Piedra Pintada Books

The Chumash Indians of Southern California

In-print Titles

• Arnold, Jeanne E., editor. The Origins of a Pacific Coast Chiefdom: The Chumash of the Channel Islands. 2001, The University of Utah Press, cloth, no dj, 317 pp., 9" x 11". As New. $60.00
  The Chumash in World and Regional Perspectives by Jeanne E. Arnold; Ethnohistoric Reflections of Cruzeno Chumash Society by John R. Johnson; The Evolution of Specialized Shellworking among the Island Chumash by Jeanne E. Arnold and Anthony P. Graesch; Flaked Stone Craft Production and Exchange in Island Chumash Territory by Jeanne E. Arnold, Aimee M. Preziosi, and Paul Shattuck; Bifaces and the Institutionalization of Exchange Relationships in the Chumash Sphere by Scott Pletka; Standardization and Specialization: The Island Chumash Microdrill Industry by Aimee M. Preziosi; Groundstone Tools as Indicators of Changing Subsistence and Exchange Patterns in the Coastal Chumash Region by Colleen Delaney-Rivera; Bone Tool Technology on Santa Cruz Island and Implications for Exchange by Thomas A. Wake; Ecological and Economical Analysis of Faunal Remains from Santa Cruz Island by Roger H. Colten; The Economics of Island Chumash Fishing Practices by Scott Pletka; Paleoethnobotanical Investigations of Archaeological Sites on Santa Cruz Island by Steve L. Martin and Virginia S. Popper; Culture Contact on the Channel Islands: Historic-Era Production and Exchange Systems by Anthony P. Graesch; Social Evolution and the Political Economy in the Northern Channel Islands by Jeanne E. Arnold.
• Blackburn, Thomas C. December's Child: A Book of Chumash Oral Narratives. 1975, University of California Press, paper, 359 pp., New. $22.00
  The most complete corpus of mythology and folklore for the Chumash people of southern California. A total of one hundred and eleven narratives, describing the order of the world, the planets, the afterlife, the adventures of Coyote, and many incredible tales of doctors and sorcerers (shaman). The author presents a careful and detailed analysis of the myths in an effort to elicit implicit anthropological data regarding Chumash society.
• Glassow, Michael. Purisimeno Chumash Prehistory: Maritime Adaptations Along the Southern California Coast. 1996, Harcourt Brace & Co., paper, 170 pp., references, index, New. $25.00
  A review and a self-assessment of the author's archaeological research efforts at the Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc, San Luis Obispo County (The Vandenberg Project). These excavations, which transpired during the 1970s and 80s, excavated/tested a number of Chumash archaeological sites, including SBa-539, SBa-670, and SBa-931. This book is designed for use in college level archaeology coursework. It is one of the titles in The Case Studies in Archaeology series.
• Holmes, Marie, and John Johnson. The Chumash and Their Predecessors: An Annotatated Bibliography, 1998, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Contributions in Anthropology Number 1, paper, 1177 citations, 228 pages, Author, Subject, and Sites Indexes, New. $32.50
• Kroeber, Alfred Louis. Handbook of the Indians of California. 1976, Dover Publications, paper, 995 pp., New. $29.00
  Includes a chapter on the Chumash. This still remains a very important reference work on the native peoples of California.
• Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The Chumash People: Materials for Teachers and Students. 1991, EZ Nature Books, paper, 88 pp., New. $13.00
  A manual for use by teachers and students at the grade school level. Prepared by staff of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, includes chapters on villages, foods, clothing, houses, Chumash names and placenames, trade and trails, social organization, songs, basketry, myths, games, and rock paintings.

Out-of-print Titles

The titles listed below are nearly all limited to a single copy on hand. I recommend that you contact me via e-mail (books@rock-art.com) or telephone (909/620-6742) in order to reserve the copy of interest to you, or to verify that it is still available.

• Blackburn, Thomas C. December's Child: A Book of Chumash Oral Narratives. 1975, University of California Press, cloth w/ d/j, 359 pp., dust jacket is price clipped and has minor chipping and seveal closed tears. Very Good/Good. $30
  The most complete corpus of mythology and folklore for the Chumash people of southern California. A total of one hundred and eleven narratives, describing the order of the world, the planets, the afterlife, the adventures of Coyote, and many incredible tales of doctors and sorcerers (shaman). The author presents a careful and detailed analysis of the myths in an effort to elicit implicit anthropological data regarding Chumash society.
• Greenwood, Roberta S. The Browne Site: Early Milling Stone Horizon in Southern California 1969, Memoirs of the Society for American Archaeology, Number 23, issued as American Antiquity Vol. 34, No. 4, Part 2, paper wraps, 71 pp. Fine. $10
  A fine excavation report of a Middle Horizon Chumash village and cemetery in the Ojai area.
• Hudson, Travis, and Ernest Underhay Crystals in the Sky: An Intellectual Odyssey Involving Chumash Astronomy, Cosmology, and Rock Art 1978, 2nd printing, Ballena Press Anthropological Papers No. 10, paper. As New. $50.00
• Hyder, William. Rock Art and Archaeology in Santa Barbara County, California. 1989, San Luis Obispo County Archaeological Society, paper, Occasional Paper No. 13. As New. $17.50
• Kitsepawit, Fernando Librado. The Eye of the Flute: Chumash Traditional History and Ritual as Told by Fernando Librado Kitsepawit to John P. Harrington. 1977, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, red cloth over boards, gilt lettering on spine, no d/j as issued, 141 pp., Notes, Biographies, Index, Glossary and References. Limited to 500 copies. Minor wear to cloth at corners. No tears. No bumps. Minor flecks (foxing?) to top edge. Fine. $250
  This is the finest book on Chumash culture as gleaned from the Harrington notes by the best non-Indian scholars of the Chumash.
• Landberg, Leif. The Chumash Indians of Southern California. 1965, Southwest Museum, Southwest Museum Papers Number 19, wraps, 158 pp., Former owner's (Prof. Bert Salwen NYU Anthropologist) ink stamp top right cover and base edge. Fine. $50
• San Luis Obispo County Archaeological Society Papers on Chumash Rock Art. 1984, Occasional Paper No. 12, paper. As New. $45