Case file · Sacred site
Chumash Painted Cave and the 1677 eclipse
A small sandstone cave above Santa Barbara is covered with vivid Chumash paintings. A black disc rimmed in white has been interpreted as a record of the total solar eclipse of 24 November 1677.
1677 CE · 34.51, -119.79 · status: disputed
The account
Chumash astronomers ('alchuklash') tracked solstices and the sky; ethnographer John P. Harrington's notes describe their cosmology. The cave is a state historic park.
The sceptical view
The eclipse reading is a hypothesis; the paintings are not directly dated.