlaid abalone (a Chumash technique) surrounding a Cross imported from Jerusalem (Neuerburg
1982b: Lecture at the Southwest Museum).
During recent restorations at Mission San Juan Capistrano,
Neuerburg uncovered mission period decorations which are noteworthy for a number of reasons. The colors range from reds, yellow ochres and black to an assortment of greens including turquoise, blue-green and a brilliant malachite. Paintings on the walls outside are at eye level, instead of the lower dado position which might be expected
(Neuerburg 1982a:55-56).
Among the designs are a vaquero lassoing a cow (Figure 12), a horned skull, and a large pelican. The first of these may date to around the 1812 earthquake; they rest on the coat of whitewash added at that time (1982a:58). One figure is of particular interest, re sembling as it does the Tobet of the Gabrielino-Juanen~ Chinigchinich mythology (Neuerburg 1984:personal communication). Tobet was one of the three names of Chinigchinich; he was the god who wore a feather skirt and headdress, painted his body, and danced into the heavens
(Boscana 1978:30, lithograph facing Page 58).
The Mission San Juan Capistrano forms, plus the informal arrange ment, are closely paralleled in Indian pictographs and petroglyphs, 65
and their function may have been similar (Neuerburg 1982a:57). The artists, showing syncretism rather than deviousness, chose themes that were meaningful to both the European and aboriginal worshippers
(Neuerburg 1982:personal communication). For overtly Indian themes and stylistic conventions, only Mission San Fernando compares to San
Juan Capistrano (Neuerburg 1982a:57).
Approximately 20 miles from Mission San Luis Rey is the Asis tencia San Antonio de Pala, outlying chapel for the Mission (James
1905:289-290). The original paintings and pigments appeared to be a blend of aboriginal and European elements (Webb 1945:139). They were destroyed around the turn of the century, when the Priest had them covered with whitewash (James 1905:291). The originals at Pala were certainly executed by Indians according to Neuerburg (1984:personal communication), but he found European sources for all but one of the motifs there.
In sum, aspects of Indian art work at several of the California
Missions are reminiscent of aboriginal materials, techniques and forms. And some of the original functions may have been retained, as is hinted by the work at Missions Santa Barbara and San Juan Capi- strano.
Art Work at Mission San Fernando
Missionaries and Indians
We know the names of the Missionaries who officiated at Mission
San Fernando, but little else about them. Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen founded the Mission in 1797 with the help of Father
Francisco Dumetz. Thirty-four other priests resided or visited there 66
in the next 50 years; after June 30, 1847, the Mission was attended from Our Lady of the Angels, in Los Angeles (Engelhardt 1927:115-117).
In general, the Padres were probably not artists or craftsmen.
The first Memoria or invoice of goods sent from Mission San Gabriel to Mexico in 1771 included a request for a dozen brushes and a book,
Painting Without an Instructor. Webb states that the Fathers usually chose Indian boys or adolescents with talent or aptitude, for training in such special tasks (1945:138-139).
An Indian boy, four months old, was baptized under the name Juan
Antonio in 1798. His group, the Tongva of Tujunga, comprised a large village which maintained close relations with the neighboring Chumash
(Forbes 1966:137-139,146). As an adult, Juan Antonio may have helped in creating the paintings of the San Fernando Stations of the Cross and other art works at the Mission.
Art Forms and Design Elements
The exterior walls at San Fernando are so plain that they do not lend themselves to comparisons with Spanish or aboriginal architec tural designs (Neuerburg 1982:personal communication). Wood carving was not emphasized there either, although the "River of Life" pattern on the door of the main entrance resembles the side doors at Mission
San Buenaventura (Bartlett 1940a:9), as well as a design on a set of barracks doors at San Juan Capistrano (1982:personal observation).
Very little is known about the carvings and paintings that may have been brought to San Fernando from Mexico. In the final Inventory of March 12, 1849, the writer mentioned a statue of San Fernando in colored garments, a painting on the back wall of the Altar, and a 67
Crucifix on either side (Engelhardt 1927:144-145). The arched re
cesses in some of the Mission walls are an unusual feature; the priest
in charge might have hoped to obtain some sacred paintings to fit
them, as was done at Mission Santa Barbara (Neuerburg 1982:personal
communication).
The author of the final Inventory also noted that "Along the walls
of the church is the Via Crucis of fourteen very common pictures."
(Engelhardt 1927:145). These Stations of the Cross, housed at present
at Mission San Gabriel, have been the subject of much study and specu
lation. Art historian Pelzel stresses their resemblance to European
models (1976:118-119). Phillips, in contrast, (1976:98) states that
they reveal, through caricature, the artist's personality and un
favorable attitude toward the Europeans. Neuerburg has studied these
paintings over the years and considers them to be unsophisticated and
profoundly religious, not political. It is possible that Christ's
face was painted by a missionary, as it was executed in a markedly
different style (1984:personal communication).
