The Native Americans who lived in the Antelope Valley painted images or pecked
pictographs on rock outcrops. These have been found in at least ten places
in the valley, and are often associated with Native American camp sites. The rock paintings
were created as part of the religious practices and beliefs of these Native
Americans over many millennia.
On the northwestern edge of the valley, rock paintings were created that appear
to have been influenced by the exuberant multicolored painting style of the
Chumash Native Americans, who lived along the coast of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties,
or by Southern Sierra Nevada Native American painting techniques.
Paintings found in the southern Antelope Valley tended to use red painting,
often made from mineral ochre. They belong to a style found among Serrano and
Cahuilla speaking Native Americans, who ranged from the Antelope Valley into the San
Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains, where they now live, and along the Colorado
River.
Pecked and incised petroglyphs range in age over long periods from earliest
prehistoric periods but have weathered away with time. Rock art is part of
everyone’s cultural heritage and should not be touched or repainted,
chalked, oiled, or wetted to enhance for photography.
Antelope Valley Native American Peoples
Initial Settlers and the Subsequent Archaic
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