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Archaeology

Archaeology is the study of past human cultures, based on the material remains they left behind. Archaeological research sheds light on human relationships with the environment and reveals the ways in which cultures have changed through time. The Museum Anthropology Department houses the most important archaeological collections for understanding prehistoric cultural change in south-central coastal California, especially the Santa Barbara Channel region.

The core of the archaeological collections consists of artifacts, faunal remains, and other materials from field surveys and excavation on the Northern Channel Islands, Santa Barbara mainland coast, and adjacent back country by David Banks Rogers (curator 1923-1938) and Phil C. Orr (curator 1938-1968). D. Travis Hudson (curator 1973-1985) added marine finds, archaeoastronomy investigations, and material culture studies. John R. Johnson (curator 1986-present) has built a good comparative faunal collection, and the department serves as a repository for curation of archaeological material from Channel Islands National Park, Los Padres National Forest, and various cultural resource management projects.

John Johnson has served as Curator of Anthropology at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History since 1986. He obtained his Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Johnson’s career has been devoted to understanding the culture and history of the Chumash Indians and their neighbors in south central California through the study of archaeology, archival records, and interviews with contemporary Native Americans.

Above. Dr. John Johnson recording Chumash rock art (Photo: Rick Bury)

Johnson has published more than 40 studies about Southern California Indians, particularly the Chumash. His work to preserve important archaeological sites and collections has been recognized formally by the Society for California Archaeology, which awarded him their Mark Harrington Award for Conservation Archaeology in 2002

Johnson heads a team that has been investigating the earliest evidence for people in our region at the Arlington Springs Site on Santa Rosa Island.

John R. Johnson, Ph.D., Curator
Specialist in California archaeology and ethnohistory
(805) 682-4711 ext. 139 email: jjohnson@sbnature2.org