Juan Antonio may have been one of several Indian painters in volved in producing the Stations. Copied from engravings, they were
done on good quality canvas using mineral pigments (Neuerburg 1982b:
Lecture at the Southwest Museum). Baer (1950?:55-63) details the var
ious types and sources of paints used in the California Missions.
As a test f0r Indian or non-Indian artistry, Neuerburg suggests
that the Hispanic artisans used mechanical aids such as stencils, compasses and underpainting, while the neophytes generally painted
freehand (1982b:Lecture at the Southwest Museum). M. R. Harrington, 68
who assisted at the San Fernando restoration of the 1940s, observed
that some of the original paintings appeared to have been done free hand, while some were filled into scratched outlines (M. R. Harring
ton 1954:16).
Figure 13 shows the south wall of the Governor's Room in the
San Fernando Convento building. Other missions display the star with
in a circle motif seen here; Santa Barbara has such a design over its
choir loft door (Bartlett 193?:no page number). A universal symbol,
readily executed with a compass, this motif was also discovered in paint and stone at Mission San Juan Capistrano and in paint at San
Juan Bautista (Neuerburg 1984:personal communication).
Figure 14 shows the north (a) and east (b) walls of the Gover nor's Room, with the common urn and flower design, and flower border patterns. In the sala or reception room, the west doorway was deco rated with painted columns enclosing leaf patterns, and the star in a circle above (Figure 15).
The sala houses several noteworthy paintings. Over the north door a scene commonly called the Grape Harvesters fills a large space
(Figure 16). In this distemper on plaster piece, Indian-like figures wearing pants and headbands appear to be performing harvesting or other activities under fruit-bearing trees or vines (Bartlett 1940b:
9). An unusual symbol resembling a Cross crowns the west doorway of the room (Figure 17(a)). A tiny figure shooting a bow and arrow stands at the left of the door (Figure 17(b)). Trumpet-shaped flow ers march along the dado (Figure 17(c)).
Finally, Bartlett shows a painting that appears over a corridor 69
arch at the Mission (1940b:Plate XIV). A deer is pointing a bow and arrow at another deer, which has an arrow in its chest (Figure 18).
The Gabrielino and Chumash, perhaps following rituals, hunted while dressed in deer disguises (Heizer 1968:36).
Restorations
By 1890 if not earlier, the chapel and most of the other Mission buildings were ruined. The Landmarks Club undertook the first of several restorations. Resident priests returned to San Fernando in
1902 (Baer 1958:101-102), and restoration of the art work began in the
1930s.
Frank Guti~rez helped to redo the murals and other decorations
(Weber 1968:33). Mrs. E. (Mattie L.) Gara, Mrs. R. (Theresa) Bouttier and others assisted (Neuerburg 1982:personal communication). Formal re-dedication occurred on Sunday September 7, 1941 (Mission Re-Dedi cation Announcement n.d.).
A major earthquake struck the San Fernando Valley on February 9,
1971. Father Weber reports that the historic Crucifix purportedly carved by a neophyte was ripped from its anchorage (1971:1,14). The damaged chapel was torn down in 1972. Burials in the adjacent grave yard were uprooted, and the remains needed to be re-interred. Roger
Kelly, archaeologist from California State University, Northridge, monitored the process (Weber 1982:personal communication).
Original designs appeared under several layers of whitewash, ·as the chapel came down (Manning 1974:no page number). Neuerburg par ticipated in the most recent restoration, and warns that the tran scriptions differ from the originals (1977:78). 70
Recently the Archdiocese erected a new archival center in the west courtyard. Northridge Archaeological Research Center conducted the excavation (Project No. VS-476) and houses the collections (LAn-
169H) which consist almost exclusively of historic period materials
(Foster 1981:personal communication). Among the items which the In dians may have used there are glass beads, assorted shells, and frag ments of terracotta (1982:personal observation).
Carlos Osona of the Santa Barbara Arts Conservation Center is in the process of restoring the paintings of the Stations of the Cross.
He feels that the pigments were obtained partly from local sources, such as copper oxides, and partly by importing from Mexico (1982: personal communication).
Mission San Fernando art forms and design elements included plainly Hispanic or European motifs, such as the Cross, border pat terns, and the Via Crucis. Some features of ·the Indian artists' technique probably filtered through their production, however.
Most of the materials were apparently imported from Mexico. The techniques seem to have been a mixture of European-derived, and abo riginal. It is in the forms that one finds many parallels between
San Fernando Mission art and rock art, especially in the productive realm, as exemplified by the Grape Harvesters and the deer hunter.
And the trumpet-shaped flowers may have been meant to depict the
Datura flower, an important symbol in Fernande«o ideology.
Summary
The Spaniards in the New World seem to have been mainly inter ested in using painting, sculpture and other art forms as an instruc- 71
tional tool for the Indians. Examples in both Mexico and California show that the Indians trained as artists used some of their own forms, materials and techniques, and some derived directly from the Church's models.
