Earliest inhabitants
NATIVE HISTORY/ARCHAEOLOGY
The Agua Dulce area has seen long-term residence by humans, and some out our richest heritage comes to use from those who lived here long before today. Archaeological investigation (using dating methods such as obsidian hydration and depth analysis) indicates dates as early as nearly 2,500 years BCE, but other archaeological evidence seems to point towards and even longer inhabitance in the area, but am unfortunate lack of datable organic materials using radiocarbon dating has prevented archaeologists from making any definitive claims as to the dates of the area’s earliest periods of inhabitance.
Unfortunately, the identities of the area’s earliest inhabitants are unknown, and probably never will be. However, more extensive archaeological investigation in the 1960s and 1970s, in addition to ethnographic work in the early part of the twentieth century, have provided further information on Agua Dulce’s last Native inhabitants, the Tataviam. The Tataviam (a Chumash name meaning “people of the sunny slopes” or “people facing the sun”, a nod to the north-pointing Vasquez Rocks formations) are believed to have arrived in the area around 450 AD.
They were Shoshonean people, whose language was different than their neighbors (including the Tongva, Kitanemuk, and the Chumash), resulting in some referring to them as the “Alliklik”, a derogatory name meaning “stutterer” or “stammerer”. They were a relatively small population, yet appear to have been successful in the area during the pre-contact period, developing far-reaching trade relations, a unique language, and advanced tool production.
The Vasquez Rocks and surrounding areas are recognized as containing the greatest concentration of known Tataviam sites, as evidenced in high concentrations of rock art sites, burials, earth ovens, and artifacts. This can be contributed to the area’s abundant fresh water, plant and animal resources, and available rock shelters. The main food sources included drought tolerant desert plants such as the yucca (Yucca whipplei), California Juniper (Juniperus californica), and scrub oak species (Quercus dumosa). Additionally, small mammals, deer, and pronghorn were hunted for consumption, with fish and shellfish serving as part of the diet via coastal trade connections. Wood from the Manzanita and chamise plants (also known as “greasewood”) provided excellent fuel for fires.
The Agua Dulce area has seen long-term residence by humans, and some out our richest heritage comes to use from those who lived here long before today. Archaeological investigation (using dating methods such as obsidian hydration and depth analysis) indicates dates as early as nearly 2,500 years BCE, but other archaeological evidence seems to point towards and even longer inhabitance in the area, but am unfortunate lack of datable organic materials using radiocarbon dating has prevented archaeologists from making any definitive claims as to the dates of the area’s earliest periods of inhabitance.
Unfortunately, the identities of the area’s earliest inhabitants are unknown, and probably never will be. However, more extensive archaeological investigation in the 1960s and 1970s, in addition to ethnographic work in the early part of the twentieth century, have provided further information on Agua Dulce’s last Native inhabitants, the Tataviam. The Tataviam (a Chumash name meaning “people of the sunny slopes” or “people facing the sun”, a nod to the north-pointing Vasquez Rocks formations) are believed to have arrived in the area around 450 AD.
They were Shoshonean people, whose language was different than their neighbors (including the Tongva, Kitanemuk, and the Chumash), resulting in some referring to them as the “Alliklik”, a derogatory name meaning “stutterer” or “stammerer”. They were a relatively small population, yet appear to have been successful in the area during the pre-contact period, developing far-reaching trade relations, a unique language, and advanced tool production.
The Vasquez Rocks and surrounding areas are recognized as containing the greatest concentration of known Tataviam sites, as evidenced in high concentrations of rock art sites, burials, earth ovens, and artifacts. This can be contributed to the area’s abundant fresh water, plant and animal resources, and available rock shelters. The main food sources included drought tolerant desert plants such as the yucca (Yucca whipplei), California Juniper (Juniperus californica), and scrub oak species (Quercus dumosa). Additionally, small mammals, deer, and pronghorn were hunted for consumption, with fish and shellfish serving as part of the diet via coastal trade connections. Wood from the Manzanita and chamise plants (also known as “greasewood”) provided excellent fuel for fires.
