Did you know that the oldest reliably dated human remains in North America were discovered in the Channel Islands?
This rugged chain of islands off the coast of Southern California is the least-visited national park in the state, and although these islands have not been developed for the modern world, they contain 13,000 years of continuous human presence.
The age and location of these human remains suggest that, in addition to the Bering Land Bridge, the first Americans may have also migrated via oceanic coastal migration routes. Keep reading to learn more about the evolution of human activity in the Channel Islands, from thriving villages built by the Chumash and Tongva peoples to the archeological investigations that uncovered their history.
The Arlington Springs Man
According to National Geographic, archeologist Phillip Orr discovered the Arlington Springs Man’s partial skeletal remains—two femurs, to be exact—in Arlington Canyon on Santa Rosa Island in 1959. Decades after this discovery, Orr’s successor John R. Johnson determined the remains to be about 13,000 years old, using advanced analysis and radiocarbon dating.
Only one other discovery in North America has come close to this age: Anzick-1, a one- or two-year-old Paleoindian child whose remains were found in Montana in 1968, and are dated to 12,990-12,890 years Before Present.
Johnson wrote an entry for the National Park Service, further elucidating that Arlington Springs Man would have lived at a time when four of the Channel Islands were connected as a single island. The island was not connected to the mainland, meaning that it could only have been reached by boat at the time.
The discovery demonstrates the use of watercraft on the California coast 13,000 years ago. It strongly supports the theory that the earliest peoples to arrive in the Western Hemisphere may have used boats to migrate down the coast from Siberia and Alaska, in addition to traversing the Bering Land Bridge.
Human activity on the Channel Islands
Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of continuous human activity at the Channel Islands over millennia, most notably the Chumash people on the northern islands and the Tongva people on the southern islands. They mastered fishing and boat-building (including the “tomol” plank canoe), and developed complex trade networks with shell beads as a currency.
Nearly 150 village sites have been identified in the Channel Islands, telling of a complex social and religious structure. Findings include ancient shell middens, early basketry and bone tools, finely crafted projectile points, fish hooks, and much more.
The native people persisted on the Channel Islands for thousands of years until Europeans made contact in the 16th century. Nearly all of the Native American island residents were forced into the Spanish mission system, with European diseases like smallpox and measles severely depleting their populations.
These days, descendants of the Chumash and Tongva people work to preserve their culture and identity in Southern California communities.
The Channel Islands hold more than just a complex human history—in fact, they’re known as the “Galápagos of North America.” The islands’ isolation has allowed sensitive habitats to develop over millennia, and they’re currently home to over 150+ endemic plant and animal species found nowhere else on Earth.
Visiting the Channel Islands
You can visit the Channel Islands via a 1-2 hour ferry ride from Ventura or Oxnard. Each island has a designated campground with pit toilets, food lockers, and picnic tables, but there are no stores, restaurants, hotels, cell service, or other resources on the islands. Visitors must come prepared and bring their own gear.
🌐 Learn more: National Park Service