The First Palomar Astronomers
Abstract
Anthropologists believe indigenous peoples across the Americas observed the heavens long before European arrival. Astronomy played an important role in early Native American cultures and served as the basis for governance, agricultural practices, and cosmogonic narratives. Evidence indicates centuries before Palomar Observatory development local indigenous peoples, the Payómkawichum or Luiseño, had an extensive knowledge of the night sky and a frequent presence on Palomar Mountain. The Luiseño may fairly be called the First Palomar Astronomers. Introduction
Throughout human history most ancient cultures were captivated by the day and night skies, and indigenous peoples across the Americas were no exception. Long before European arrival Astronomy played an important role in early Native American cultures, serving as the basis for governance, agricultural practices, and creation narratives. Depictions and interpretations of sky features are pervasive in Native American oral narratives and cultural artifacts. In pre-industrial Southern California the Payómkawichum or Luiseño people were prevalent across large sections of present-day Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties. The Luiseño had an extensive knowledge of the night sky, and that knowledge was featured prominently in their hunter-gatherer cultural practices. Artistic depictions of sky elements are found in Luiseño rock art, and were incorporated into oral histories and traditional songs–these traditions place the Payómkawichum in their ancestral lands at the beginning of time while Earth was still young and forming [d23], and some of their First People became characters in the Luiseño sky lore [k05]. Malava, the Luiseño name for a village on Palomar Mountain (Paauw), is mentioned along with the winter star Antares (Nikiilish) in one seasonal song [d08]. Archaeological, anthropological, and linguistic evidence trace their presence in Southern California as early as 1500 BCE [s09]. Circa 1800 the collective designation Luiseño was created by Franciscan friars to describe the inhabitants of numerous distinct villages throughout the region [k25] including a significant seasonal presence on Palomar Mountain [t74]. It is important that the Palomar Observatory community recognize the early Southern California astronomy practiced by the Luiseño near Palomar Mountain. Several asteroid discoveries made at Palomar have been named in conjunction with the Pauma Band of the Luiseño to celebrate these traditions.
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Authors
Ed Krupp (Griffith Observatory), Andy Boden (Caltech Optical Observatories), and Annie Mejía. Credits
Inspired by original anthropological and archaeoastronomical research, and our ongoing partnership with local Native American groups. References
- P. A. Dixon (2023) Palomar College, private communication.
- C. G. DuBois (1908) The Religion of the Luiseño Indians of Southern California, University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, 8(3):69–186.
- A. Kroeber (1925) Handbook of the Indians of California, Bulletin of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 78:Plate 57.
- E. C. Krupp (July 2000) Whiter Shade of Pale, Sky and Telescope, 100(1):86–87.
- E. C. Krupp (2005) The First Palomar Astronomers, Onward and Upward! Papers in Honor of Clement W. Meighan, Stansbury Publishing, 75–92.
- P. S. Sparkman (7 August 1908) The Culture of the Luiseño Indians, American Archaeology and Ethnology, 8(4):187–234.
- M. Q. Sutton (January 2009) People and Language: Defining the Takic Expansion into Southern California, Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly, 41(2&3):32–93.
- D. L. True, C. W. Meighan, and H. Crew (1974) Archaeological Investigations at Molpa, San Diego County, California, University of California Publications in Anthropology, 11:Map 4.
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