Aside from the bountiful food resources, the Tataviam had immediate access to various geological resources. Soapstone, specifically Sierra Pelona steatite (a talc schist which is soft and easily workable) became one of the Tataviam’s staple trade items. Other local naturally occurring, highly sought-after materials used for the manufacture of flaked and groundstone tools included sandstone, chert, granite, rhyolite, chalcedony, quartzite, basalt, quartz, steatite, andesite, and jasper.
With access to abundant high-quality stone materials, trade became a major factor in Tataviam culture. They participated in a large trade network that extended both to the California deserts to the east, the coasts to the west, and also with tribes in the north. Further trade extending into the Southwest, from areas in New Mexico and Arizona has also been noted as probably, demonstrated in artifacts discovered by local residents that have been analyzed by archaeologists. Examples of these artifacts include: a grooved stone ax, believed to have come from Arizona or New Mexico; obsidian that was sourced as coming from the Coso mountain range near Mammoth Lakes, California; and various shell beads and pendants. Archaeologist Dr. Chester King notes that Agua Dulce “…was undoubtedly a major economic and probably a political center”, where intermarriage between groups in the San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica Mountains areas were probably utilized to form economic and political alliances.Aside from the bountiful food resources, the Tataviam had immediate access to various geological resources. Soapstone, specifically Sierra Pelona steatite (a talc schist which is soft and easily workable) became one of the Tataviam’s staple trade items. Other local naturally occurring, highly sought-after materials used for the manufacture of flaked and groundstone tools included sandstone, chert, granite, rhyolite, chalcedony, quartzite, basalt, quartz, steatite, andesite, and jasper.
With access to abundant high-quality stone materials, trade became a major factor in Tataviam culture. They participated in a large trade network that extended both to the California deserts to the east, the coasts to the west, and also with tribes in the north. Further trade extending into the Southwest, from areas in New Mexico and Arizona has also been noted as probably, demonstrated in artifacts discovered by local residents that have been analyzed by archaeologists. Examples of these artifacts include: a grooved stone ax, believed to have come from Arizona or New Mexico; obsidian that was sourced as coming from the Coso mountain range near Mammoth Lakes, California; and various shell beads and pendants. Archaeologist Dr. Chester King notes that Agua Dulce “…was undoubtedly a major economic and probably a political center”, where intermarriage between groups in the San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica Mountains areas were probably utilized to form economic and political alliances.
With access to abundant high-quality stone materials, trade became a major factor in Tataviam culture. They participated in a large trade network that extended both to the California deserts to the east, the coasts to the west, and also with tribes in the north. Further trade extending into the Southwest, from areas in New Mexico and Arizona has also been noted as probably, demonstrated in artifacts discovered by local residents that have been analyzed by archaeologists. Examples of these artifacts include: a grooved stone ax, believed to have come from Arizona or New Mexico; obsidian that was sourced as coming from the Coso mountain range near Mammoth Lakes, California; and various shell beads and pendants. Archaeologist Dr. Chester King notes that Agua Dulce “…was undoubtedly a major economic and probably a political center”, where intermarriage between groups in the San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica Mountains areas were probably utilized to form economic and political alliances.Aside from the bountiful food resources, the Tataviam had immediate access to various geological resources. Soapstone, specifically Sierra Pelona steatite (a talc schist which is soft and easily workable) became one of the Tataviam’s staple trade items. Other local naturally occurring, highly sought-after materials used for the manufacture of flaked and groundstone tools included sandstone, chert, granite, rhyolite, chalcedony, quartzite, basalt, quartz, steatite, andesite, and jasper.
With access to abundant high-quality stone materials, trade became a major factor in Tataviam culture. They participated in a large trade network that extended both to the California deserts to the east, the coasts to the west, and also with tribes in the north. Further trade extending into the Southwest, from areas in New Mexico and Arizona has also been noted as probably, demonstrated in artifacts discovered by local residents that have been analyzed by archaeologists. Examples of these artifacts include: a grooved stone ax, believed to have come from Arizona or New Mexico; obsidian that was sourced as coming from the Coso mountain range near Mammoth Lakes, California; and various shell beads and pendants. Archaeologist Dr. Chester King notes that Agua Dulce “…was undoubtedly a major economic and probably a political center”, where intermarriage between groups in the San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica Mountains areas were probably utilized to form economic and political alliances.