Each of the California Missions described offers one or several examples of the Indian influence on art production. In particular
Santa Barbara and San Juan Capistrano include aboriginal forms. The plaster .cross at Santa Barbara, and the figures depicted at San Juan
Capistrano, may have been meaningful to the Indians there in terms of their traditional beliefs and practices.
The Priests at San Fernando, aided by Mexican artisans, trained certain neophytes to decorate the Mission. The Stations of the Cross series seems to combine Catholic models and Mexican materials, with hints of the Indian artists' technical abilities. But the most im portant forms for comparison with rock art, are the design elements done on the walls. Minor elements, such as the border patterns, might be attributed to European-derived and/or Indian sources. It is the major elements, such as the Grape Harvester scene, which form the core of comparison and analysis in the next chapter. Chapter V
Analysis
The ethnohistorical, historical and archaeological data are sum- marized and compared here as they relate to Fernande~o acculturation.
Site data, rock art and mission art are the focus of attention in terms of similarities and differences in their materials, techniques, forms and probable functions for the Indians of the San Fernando
Valley.
As stated at the beginning of this thesis, the results of analy- sis and comparison of Fernanderio rock art and mission art were ex- pected to show that: 1) materials, techniques, forms and functions varied from the rock art to the mission art; 2) mission art work showed some combinations of aboriginal and European-derived materials, techniques, forms and functions; and 3) some of the materials, tech- niques, forms and functions found in the rock art reappeared in the mission art.
Local rock art has been shown to be related to various segments of Fernande~o culture, namely the productive, societal and ideational systems. If the aesthetic forms at Mission San Fernando are similar to those found in rock art, and are also interrelated with the pro- ductive, societal and ideational spheres of Fernanderio culture, their description and comparison may form a base for regarding the Fernan-
.I.! dena as a group which maintained its cultural identity (integration) in the contact with Hispanic culture. A strong degree of continuity evidenced by historical, ethnohistorical and archaeological (aesthetic
72 73
.0..., and other) indicators, would suggest that the Fernandeno formed a persistent cultural system.
Prehistoric and Historical Comparison
This section traces the progression of Fernandeno productive, societal and ideational factors from the pre-Hispanic period through post-secularization, with emphasis on change and continuity in these features.
Productive Level
The Fernandeho hunted and gathered their foodstuffs, and pro- cessed them using stone mortars, metates, and pottery vessels. Among the most common resources were deer, marsh animals, acorns and seeds.
During the early mission days the neophytes used their traditional subsistence methods to help feed the San Fernando Mission community.
The neophytes lived in the traditional domed tule houses at the
Mission, using their stone knives, bone awls and asphaltum water- proofing to continue the art of basket construction. Such skills as boat building and steatite carving were translated by the Priests into carpentry, masonry and tile-making; shell and stone bead neck- laces and steatite carvings were made and used (by Indians and Euro- peans) into the 1850s (Bean and Smith 1978:541). The information from ethnohistorical and historical records, though sketchy, points to a surprising degree of continuity for the Fernande~o at the productive level.
After secularization, those who returned to the mountains picked up their original lifeways. Those who stayed near the European settlements were, according to B. D. Wilson's 1868 report, prone to 74
such activities as horse-thieving, drinking and gambling. Between
1840 and 1860, smallpox decimated all groups in the area, and many
aspects of their culture waned (Bean and Smith 1978:541).
Societal Level
Traditionally, the Fernande?(o arranged themselves into totemic
moieties, and resided patrilocally. Marriage was by purchase, descent
was traced patrilineally, and class differences were observed as de-
termined by inheritance, power and wealth. The written records do not
even hint at whether such practices continued at San Fernando, altho~h
they could have, as the Indians had their own village. Hugo Reid gave
one small clue in his letters of 1852: marriage ceremonies were held
in the Catholic church, but new mothers were purified in the old way.
Such features of Fernande~o life as wars, long-distance trade,
and trade fairs ceased for the Indians at the Mission. Indians out-
side the system probably did not maintain these either, as many moved
inland to avoid the intruders.
Ideational Level
Most of the San Fernando Mission recruits had spoken Chumashan and Takic tongues. As of 1806, Gabrielino, Chumash and Serrano were
in use at the Mission. Europeans and Indians were using Gabrielino as their lingua franca into the 1840s (Bean and Smith 1978:541).
In the 1813 Interrogatorio, the Priests mentioned that the
Indians practiced idolatry, and bled themselves with flints. This is
!./ one of the few written clues that the Fernandeno may have maintained such ideational aspects as shamanic or 'antap functions, ritual lan- guage, use of Datura, or intra-tribal ritual. Regarding celestial 75
knowledge, the Fathers only state that the Fernanderio had no calendar.
Hugo Reid bolstered the case for post-mission ideational conti
nuity, stating that the Gabrielino practiced Catholicism plus their
own religion, used the yoba ceremonial structures, followed chiefs,
and went to seers for curing. Although different in detail, the
Mourning Ceremonies persisted, drawing wide-spread crowds to partici
pate-in the fiestas and songs. One such gathering was held at the
Mission after 1850, another at Tejon sometime after 1900. One of
the dancers was painted and decorated with shell and glass beads.
