Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Uncovering the Indigenous Past at Mission La Purisima, Education, Mission La Purisima State Historic Park, Lompoc, CA.
This archaeology project will expose the everyday lives of the Chumash community who inhabited the area of the Native Family Apartments at Mission La Purisima Concepcion.
02/04/2022
Our most recent article titled "Subsistence and Economic Activities of the Chumash Community 'Amuwu at Mission La Purísima Concepción" was published in The California Missions Foundation journal, Boletín. Collaborators represent UC Santa Barbara, CSU Channel Islands, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
DOWNLOAD ONLY - BOLETIN Volume 37, No. 1, 2021 - Digital Download
Today I had a conversation with Virginia Ortega, a direct descendant of relatives who lived at Mission La Purisima and Mission Santa Inez. We discussed her family lineage, connections to the missions, and life on the Santa Ynez Reservation. It was fascinating hearing about her family's deep history in the region, which can be traced in the mission records to as far back as the 1700s. Conversations like these are crucial in piecing together what life was like during the Mission period and after. It gives us a more personal view of the resilience of Chumash people today and how archaeology can be more representative of local communities. Thank you, Virginia!
03/06/2021
Our symposium was a success! Thank you to our tribal monitor, Gina Mosqueda-Lucas, for opening it up for us so eloquently, and our discussant Dr. Julia Costello for tying everything together! We have a few publications in the works based off some of the results presented. Looking forward to another day of virtual conferencing with our friends and colleagues! for California Archaeology 2021
03/01/2021
We are gearing up to present our research for the annual SCA meeting on Friday, March 5th, at 1pm. Check out the symposium abstracts and program overview here: https://scahome.org/meetings/annual-meeting-2/.
The last day to register for the conference is today, Monday, March 1st!
2021 Annual Meeting – SOCIETY FOR The SCA’s Friday morning plenary session will highlight speakers that reflect this year’s conference theme, Inside Out, Reflecting on Our Community, as well as select speakers from the 2021 Meeting. Topics will include the use of new technology to document and share our past, the integration of ...
07/31/2020
One year ago today!
03/02/2020
If you'll be in the Santa Barbara area, come and support UCSB students as they present original research on last summer's excavations at Mission La Purisima.
10/29/2019
Today we worked on floating the soil samples taken during summer excavations. The light fraction will be sent off for botanical analysis and the heavy fraction will be sorted in the lab.
10/19/2019
Presenting the initial results of our summer excavations at the Society for California Archaeology Southern Data Sharing Meeting. Happy Archaeology Month!
09/30/2019
This project has received funding from Critical Mission Studies! More information can be here fohttps://quote.ucsd.edu/criticalmissionstudies/
Critical Mission Studies – Rewriting the History of California's Missions Home Critical Mission Studies supports Indigenous perspectives on the California colonial missions and their aftermath. Through reconsideration of the missions as both physical places and objects of interpretation, we pursue new research collaborations that surface both Native and Mexican/Mexican-Am...
08/16/2019
After further investigation, the grindstone found a few weeks ago was likely worn down from its original size. It was probably much bigger, about 15" to 17" in diameter, and was rotated by a crank at one end of the axel. The grindstone recently uncovered at Mission La Purisima was 7" in diameter and usewear analysis suggests it was discarded as a sharpening wheel but likely repurposed as a sharpening stone.
08/15/2019
This project was featured on the local news station!
https://www.keyt.com/news/anthropology-students-unearth-chumash-artifacts-at-la-purisma-mission-in-lompoc/1106665543?fbclid=IwAR2N7TlYbDPnMTr0xnQwWuhNcPeEhpzCbG4mWggzJU-SzRJqJaN8f3I1Lfs
It was also featured here:
https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2019/019577/digging-scene?fbclid=IwAR20rrntnqiQWbU4d3gySdSoL2eyNoiqcJplnO5r6lIRkenu9ptO4kr7rPk
https://exploratornews.wordpress.com/
http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=LOCAL&ID=568443367722188811&Archive=false
https://www.edhat.com/news/la-purisima-mission-excavation-unearths-chumash-artifacts
Anthropology students unearth Chumash artifacts at La Purisma Mission in Lompoc UC Santa Barbara anthropology doctoral student Kaitlin Brown and her team made a prized discovery while excavating the site of Chumash “family apartments” at La Purisima Mission State Historic Park in Lompoc.