Near Abalone Rocks Marsh is a prehistoric midden site that has been radiocarbon dated to more than 7,000 years ago, as well as a historic Chumash village, qʰšiwqʰšiw. Radiocarbon dating suggests that this village was first populated over 1,000 years ago. Ethnographic records indicate that qʰšiwqʰšiw was the largest of Santa Rosa's historic villages, with about 120 inhabitants and four important Chumash chiefs. Many living Chumash descendants can trace their ancestry to this village.

The area around East Point is dotted with other archeological sites, spanning several millennia. The majority of these sites are small campsites. It is presumed that, during the course of cultural evolution on the islands, the inhabitants of Santa Rosa Island moved from a foraging strategy (moving their campsites seasonally to be near a particular resource) to a collection strategy, where people lived in centralized residential bases (such as a village) and made excursions to resource areas.

It is not yet known when or how this shift was accomplished. Studying the relationship of these smaller sites and contrasting them with the larger sites across the landscape and through time may one day help us answer this question.

Ethnographic Island Place Names
Ethnographic island place names aid in native language revitalization, illustrate cultural values, and provide tangible connections to cultural landscapes and seascapes.

Many of these place names were recorded by ethnographers and anthropologists in the late 1800 and early 1900s. J.P. Harrington was an ethnographer who worked for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., from 1915 to 1955. He interviewed American Indian consultants, including Chumash and Gabrielino Tribal members, and recorded information about native languages and culture.

Chumash Indians Fernando Librado (Kitsepawit) and Juan Estevan Pico were the main sources for island place names. They were both born and raised in Ventura. They learned of the island places from Chumash elders, most notably Ursula (of wima) and Martina (of limuw.) Pico's interviews of Martina resulted in a list of island place names given in order from east to west (or vice/versa,) to anthropologist, H.W. Henshaw. Anthropologists have cross-referenced Pico's list with the archeological record, baptismals, and marriage patterns.

Twenty-six new place names were recently identified and mapped by Mark Vestuto (Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians; Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival) with assistance from Kristin Hoppa (Archeologist, Channel Islands National Park) and the Chumash community. These names reference island peaks, water, landforms, islets, trails, caves, and beaches.