The native populations of the Channel Islands were primarily Chumash. Archeological sites on San Miguel Island show continuous occupation from 8,000 – 11,000 years ago. Human remains excavated by archeologist Phil Orr from Arlington Springs on Santa Rosa Island in 1959, recently yielded a radio-carbon date of over 13,000 years of age. Archeological evidence indicates that there has been a human presence in the northern Channel Islands for thousands of years.
