Michelin
Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park
Location picture
The Green Guide
The Michelin Guide's review
Hidden amid the rocks off a one-lane road high in San Marcos Pass, this small cave (closed off by a metal gate) allows visitors a glimpse of rare Chumash pictographs. Although the secret to the meaning of the symbols-executed some 400 years ago-died with the last member of the 'antap cult, it is thought they were painted by Chumash shamans during sacred rituals. Primitive motifs representing the supernatural world, including a black disc that may depict a solar eclipse, were created using animal-tail brushes and red, black and white mineral pigments.
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