Simi Valley was once inhabited by Chumash Indians. They lived on what nature provided. Along the coast they had an abundant supply of fish from the ocean, while inland in valleys like our Simi Valley, they ate the seeds from sage, acorns from the oak trees, and whatever small game animals were available.
The Chumash were among the most advanced California native peoples. Cave paintings (pictographs) help us to realize how much they knew before contact with the white man. We have a very famous pictograph at Burro Flats near the Rocketdyne facilities. It has been just within the last few years that we learned the importance of this pictograph. This particular cave with its pictographs is now known to have been an astronomical observatory where celebrations were held at the time of the winter solstice. The Chumash would celebrate the “return of the sun” because they knew their existence depended upon it.