Examples of Agua Dulce area artifacts on display to the public at Vasquez Rocks Interpretive Center. (Click images to enlarge)
EUROPEAN CONTACT and the DECLINE OF THE TATAVIAM
Relatively little is known about European contact with the Tataviam in the Agua Dulce area, though a visit by active Military Governor of Alta California, Captain Pedro Fages, was noted in Fages’ travel diaries in 1772. Though sent from Northern California to search for six missing soldiers (who disappeared with the same amount of young Indian women), Fages welcomed the opportunity to further explore an untraveled region, through today’s Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys. Stopping on March 6, 1772 at the springs in the heart of today’s Agua Dulce, (within the park boundaries of Vasquez Rocks), Fages noted the clean, fresh water in a small spring, calling it agua dulce, or “sweet water”. Though it did not become the government-designated name for the area until the mid-1900s, the Spanish, Mexicans, and later Americans have referred to the area as Agua Dulce since Fages’ visit.
The Agua Dulce Tataviam met a fate consistent with nearly all Native peoples living in California after Spanish contact: they were absorbed into the mission system, probably between 1802 and 1816. Due to their small population, their traditional lifeways and language faced decimation in the generations that followed. After thousands of years of steady Native inhabitance that included a unique language and trade culture,
Agua Dulce's future laid in the white settlers.
Relatively little is known about European contact with the Tataviam in the Agua Dulce area, though a visit by active Military Governor of Alta California, Captain Pedro Fages, was noted in Fages’ travel diaries in 1772. Though sent from Northern California to search for six missing soldiers (who disappeared with the same amount of young Indian women), Fages welcomed the opportunity to further explore an untraveled region, through today’s Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys. Stopping on March 6, 1772 at the springs in the heart of today’s Agua Dulce, (within the park boundaries of Vasquez Rocks), Fages noted the clean, fresh water in a small spring, calling it agua dulce, or “sweet water”. Though it did not become the government-designated name for the area until the mid-1900s, the Spanish, Mexicans, and later Americans have referred to the area as Agua Dulce since Fages’ visit.
The Agua Dulce Tataviam met a fate consistent with nearly all Native peoples living in California after Spanish contact: they were absorbed into the mission system, probably between 1802 and 1816. Due to their small population, their traditional lifeways and language faced decimation in the generations that followed. After thousands of years of steady Native inhabitance that included a unique language and trade culture,
Agua Dulce's future laid in the white settlers.
One of the most active Tataviam descendants was Charlie Cooke. Charlie passed away in 2013, leaving behind a strong legacy and long career of activism. He was a long-time resident of Acton, near Agua Dulce, who was linked through mitochondrial DNA to burials in the area dating approximately 1,000 years old. Photo courtesy of friend and colleague Devlin Gandy, approximately one week before Charlie's passing.
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Though their numbers are smaller than some of the large nations such as the Cherokee or Navajo, the native peoples of California have managed to reestablish and encourage their children to participate in what knowledge remains of their ancestral practices. One of the smallest tribes in California, the Fernandeño-Tataviam Band of Mission Indians strive today to maintain aspects of their heritage, traveling around the country sharing information, dancing, singing, and promoting awareness of California's incredibly diverse indigenous past. For more information on the Tataviam, please visit http://www.tataviam-nsn.us/.
After the Tataviam's absorption into the mission, Agua Dulce fell into a relatively quiet era, ushering in a new phase in the area’s interesting history.
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Note: Having never been part of a Spanish land grant, there had not been any substantial non-Native settlements in the area that are known to researchers today. During most of the 19th century, Agua Dulce mainly appears to have served as a point along various horse or wagon trails who were traveling up or down Soledad Canyon, either to the San Gabriel mountains, north toward today’s Antelope Valley, or south toward today’s Santa Clarita Valley. Exciting new research is currently being performed on the stage roads in the area, with more information coming soon.