Exchange Links Between the Coastal and Inland Chumash

Abstract The archaeology of the Santa Barbara Channel area has long been dominated by studies of the coast and Channel Islands, whereas the inland and interior areas have been treated largely as an afterthought. Efforts by academic researchers to study the inland area adjacent to the coast have been sporadic, resulting in models for the development of Chumash complexity being skewed towards the islands and coast. This lack of attention to the inland and interior is problematic, as it is generally agreed that trade and exchange between the different ecological areas surrounding the channel was a significant factor in the social and political complexity that was present during the Late Period. This article summarizes previous research into the Late Period in the middle Santa Ynez Valley, a major geographic feature of the inland area; presents the results of the author's original research on economic ties between the Santa Ynez Valley and the mainland coast; and suggests directions for future research within the inland area.