Free Talk: Uncovering the 19th-Century Chumash Community of ‘Amuwun

This free talk by Kaitlin Brown, Ph.D., in Farrand Auditorium at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, is presented by the Santa Barbara County Archaeological Society, in partnership with the Museum.

Behind the iconic salmon-colored bell tower at Mission La Purísima Concepción is the vibrant history of a nineteenth-century Chumash community, referred to in Samala as ‘Amuwun. Recent archaeological investigations have exposed the diversity that formed the fabric of mission towns. Differences in the material assemblage between the Native adobe barracks and the area where traditional tule-thatched houses once stood suggest that the village was socially stratified. The recovery of archaeological materials in the Native rancheria highlights how the Chumash community navigated the waning Spanish frontier and the turn to the Mexican regime. This archaeological research highlights diverse stories of Indigenous agency and cultural persistence.