Editing Ventura County, California (section)

===Indigenous===
[[File:Pictographs at the Burro Flats Painted Cave.png|thumb|left|Pictographs in the [[Burro Flats Painted Cave]] in Simi Valley]]
Ventura County was historically inhabited by the [[Chumash people]], who also settled much of [[Santa Barbara County, California|Santa Barbara]] and [[San Luis Obispo County, California|San Luis Obispo]] Counties, with their presence dating back 10,000–12,000 years.<ref>Johnson, John R. 1997. ''Chumash Indians in Simi Valley: A Journey Through Time''. Simi Valley, CA: Simi Valley Historical Society. {{ISBN|978-0965944212}}. Page 6.</ref><ref>Starr, Kevin. 2007. ''California: A History. Modern Library Chronicles 23''. New York City, NY: Random House Digital, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-8129-7753-0}}. Page 13.</ref> The Chumash were [[hunter-gatherers]], fishermen, and also traders with the [[Mojave people|Mojave]], [[Yokuts people|Yokuts]], and [[Tongva people|Tongva]] Indians.<ref>Lynne McCall & Perry Rosalind (ed.). 1991. ''The Chumash People: Materials for Teachers and Students''. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. San Luis Obispo, CA: EZ Nature Books. {{ISBN|0-945092-23-7}}. Page 31.</ref> The Chumash are also known for their rock paintings and for their great basketry. Chumash Indian Museum in Thousand Oaks has several reconstructed Chumash houses ('apa) and there are several Chumash pictographs in the county, including the [[Burro Flats Painted Cave]] in Simi Valley. The plank canoe, called a ''[[tomol]]'' in [[Chumashan languages|Chumash]], was important to their way of life. Canoe launching points on the mainland for trade with the Chumash of the Channel Islands were located at the mouth of the [[Ventura River]], [[Mugu Lagoon]] and Point Hueneme.<ref name=CCC>{{cite book |author= California Coastal Commission<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=California Coastal Resource Guide |url=https://archive.org/details/californiacoasta00cali |url-access= registration|publisher=University of California Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/californiacoasta00cali/page/267 267]|date=1987 |isbn=0520061853 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite GNIS|247636|Point Hueneme}}</ref> This has led to speculations among archeologists of whether the Chumash could have had a pre-historic contact with [[Polynesians]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Did-ancient-Polynesians-visit-California-Maybe-2661327.php|title=Did ancient Polynesians visit California? Maybe so. / Scholars revive idea using linguistic ties, Indian headdress|last=Davidson|first=Keay|date=June 20, 2005|website=SF Gate|access-date=May 26, 2017}}</ref> According to [[diachronic linguistics]], certain words such as tomolo'o (canoe) could be related to [[Polynesian languages]]. The dialect of the Chumash language that was spoken in Ventura County was [[Ventureño language|Ventureño]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~survey/languages/ventureno.php|title=Ventureño – Survey of California and Other Indian Languages|website=linguistics.berkeley.edu|access-date=May 26, 2017}}</ref>

Several place names in the county has originated from Chumash, including [[Ojai]], which means moon,<ref>Harrington, John Peabody. The Papers of John Peabody Harrington in the Smithsonian Institution 1907-1957. Kraus International Publications, 1981, 3.89.66-73.</ref> and Simi Valley, which originates from the word Shimiyi and refers to the stringy, thread-like clouds that typify the region.<ref>Johnson, John R. 1997. ''Chumash Indians in Simi Valley: A Journey Through Time''. Simi Valley, CA: Simi Valley Historical Society. {{ISBN|978-0965944212}}. Page 8.</ref> Others include [[Point Mugu]] from the word Muwu (meaning "beach"), [[Saticoy, California|Saticoy]] from the word Sa'aqtiko'y (meaning "sheltered for the wind"), and [[Sespe Creek]] from the word S'eqp'e (meaning "kneecap").<ref>Lynne McCall & Perry Rosalind (ed.). 1991. ''The Chumash People: Materials for Teachers and Students''. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. San Luis Obispo, CA: EZ Nature Books. {{ISBN|0-945092-23-7}}. Pages 29–30.</ref>