Chumash rock art is almost invariably found in caves or on cliffs in the mountains, although some small, portable painted rocks have been recorded by
Campbell Grant. The rock art sites are always found near streams, springs, or some other source of permanent water. In his research of southern California rock art, Grant recorded numerous sites from different areas that were all close to a water source. He found twelve painted sites in the highest parts of the mountainous Chumash territory, the
Ventureño area. The
Ventura and
Santa Clara Rivers and several coastal streams flow through this area. He also recorded forty-one painted rock art sites in the
Cuyama Valley region (north of the Ventureño area), where the
Sisquoc River flows between the
San Rafael Mountains and the
Sierra Madre Mountains. The most easily accessible example is at
Painted Cave State Historic Park, which is located in canyons above
Santa Barbara.
Painted Rock is a free-standing rock on the
Carrizo Plain near the Sierra Madre Mountains at the southern tip of the
Great Central Valley. The interior alcove of the horseshoe-shaped rock features pictographs by Chumash, neighboring tribes, and non-Native Americans. The
Burro Flats Painted Cave petroglyphs are located in the
Simi Hills in
Ventura County. They are on the private land of
Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), which has protected them from public harm since 1947. The SSFL is closed and in the initial stage of a significant toxins and radionuclides site investigation and cleanup.
Boeing, U.S. DOE, and NASA (current property owners and responsible parties) and the
California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) are responsible to protect Chumash and other historical elements during the extensive SSFL work. The San Emigdio Rock Art Site is located near the
San Emigdio Mountains in
Kern County, California. The site consists of four cave shelters all adjacent to a creek. The cave shelters have elaborate and colorful
rock art, all in a typical Chumash style. However, the rock art at the shelters displays more colors and is more complex than at any other Chumash site. Limited work continues to be done at this site due to deterioration. Swordfish cave is on the land now occupied by
Vandenberg Space Force Base. It is named after the swordfish
petroglyph found in the cave. In the 1990's, it was obvious the art was deteriorating and needed preservation. The conservation efforts revealed new data about the human occupation of the cave. "They identified three periods of human use, including an initial occupation around 3,550 years ago, an occupation about 660 years later, and a final Native American occupation that occurred much later, between A.D. 1787 and 1804." Indian Caves is located west of
San Marcos Pass near
San Jose Creek. The pictographs in the cave were first described by John V Frederick who teamed up with
Julian Steward to have drawings of the pictographs published in his book,
Petroglyphs of California and Adjoining States. The site contains several elaborate examples of
zoomorphic style glyphs. The rock art site named "House of the Two Suns" was first described by Dick Smith, a historian and naturalist. The site is on the land now known as
Dick Smith Wilderness, where he did a majority of his work. There are several cave shelters located one above the other in a rock
outcrop. The pictographs are red and black, possibly representing the sun during the summer and winter solstice. ==Religious aspects of art==