Present-day informants state that their relatives residing at the Mis
sion were faithful Catholics, yet continued the practice of tradition
al medicine.
The creation of rock art as a shamanic tool continued outside of
the mission system. These works are held sacred to the present day.
The art at Mission San Fernando was probably not created by shamans,
although the artists may have been influenced by sacred ideas shared within the group.
In sum, the Fernandeno kept a number of the materials and tech niques of their productive lives. The Priests seem to have utilized
the Indians' resources and knowledge in support of the mission system.
Examination of the societal aspects yields the least information; hopefully the art at Mission San Fernando will give more.
Use of traditional language decreased progressively. Traditional
ideas and ceremonies seem to have continued to some extent at the
Mission, and to have re-surfaced after secularization. The examina tion of Fernande~o rock art, then mission art, may help to fill in 76
the sketch drawn from written sources, and to bolster the evidence presented thus far.
Fernanderio Rock Art
The materials, techniques, forms and functions are presented for rock art of the San Fernando Valley catchment area in general, and for the sites studied in particular.
General Aspects
The Fernanderto people created portable art objects, body and face paintings, ground paintings associated with young peoples' initiations and pictographs and petroglyphs. Abstract forms, found especially on the portable objects and the rocks, included zigzags, linked trian gles, concentric rings, and crosshatchings. Anthropomorphs, zoo morphs, and celestial symbols were among the representational elements
(see Figure 5) .
Shaman-artists used stones to abrade or peck out the petroglyphs, and earth pigments such as hematite and limonite to paint. Their binders included egg yolk, urine and animal fat; their applicators were yucca fiber brushes, fingers, etc. They probably ingested Datura at some point in the ritual process.
In addition to drawing their materials and techniques from the environment around them, the artists related their works to the pro ductive level of Fernanden~ society by using rock art to influence the weather, and acquisition of food. Some rock art sites were com munity sites, and corresponded with such societal aspects as initia tion, and the use of magic to explain or influence the European in truders. At the ideational level, rock art production corresponded 77
with religious practices, the use of hallucinogens, and the under- standing and manipulation of mythology and astronomy.
The rock art sites of the San Fernando Valley catchment area pre- sented in Chapter III are charted in Figure 20 in order to show how the pictograph and petroglyph elements cluster into the ideational, societal and productive realms of Fernande~o life.
The Santa Monica Mountain sites are characterized by abstracts, anthropomorphs and sacred animals. Sites in the Chumash-Gabrielino boundary areas contain some of these elements but also include bedrock mortars, cupules, and numbers of distinctly celestial and shamanic elements. At the eastern end of the catchment area, the Azusa Canyon sites contain predominantly puberty-related symbols.
All of the sites show a correspondence with ideational aspects of
Fernandeno culture, although a few are related to the productive and societal as well. The elements at these sites, plus those found in southern California in general, are offered as baseline information for comparison, in the next section, with the art forms and design
/\.) elements done by Fernandeno artists at Mission San Fernando.
Rock Art and Mission Art Comparison
The California Mission aesthetic forms presented earlier are surveyed here, for similarities to and differences from general fea- tures of rock art. The art forms and design elemenrs at Mission San
Fernando are examined individually, and analyzed as to their relation- ship with the materials, techniques, forms and functions of Fernandeno rock art, and the productive, societal and ideational levels of their culture. 78
California Missions
Indian artisans at various missions utilized wood, stone and paint, materials with which they were familiar. And they learned to work with metals, canvas, and plaster, and to use stencils and dis temper, techniques from the European productive realm.
Art work at Mission San Miguel Arcangel was produced by a Span iard, who used tempera and worked from pattern books. Some of the pigments, however, may have been obtained from mineral sources. Some elements at Santa Ines and La Purisima Concepcion resembled Chumash motifs. Their forms and functions, however, were probably dictated by the Priests.
All aspects of the art forms at Mission Santa Barbara were re lated to some degree, to Chumash aboriginal art. Chumash, Spanish and
Moorish elements appeared there. The materials included inlaid aba lone; paint binders included egg whites and pitch; duck's tail brushes were among the applicators. And at least one art form may have served an ideational function: a plaster Cross was situated in a tower, where light may have struck it at solstice or another significant time of the year.
Mission San Juan Capistrano paintings, with such forms as the vaquero lassoing a cow, a pelican, a horned skull, and the Tobet-like figure, may have provided functional meanings for both the Indians and the Europeans there.
In brief, some features reminiscent of aboriginal rock art re appeared in the California Missions, in combination with European elements. They may have served to reiterate, for the neophytes, I '
79
aspects of their pre-Hispanic productive life, social networks, and ideology.
Mission San Fernando
Each of the art forms and design elements presented in Chapter
IV, is examined in detail here.
