Interior of Indian Cave in the Las Virgenes area 6. What Indians lived in this area?
Hundreds of years ago, the area where Agoura Hills now lies was the home of the Chumash Indians. Inhabiting the Santa Barbara Channel Islands and territory in mainland California stretching from the western San Joaquin Valley to the Pacific coast and from Malibu Canyon to San Luis Obispo, the Chumash developed extensive trading networks, regularly exchanging supplies with their close neighbors as well as trading with Indians from further afield. They lived in circular, domed structures made with tule or reed thatch and poles. To survive, they ate seeds and lots of acorns, caught fish and other creatures from the sea, and hunted deer and antelope. Skillfully crafted plank boats provided the Chumash with vessels from which to capture food from the oceans and enabled them to journey to nearby islands for critical products such as soapstone (i.e., steatite)-obtained from quarries worked by the Gabrielino Indians of Catalina Island-which they used to make pipes, dishes, and decorative items
