RESEARCH ON THE CHANNEL ISLANDS
In general, I am interested in the unique opportunities and constraints that coastal settings have presented to human societies, and therefore how humans have interacted with, impacted, and been shaped by these environments. With about 2/3 of the world’s population living within 100 miles of the seacoast, and the implications for increasing human population densities and global warming, understanding the relationship between humans and the coast through time is of great significance for the present and future.
As an archaeologist, my current research is focused on investigating the nature of prehistoric land and resource use on the Channel Islands off the coast of southern California. The Channel Islands have been home to humans for over 11,000 years; for more information on the earliest evidence for island occupation, go to http://www.sbnature.org/research/anthro/charling.htm. The southern islands, including Santa Catalina and San Clemente, and the Los Angeles basin area were inhabited by the Tongva (Gabrielino), whereas the Chumash resided on the northern islands, including Santa Cruz, and the adjacent mainland of the Santa Barbara Channel. Prior to European colonization of the California mainland, the Tongva and Chumash relied upon a combination of hunting, plant gathering, and fishing that they supplemented with products shipped through extensive trade networks that connected groups throughout southern California and beyond. Like most indigenous societies in California, they never practiced agriculture; instead, they focused on the intersecting marine and terrestrial habitats and resources that the coast offered.
For my dissertation, I investigated the changing settlement and subsistence strategies among people living on eastern Santa Cruz Island, or the "East End", from about 4000 BC to AD 1300. The East End and the adjacent land to the west, known as the “Isthmus” is part of Channel Islands National Park, which includes the rest of the northern Channel Islands. Learn more about my dissertation research by clicking on the ‘dissertation summary’ link at the bottom of this page. To find about more about Channel Islands National Park, check out their website at http://www.nps.gov/chis/homepage.htm.
The rest of Santa Cruz Island is owned by the Nature Conservancy, a private non-profit organization with land holdings throughout North America. To learn more about what they do and where they work, check out http://www.tnccalifornia.org. The ocean waters surrounding the islands and their inhabitants are also protected through the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. To find out more about the sanctuary, check out http://www.cinms.nos.noaa.gov.
Through these agencies, the northern Channel Islands are protected from corporate and urban development, which is important because the islands are one of the few areas in which people may experience the environment of southern California coast and help to protect and preserve its threatened natural and cultural resources. Furthermore, the islands provide countless opportunities for researchers to investigate topics relating to native plants and animals as well as human occupation through time.