The wooden door of the main entrance at San Fernando is carved in the so-called "River of Life" pattern. A door at Mission San Juan
Capistrano also bears this design. This form appears in California rock art (Figure 5, Number 14), and may have served an unknown idea- tional function. The most that can be said, then, is that the carvers chose or were permitted to choose, a familiar form.
The Via Crucis or Stations of the Cross paintings were probably done with both local and Mexican mineral pigments, but were certainly copied from engravings chosen by the Padres. It is a matter of con- jecture as to whether the painters tri~d to deliver social or idea- tional messages by depicting the Europeans in an unfavorable fashion; they probably did not.
Figures 13 and 15 show the star in a circle design. This motif also appears at Mission Santa Barbara and at Mission San Juan Capi- strano. Although such a form might occur in many parts of the world, it seems to have been of ideational, perhaps celestial, import for the Fernandeno./J It appears in greater California (see Figure 5, Num- bers 15 and 35), and at Vasq~ez Rocks (LAn-367), and on the Bowers
Cave sunsticks.
The urn and flower designs, and flowered border patterns in the
Governor's Room (Figure 14) are ubiquitous; it would be quite a feat 80
to tie these to Fernande~o rock art. But the trumpet-shaped flowers
in the sala (Figure 17(c)) are reminiscent of Datura flowers, as shown
at Vasquez Rocks (LAn-367) (Figure 11). This room has many non
Hispanic elements, including the Grape Harvesters scene. The tiny
hunter (Figure 17(b)) corresponds to the productive realm, and the
Fernande~o did use some traditional subsistence methods during the
mission period. The unusual cross design (Figure 17(a)) resembles
both the Christian symbol, and an element seen in Califoria rock art
(Figure 5, Number 19). All three sala motifs appear to have been done
freehand rather than with stencils.
The Grape Harvesters scene (Figure 16) was produced in distemper
on plaster, but seemingly freehand. The figures are Indian-like, and wear pants and headbands. Perhaps this is a depiction of one way the
Fernande~o helped feed the Mission residents in the early nineteenth
century. Harvest was productive, and also socially meaningful for the
Fernande~o, as evidenced by such hutash ceremonial sites as Saddle
Rock Ranch (LAn-717) and Castle Peak (LAn-511). This picture appears
opposite the main sala entrance; perhaps the Priests thought of it as
serving a welcoming function.
Finally, the deer-hunter scene (Figure 18) was painted in a free hand style, and seems to correspond closely with Fernand~o forms and
functions. Figure 5, Number 1 shows a deer design element; Saddle
Rock Ranch (LAn-717) elements include deer; Figure 19 is a modern depiction of the Chumash deer-hunting process. The hunt was a pro ductive activity, a social activity, and was related on the ideational level to rock art, Datura use, and shamanic ritual. 81
This analysis of the art forms and design elements at Mission San
Fernando gives the general impression that the works done by the In- dians there held meaning for the Fernanden~. The materials, espe~ial- ly wood and paint, were used by both Europeans and California Indians prior to contact. The techniques were drawn from both groups, but the majority of major design elements seem to have been painted freehand.
Such forms as the "River of Life", star within a circle, trumpet flow- ers, and hunters have direct parallels in California rock art, the art of the Fernande~o, or both.
What functions did these art forms serve? One simple explanation is that the Priests allowed such designs to be created, to serve re- cruitment purposes. But this did not seem to preclude the Indian artists from exercising their own decisions and motivations, and from fashioning some of the paintings in their own style. FernandeB6 rock art features do appear at Mission San Fernando, alongside Hispanic/
Catholic motifs, and in distinct yet often strikingly reminiscent forms.
The forms may have served as simple reminders. Such elements as the sun symbols, the Grape Harvesters, and particularly the deer hunt- ers, corresponding with the societal, ideational and productive as-
/V pects of Fernandeno culture, may have served as identity symbols which strengthened internal solidarity for the Fernande,ro at the Mission.
Summary
According to the ethnohistorical, historical and archaeological records, the Fernande~o experienced a combination of change and con- tinuity in their lifeways during the California Miss{on period. Prior 82
to the arrival of the Europeans, they were hunters and gatherers. For
part of the early 1800s they continued these practices at Mission San
Fernando, and the art work there indicates that they may have contin- ued to think of themselves as hunters and gatherers. After secular-
ization, some Fernanderto did return to those practices.
Other aspects of the pre-Hispanic productive level, such as tool production and use and craft production, continued at the Mission in altered form.
If the Fernandeno at the Mission continued any of their kinship, governmental or other societal practices, the mission art, like the written records, does not so indicate. Apparently some of the ideas were kept alive, because after secularization various practices, such as ceremonies and shamanic and chiefly leadership, resurfaced.
