Evidence of human habitation of the area begins at least
13,000 years ago. Evidence for a Paleo-Indian presence includes a fluted
Clovis-like point found in the 1980s along the western Santa Barbara County
coast, as well as the remains of Arlington Springs Man, found on Santa Rosa
Island in the 1960s. Approximately 8,000 to 10,000 Chumash lived on the south
coast of Santa Barbara County when Portuguese explorer João Cabrilho sailed
through the Santa Barbara Channel in 1542, anchoring briefly in the area.
In 1602 Sebastián Vizcaíno gave the name "Santa
Barbara" to
