Tataviam

The Tataviam

The Tataviam belong to the family of Serrano people who migrated down into the Antelope, Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valleys sometime before 450 A. D. They settled into the upper Santa Clarita River Drainage. This places the Serrano among the larger "Shoshonean" migration into southern California that occurred approximately 2,000 years ago.

Prior to Spanish contact the Tataviam lived in both large and small villages, comprised of thatched huts, traded with the local Chumash, Gabrielino and Kitenamuk, and learned to survive and thrive in their ecosystem.

The Tataviam were a culturally rich group, making beautiful and mysterious rock art, beautifully crafted arrowheads, bowls, and baskets.

This book gathers together the knowledge that the scholars, the early explorers and the Tataviam themselves have given us. This is their story.