Santa Barbara, California
Journal Entry
August 15, 2011
When you hear or read the phrase “painted cave,” it usually signifies the art placed on the walls of the large and deep solution caverns of Europe in the cultural period called the Upper Paleolithic, which developed during the late Ice Age. Place names like Lascaux, Altamira, and Chauvet evoke memories of the multitude of PowerPoint slides many students endure in the first few classes of Art History 101. Dating back as much as 35,000 years ago, this iconic art—among the first representational and naturalistic depictions produced by ancient human beings—is exemplified by depictions of animals including horse and woolly mammoth, cave bear and lion, elk and woolly rhinoceros.
So when you hear or read the phrase “painted caves,” you likely do not think of ancient art painted on a shallow cave high in the hills overlooking Santa Barbara, California. Yet there Chumash Painted Cave sits, high above the Southern California coast. The images are beautiful and absolutely worth a visit (Figure 89).
What You Will See
The site itself is well signed. Once you arrive, attempt to wedge your vehicle into the tiny pullout on the left that can accommodate about two cars. Two subcompact cars. The cave is located up a short, steep hill on the left side of the road. The cave is protected by a heavy iron gate blocking the entrance, placed there in response to the damage wrought by graffiti-writing vandals over the years. There are two, small circular gaps in the gate to accommodate cameras. That works pretty well for positioning your camera or cell phone. A problem posed especially for photographers, however, is the lack of light in the cave. There is no artificial lighting, and because of the surrounding topography and thick canopy of trees, the sun doesn’t exactly illuminate the place. But once your eyes become adjusted to the low light level, you’ll be able to see just how fascinatingly beautiful the art is (I.22). If you want to get some decent pictures, bring a tripod or at least be ready to steady your camera sufficiently for a longish exposure.
The art at Chumash Painted Cave is not nearly as old as that adorning the Upper Paleolithic cave walls of Europe; it’s only several hundred years old and was produced by the local Chumash Indian tribe. The overarching theme of the Chumash Painted Cave art doesn’t look like anything we’ve seen earlier in this book. The primary, repeating theme of the art in Chumash Painted Cave is the circle; there are several, and most are elaborately ornamented. Painted in very bright and fresh tones of red, white, and black, some of the circular images are spoked and some have a series of pointed tips along their circumferences. One stands out in its simplicity—a circle, filled in entirely in black (though some recent idiot scratched a name onto it). You’ll also see a series of pretty trippy geometric shapes. The two images that evoke some comparisons to the Barrier Canyon art are floating anthropomorphs, predictably without arms or legs. These guys are boldly striped in black and white paint and likely are spirit beings of some sort. The reds in the paint pigment were produced by grounding chunks of the mineral hematite (an iron oxide). The whites are from gypsum. Black was produced from ground-up charcoal and the mineral manganese oxide. The binder, the liquid used to keep all the ground-up pigment together, consisted of animal fat, plant material, even water.
The cave is small and there’s not a ton of art, but it remains the best example of extant Chumash art open to the public. If you’re in Southern California, you shouldn’t miss it.
Why Is Chumash Painted Cave Important?
It’s always a crapshoot when those of us who are not members of the culture that produced ancient art attempt to explain it and address questions of its importance and meaning. In this case, the art is certainly important and significant because it is beautiful and exemplifies the commonality of the human threads of imagination and creativity. But what was the art’s importance to the Chumash artists who painted the cave wall? What message were they leaving behind? What is the meaning of the art? It is incredibly difficult to answer these questions.
However, based on the traditions of the Chumash as recorded by Europeans who settled in Southern California and interacted with them beginning in the seventeenth century, it is clear that they were interested in the sky and incorporated astronomical observations into their traditions and beliefs. This has led to the suggestion that the circular images painted in this cave and in other places in Southern California are intended to be depictions of the sun. In this interpretation, the spikes emanating from most of the circles’ circumferences are solar rays, perhaps as envisioned by a shaman during a trance. Maybe. If this is the case, then what is the meaning of the black, featureless circle in the middle of the art panel?
Analysis of a small sample of the black paint in that circle indicated it probably was painted in the late 1600s. That’s very interesting. Astronomers tell us that on November 24, 1677, a total eclipse of the sun would have been visible in Southern California. To a people who were clearly interested in the skies above them, a total eclipse would have been a momentous experience, one that could be expected to be passed down in oral history and, perhaps, memorialized in a painting. It’s impossible to test this hypothesis definitively, but it is an interesting speculation. Eclipse or not, the art is fascinating, and that’s enough to make it important.
Site Type: Pictographs
Wow Factor: *** The cave is small and gated, but the painted images are very cool.
Museum: None
Ease of Road Access: ***** The 2-mile drive on Painted Cave Road is uphill with lots of switchbacks, fabulous views, and scary turns along a very, very narrow road. Driving a big RV? Forget about it. The cave area is well signed, with only a very few pull-offs for a handful of cars to park.
Ease of Hike: *****
Natural Beauty of Surroundings: **
Kid Friendly: **
Food: Bring your own.
How to Get There: Traveling either north or south on the Pacific Coast Highway (CA 1/US 101), take the State Street exit to CA 154 (north). After about 6 miles, turn right onto Painted Cave Road.
Hours of Operation: Open year-round, 24/7
Cost: Free
Best Season to Visit: Any time
Website: www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=602
Designation: State historic park