Drill Baby, Drill! : An Analysis of Late Period Chumash Microdrills from CA-SLO-214

This thesis research focuses on a curated CRM collection of Late Period Chumash chert microdrills from CA-SLO-214. The main goal of this research is to compare the Chumash drill-making industry in Los Osos to the known industry on the Channel Islands. A literature review was conducted on both Chumash mainland and island microdrills. Laboratory analysis focused exclusively on the collection of microdrills from Los Osos in order to compare the less studied Northern Chumash microdrills to the documented Santa Cruz Island microdrills. This research shows that the Northern Chumash made and used chert microdrills. These tools have been found on the coast near Los Osos and inland in San Luis Obispo. These Northern Chumash microdrill types are very similar to each other, but dissimilar to microdrill types found further south near Gaviota, and very different than the microdrills on Santa Cruz Island. I show that the Northern Chumash had a microdrill production industry dissimilar in technology, intensity, and wear patterns to their southern counterparts, but have similar dimensions. The presence of these tools in this area may suggest a higher degree of social complexity than has been previously thought.