Whereas the Fernandeff~ languages gradually atrophied, art as communication at the ideational level seems to have persisted both inside and outside the Mission. The Priests stated that the Fernau-
/l./ dena had no calendar, yet they produced symbols reminiscent of harvest time, and sun and solstice indicators. Perhaps the Fernandeno/1.-' were indeed practicing "idolatry" as the respondents to the Interrogatorio said, because they produced symbols of the ritualistic deer hunt, and possibly of Datura. In the latter part of the century the Fernandeno practiced both of their religions, continued traditional healing meth- ads, and held Mourning Ceremonies where the use of body painting and shell and glass beads for decoration showed both continuity and change from past practices. 83
Chapter VI
Conclusions
This thesis posed the following questions. What was the mode of . ,v adaptatlon of the Fernandeno? To what extent did their culture change and/or show continuity, during the mission period? And how could the aesthetic forms - rock art and art produced by Indians at Mission San
Fernando - help to answer these questions?
The theory of aesthetic anthropology delineated by Jacques Maquet
(1971) served as a framework for an examination of Fernanderto art forms in relationship to other aspects of their culture .. Rock art did correspond with features of the productive, societal and particularly the ideational levels of Fernande«o culture. Mission art also cor- responded with these cultural levels, also disproportionately with the ideational realm and its sacred components. Further, many of the art forms and design elements at Mission San Fernando resembled those found in Fernande~o rock art, in various combinations of their mate- rials, techniques, forms and probable functions. Features of Fernau- ,.-J deno rock art reappeared in the mission art, in combination with
European-derived features.
These indices combined with the written records, point toward a fairly high degree of cultural continuity for the Fernand~o, from the pre-mission through the post-mission period (and in spite of the ex- tent to which they were depopulated during that time). Evidence was clearest for productive and ideational aspects, weakest for societal factors, although in such instances as harvest, and deer hunting, the 84
productive, societal and ideational are interlinked.
During the initial phases of the acculturation process, contact and conflic~, the Fernande~o seemed to strengthen their internal soli darity with such identity symbols as rituals and aesthetic images.
Rock art of the period may have been created to describe, explain and exert power over the strangers. Mission art forms were probably the result of choices made by the priests and the artists. The Priests' goals were served by gaining the Indians' cooperation in production of food and goods, and perhaps in increasing the numbers of converts.
The Fernandeno artists may have been communicating to their group or they may simply have chosen familiar forms. In either case, their paintings, with the combinations of aboriginal and imported materials, techniques, forms and functions, indicate that the Fernande~o adapted to the new circumstances by integration - by maintaining their cul tural identity while becoming part of the larger societal framework.
Based on the various forms of evidence presented in this thesis, the
Fernande~o maintained continuity in the new socio-cultural environ ment, demonstrating the persistence of their cultural system.
Researchers in this area might wish to begin by surveying for additional rock art sites in the San Fernando Valley catchment area.
The approach of aesthetic anthropology seems a fruitful one, capable of enhancing the work done by historians and ethnohistorians. REFERENCES CITED
85 86
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FIGURES
