Early Settlement Systems in the Middle Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County, California

Abstract

Although still scanty, recent archaeological investigation in the central Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County, California, has revealed evidence of occupation dating prior to 5000 cal BP. The most definitive evidence comes from a site overlooking the Lake Cachuma reservoir and another 1.5 km north of the Santa Ynez River. More circumstantial evidence comes from a series of sites along the Lake Cachuma shoreline and a site overlooking a southern tributary of the Santa Ynez River. Three alternative settlement system models can account for the existing data, each concerning the relationship between valley sites and coastal sites on the other side of the Santa Ynez Mountains. First, separate populations occupied coastal and valley territories. Second, populations occupied large territories that included both coastal and valley residential bases. Third, populations centered on the coast occupied valley camps for such enterprises as hunting. No basis exists for rejecting any of the alternatives, and it is possible that all three settlement system types existed at different times and places prior to 5000 cal BP.