100 \ ~:t''---:- r/ . ~-·: t SAt'H/\ Figure 1. San Fernando Valley \ St(: -c~::;;A ;;vs;. \ rlN-i IV lu·.t..., ~ Catchment Area with Rock Art Sites. ' , 'N T4JNs s • 'l.( ..,~':.'T.. ··~ ~~ t'"',/ ·pv. i:) •..• ~~ '-'.4,. l.;e,, 1"-o cf''"" . '{ I ~\..,..a· tl~ .SA rHer(±)do"'-- . ) ~·ft!. + c~"'""-~•-l?i' ( ~/t8f't< tt...... ,,., .v.~s -~-ILJ'! ~Y~ ~I {!.. ~A.O lhousc.N--1 Oaks / ·-~ s•"Ye~-~1 ~ 1(1''" ~lee~/ LIIN-LJJ:B1 efc ...... ___L~ S9,.y J::~:A'N4M t !JJ.'!5_ft. . '··, _ / 119ei. :¢o iP. l!J"' Jl.;t, -- I b lf / ~-----"' ,····- _v~·• "' - '=• ~·· "'~"' /' ' I.OsA~·!il.ES _!E!o'L ('j)uf\IT'I~·, /1ol f"'~eewAy- '-. ----. '- Y verv-1~" x__ 0 ------.___" -"{-~ ~' ..... _ ------~ M () l'f .( I '-- to / ~--- './ eN-1 >1£. r( I A M A/ I LAN L4.J-"1if'i(· A 0 [I ~5 N 3sti-S /"i ( T r~ / ,.' ") \.0 I /' 1 ~;)'5oid ...... 0..... I ./-~ _____ -Jc , ~i'~ -- - .. ---.-,:'"W.lloll01._::::...! h ...... , lh~ GJ\BRI£UNO INOIANS • :) •. ..l~~'·\. 1 I,~=..,. .... ;....;:;;;:;::;,' -.._. I ... a/ ·--~- .. ~·r··. '· d· ...... )( -~ '"'--'------\/ ~ .,. _. ., . ; '>I • • e.., I .. ,1, .. -, .. """'~ I· ... l'> • I~ i. ~~-...: ::::...:-. ' ...----...... : ·1---!J. ;.:"-Jr.' --L~ . ")i.fl'HE.TIME OffHI:-JiOR . ··, ~·-·- ...... i•• ~...... ~ ) I ~ • ,, ... I , ..... :--'\ ·~ ...... ~.. f • ..-._ ~ . > '• I' • • - • A • ~' ' ', e ,,.._ J/ / \. w,_,-;.""' • .-'-._, _}' ,__-, -. -._ ••' . 4 • - ...... r ,_ ' • ~'• ~1i -~ -...... :/ ,., .... ~ . }h"'·./. • ~---~--.~ ' . '• "''~ :-,,. " .J • ..... ~ ~ ... -- ~' __ .) HO.j- • . .~-~-· .-. .// ~-~· " -- ., -·- '-- ' - . . : '~, • ~~-r" ··"":"'-'>- _:~---// •-,~- ·-·-·-1 .. ,··~,· ... , - •. =.;:· •. ' .., ' .·· I ~ _, -· /"' ' "'-:_ ' 'I;'·", •• 111 '''" ~. ' ! • ... •• ... • ...... ~ ) ~. •..... : • 1; --~_,. ,_I_.(---·--~~ ~ ----~_,-· . :~~; ... ~--.,..... r'• ·• ~) ' • ~--~·-·· ., ... - . .~ .•• '·: ' ~ '! ~~. _y· '\ ,, '.\ • ._ : 'i I. \ .. <...... " ~ M' >~"< '"'-"1 ~ ~· 4; '. I ,. \ • ! !-, ...... ' . ' \ / { ./------'-, '· ·-·;· l \ f~ ·---·-r· ... ~ I.. ·.... .,_v·/ -4~-. ._. , --· '. -')\ .· ··~ -::-·. ' , :')_. ·~ t : ' ~ ' . --· ' . ,, ~ .. !· ~ ...... A .... "" , •.• \ ....•· /'\·'" · .;-,_._· \ ···_,, -J.~.;r~-- • ~o~wo--· -.rr•L ,...,,,r ~-;· 1 .A .a. -4·· ·. ' , ;' _; ) , , '.""'"0010 ~-t •' ' J' I , _ ~----·.. ---~~~ \ ~ · /, r::f!MemV d ! .... t;.... 111 ~.:::.= l\ -"" ,.,IA>91MiiNOOu~IIOI\IOVo.LIO~I'I~T"""'~~· I '· ~ 1.011 ..... _ / •, ~ j \ PIIPrfiOrl JOc.AQIST~ I.AIIIPOt1ntc\).'lfPII'LIUOITHI:"""-LI ,._. 0 N 103 MODEL FOR A CULTURAL SYSTEM AND ITS AESTHETIC SEGMENT Level 3: cognitive a\:tion-orientcd communication-oriented aesthetic psychology, technology, alphabet, grammar, systems of forms, IDEATIONAL mythology, ethics, rhetoric, vocabulary, systems styles, &c. CON FIGURATIONS physics, &c. ritual, &c. of signs, &c. Level 2: kinship incqualiiy government economic art market, galleries, family, castes, rulers, exchange, art schools, museums, SOCIETAL lineage, classes, subjects, market, guilds, academies, NETWORKS dynasty, &c. bourgeoisie, executive, transport, journals, &c. nobility, &c. legislative, &c. &c. ·-----.------~- -~------. -·· -· ------·-· Level I: techniques: hunting, gathering, agriculture, cattle breedin!l,. carving, engraving, PRODUCTIVE mining, industry, &c. smelting, steel beams, SYSTEMS acrylic, multiples, &c. environment: forest, desert, savanna, ores. coal, oil, &c. soapstone, marble, jade, woods, go Id, ivory, &c. Figure 4. Maquet 1971:58. .~ 0 -1> 105 ~ OD ~@> o-o-o-o @ 2 3 4 5 'Y' OIIliD mrt ~ f- '1- g 10 6 7 8 . ll®* ~ il @ II 12 . 13 14 15 . t 8 Q •16 17 ~18 tg 20 © ~ * 21 22 23 24 25 •••• ~ ~ oo::::tx> ~ 26 27 28 29 30 ~ ~ t ® 31 32 33 34 35 @ $ n11111 w 36 37 38 39 40 Figure 5. California 2ictograph and Petroglyph Design Elements.* Grant 1965:Figure 68, p. 78. 106 FigureF"lgure 6 71· Afte r Grant 1965.· ' p. 81. Figure 7. After Grant 196 S·Pl. ate 27, f ollowing p. 76. 107 Figure 8. Saddle Rock Ranch (LAn-717). The Four Horsemen. Figure 9. Saddle Rock Ranch (LAn-717). Deer with madstone. 108 Figure 10. Malibu Creek State Park (LAn-748). Design element. 109 Figure ll. Vasquez Rocks County Park (LAn-367). Top shows painting of Datura flowers. Bottom shows Datura plants growing nearby. 110 ;;k I l .•' I I _i I j ! f Figure 12. Mission San Juan Capistrano corridor door. Vaquero lassoing a cow. 111 Photographs 40a and 40b. So. Cal. Mscl. Restoration drawing 40a. Watercolor. Works Progress Admin. Figure 13. Mission San Fernando Governor's Room- south wall. Index of American Design. 112 (a) North wall. Southwest Museum files. (b) East wall. Southwest Museum negative 14830B. Figure 14. Mission San Fernando Governor's Room. 113 Q ' . . .. "". "h. 1 • 5 .. _,. • -;t:------~ .. ,,• -~'! "' .., $' ~.; v ..... ~~ ....,, . --. ··' '/\ ~'·- ....;<~ '~ ·... ) \ . -,~.' .· (J'- v~{). ~:.~·.~)~~ ·~ :"-·-· l ,i: 'I \, Photograph 39c. So. Cal. Mscl. Photograph 39d. So. Cal. Mscl. Figure 15. Mission San Fernando sala - west door. Index of American Design. ~ ~ .j.> 115 \ ·i Photograph IIIb. So. Cal. Mscl. Figure 16. Mission San Fernando sala- north door. Grape Harvesters. Index of American Design. Photograph IIIb. So. Cal. Mscl. 116 ./,~ (a) Symbol over doonmy. (b) Figure to left of doon:ay. Figure 17. Mission San Fernando sala- west doorway. (J (c) Design element from dado. ______/\ ""-·/-"': ·.\ i i . \\\ I \\ jjI \\ Figure 18. Mission San Fernando corridor door. After Bartlett 1940b:Plate XIV. ,_. ,_. -...J Figure 19. Chumash deer hunters. Janice Timbrook. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. 1-' 1-' co 119 @ ' Ideational Societal Productive System System System Santa Monica Mountains Ven-195 abstracts animals anthropomorphs (hunting tool kit) sacred animals LAn-717 constellations horses and deer anthropomorphs riders (midden) sacred animals LAn-355) bedrock mortars LAn-354~ cupules LAn-748) abstracts anthropomorphs San Fernando Valley Ven-160 bedrock mortars horse celestial elements grave poles headdress figures Ven-149\ bedrock mortars I LAn-357 4 cupules New SiteJ sacred animal celestial element headdress element Santa Clara River Area LAn-367 bedrock mortars cupules celestial elements anthropomorphs abstract animals Datura Azusa Canyon LAn-163 anthropomorphs abstract elements LAn-164 zoomorphs (puberty rite symbols) Figure 20. Relationships of San Fernando Valley Catchment Area Rock Art Sites with Fernande~o Productive, Societal and Ideational Systems. APPENDIX B RESEARCH SOURCES 120 121 General Sources The following facilities served as sources of information about the San Fernando Valley Indians: Northridge Archaeological Research Center, California State University, Northridge; The Archaeological Survey, University of California, Los Angeles; Archives of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History; Archival Center, Archdiocese of Los Angeles, at Mission San Fernando. Rock Art Sources and Sites The area's main repository for rock art articles, slides, manu scripts and sketches is The Rock Art Archive at the University of California, Los Angeles. Rock art sites and other archaeological sites studied, visited, sketched and/or photographed included (see Figure 1): LAn-164, the Azusa Canyon Site, Angeies National Forest; Ven-151 through Ven-161, the Burro Flats sites, Simi Hills; LAn-363 and nine other sites at Vasquez Rocks County Park, north central Los Angeles County; LAn-357 and Ven-149, the Chatsworth sites; New site, Chatsworth, California; LAn-717, Saddle Rock Ranch, in the Santa Monica Mountains. Mission Art Sources and Sites The Mission San Fernando paintings include 14 canvasses of the 122 Stations of the Cross. These have been observed on display at Mission San Gabriel. The original murals and designs at Mission San Fernando have either been covered with plaster or destroyed, so these have been studied using slides and sketches housed at the following loca tions: The Southwest Museum Library, Highland Park, California; San Fernando Valley Historical Society, Mission Hills, Californi~ The California Historical Society, Los Angeles, California. Historical and Ethnohistorical Sources The following libraries, universities and facilities house the historical and ethnohistorical records used in this study: California State University, Northridge; University of California, Los Angeles; The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley; The Huntington Library, San Marino, California; The Southwest Museum Library, Highland Park, California; The Los Angeles Central Library, California History Room; The Huntington Park Library, Huntington Park, California; Archival Center for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Mission San Fernando, San Fernando, California; Santa Barbara Mission Archive Library, Santa Barbara, California; San Fernando Valley Historical Society, Mission Hills,California; The California Historical Society, Los Angeles, California. Informants In addition to utilizing the sources listed above, the author 123 interviewed Charles Cooke, Chief of the Southern Chumash, and Rudy Ortega, Chief of the San Fernando Valley Inter-Tribal, Inc. Both men are descendants of Indians who were born and lived at Mission San Fernando.